A business to business list can make or break a company’s marketing programs but maintaining the integrity of contact data is one of the most grueling things marketers have to do, especially for B2B companies. Larry Fleischman is the Director of Marketing for Televerde, a leading B2B provider of sales pipeline development. For more info, visit http://www.televerde.com today.

1. Business to Business List
Why You Need to Start with Good Data

2. Business to Business List
A business to business list can make or break a
company’s marketing programs. But maintaining
the integrity of contact data is one of the most
grueling things marketers have to do. This is
especially true when it comes to B2B marketing.

3. Business to Business List
The B2B relationship has special nuances.
Managing these relationships during the sales
process can be tricky for a number of reasons.
For example, the sales cycle is almost always
complicated and usually long. During this
process, you need to nurture the lead, maintain
consistent communication with your prospects,
and make sure you’re reaching all the right
people.

4. Business to Business List
Managing leads correctly during the sales cycle is
absolutely essential to closing deals. It takes
considerable time, effort and marketing know-how.
However, if your business to business list is off-target,
you could be spinning your wheels. You’re not only
putting new sales revenue at risk, but you could be
adding unnecessary costs to your marketing programs.

5. Business to Business List
So how can you best manage your leads during the sales
cycle? It starts at the very beginning with your business
to business list. You must ensure the contacts on your
list are correct before you begin to market to them.
Several elements must be checked:

6. Business to Business List
Are the contacts on your list the right ones?
Do you have all the necessary players involved in
decision-making?
Have you properly identified each person’s role and
responsibilities?
Is their basic contact info, like name, title, e-mail, address
and phone numbers all correct?
Have you collected other essential information to help
facilitate the sales process? For example, if you’re selling
a technology product, do you know the company’s
current technology install base?

7. Business to Business List
The above information, at a minimum, is absolutely necessary
for your business to business list. And since your list is the
foundation of your B2B marketing programs, it’s critical to
your overall marketing success.

8. Business to Business List
What’s the Cost of Bad Data in a Business to Business List?
A B2B list with accurate contact information can have a major
impact on closed deals and sales revenues. On the flip side,
bad data can cost you dearly. Regardless of how good your
marketing programs are, you’re wasting time, money and
effort if your business to business list doesn’t reach the right
targets.

9. Business to Business List
According to SiriusDecisions research, the following represent
some eye-opening findings:
In a typical B2B company, the amount of prospect and
customer information in their database doubles every 12 to 18
months.
Even if the data is accurate when initially entered, it tends to
break down over time.
Databases contain between 10 and 25 percent of serious
contact data errors.

10. Business to Business List
As incorrect data remains in the database, it becomes
increasingly costly to manage. SiriusDecisions estimates
associated costs at $1 for record verification, $10 for record
cleansing, and $100 for unmanaged records.
In the latter situation, the effects of wrong information surface
regularly and continue to negatively impact marketing
effectiveness.

11. Business to Business List
Marketers regularly struggle with increasing the performance
of their lists and making them easier to manage. A good option
is to use a professional lead management company that uses
best practices for business to business lists.
The right vendor can provide critical help with contact data
acquisition. They should own their own high quality database
of accurate, recent and meticulously maintained contacts.

12. Business to Business List
In addition, a list company must be able to demonstrate how
they collect and refresh data. They should be able to filter lists
on a wide variety of parameters, including revenue range,
industry, number of employees, and more. And, they should
have a well-deserved reputation in the industry for providing
solid data solutions.
In today’s complex B2B world, marketers must look at data
management as a strategy. You need to manage it just like
you would all the other marketing components in your
program. And, it’s important for your organization to
recognize the costs involved of not properly maintaining a
business to business list.

13. Business to Business List
You incur an opportunity cost of lost revenue and you rack up
hard costs associated with marketing to the wrong contacts.
The contact list has the power to determine your marketing
costs and your return on investment for marketing programs.
And, these things measure your success as a marketer.

14. About the Author
Larry Fleischman is Director of Marketing for
Televerde, a leading B2B provider of sales
pipeline development solutions. For more
information about a Business to Business List,
visit http://www.Televerde.com today.