Selecting suppliers for international marketing data

Introduction
When selecting a data supplier, you should consider several key factors before judging the data suitable for rental, lease or purchase.

The 6 key factors to consider are:

Source
Compilation method
Updating frequency/guarantees
Selection criteria available
Usage
Local/Regional variations

Source
Where the data is originally sourced from is extremely important and often reflects the cost and quality of the data. This could range from Yellow Pages/ Chamber of Commerce data which are cheap but of uncertain quality to publication subscriber data which is expensive but good quality because the subscribers pay for and receive their publication every month or week. In our experience, there are always cheap sources of data available but this is the same as other commodities - cheap often equals bad quality. For a database to be clean, accurate, well maintained and formatted correctly requires investment by the data owner and this is reflected in the charges they make for 3rd party use.

Compilation method
How a database is compiled is also a key consideration and its influence in deciding on a supplier often relates directly to the client’s intended use. For example, a database that has been compiled from telephone interviews would make an ideal source for telemarketing campaigns because the quality of the telephone numbers will be high and the individuals have already shown a propensity for receiving unsolicited calls, likewise a newsletter subscriber list would be a good source for mailing campaigns.


Updating frequency/guarantees
In order for data to be effective, how up to date it is, is an essential ingredient. This is largely dictated by how committed the list supplier is to keeping their data ‘clean’. An initial indicator of this, is whether the supplier is a well established commercial data company or whether they are using the data themselves in their regular line of business. A specialist data supplier who can prove they have invested resources in continually updating their database or a publisher who must keep its magazine circulations accurate in order to satisfy their advertisers, can offer high guarantees of accuracy within the industry excepted tolerances. A directory publisher on the other hand may take a year to compile their data and 6 months to publish, meaning the data is already 18 months old before the directory is published. Buying a CD of this data may be a cheap and quick of getting hold of data but the quality may be poor.

Selection criteria
Being able to accurately target potential customers is one of the great advantages of direct marketing but different suppliers have of varying degrees of selectability. The choosing of a supplier is largely dependent on how close they can get to the target audience, combined with the level of accuracy they guarantee. In most generic databases selections are available to help with targeting but these are often based on classifications unique to the supplier – non standard industry classification not SICs, employee size bands not revenue, broad job functions not specific job titles. Other suppliers may not offer wide selection criteria but the profile of their database (product purchaser or magazine subscriber) could also offer inherently good targeting.

Usage
Some commercially available databases have restrictions on how their data can be used or the purpose for which the data is used. How the data is used is largely due to the terms of the purchase - one time use or lease for 12 months or in rare cases outright sale. Certain suppliers only offer one-time use of all their data, others will allow 12 month lease of postal and telephone data but only one time use of their email addresses. The purpose for which the client is intending to use the data is also a factor to consider when recommending a supplier. Some suppliers allow their email addresses for use but do not allow their telephone numbers to be used, so matching the client’s intended use of the data with the supplier’s ability to provide that use is a key objective in selecting appropriate suppliers.

Local/Regional variationsAnother variable to take into account is relative comparisons between data from different countries. It is clear that some markets, in direct marketing terms, are more developed than others. The more mature a market the more data is available, the wider the choice, more competition and therefore an increase in quality as data suppliers have to improve the quality of their data to gain a competitive advantage. It is clearly not fair to compare data between EU and Latin America but our guide in less developed areas is to use local Direct Marketing Associations as a benchmark for suppliers who use their association’s best practice guidelines to run their data businesses. This shows a commitment by the data owner to try and deliver the best quality possible within the limitations of their own market.