Is your relationship with your data enrichment vendor getting less enriching?
Not too long ago, brands could count on companies like Acxiom, Merkle, and Epsilon to fill in the gaps in their data about customers. These third-party data companies could supply email addresses, phone numbers, and myriad other tidbits they have accumulated over the years.
Now, most brands have built up their capacity to collect and use first-party data provided to them directly by their customers. At the same time, there’s a growing consumer and government backlash against the trading of data by brokers, ad networks, and other third parties.
Taken together, many brands are scaling back their use of data vendors. Here are the top reasons why:
The data is less accurate With all the restrictions on third-party data collection, it’s getting harder for data vendors to keep their files fresh. What customers tell you directly is more reliable.
The price is rising Did you expect a discount for lower-quality data? Think again. On the other hand, consumers will willingly tell you about themselves for nothing if you use the information to provide a better experience.
You can’t do much with the data In many jurisdictions, privacy rules limit how you can use data about people they haven’t given you directly. From now on, you need to keep track of how you learned each fact in your profiles.
Merging third-party data with your system is a pain You’ve got to format and send your file to the vendor. After a wait, they send the file back, and you have to reformat it again and merge it back into your internal system. Shouldn’t there be a better way? Yes, there should. And there is. (See Reason No. 5.)
There’s a better way Using an advanced customer data platform like Amperity, you can organize and put to use all the information customers give you, whether it’s online, in stores, or over the phone. Amperity is amazingly good at eliminating duplicate records and identifying which pieces of information are the most up-to-date.
With Amperity, you’ll have rich customer profiles without depending on third-party sources. If there are records with missing information, Amperity can connect to your favorite vendor, efficiently merging in the new data.
Download the Amperity 3rd Party Data Effectiveness Guide to learn more about why it’s time to break up with your data vendor. You’ll see how to use Amperity to organize your customer data to reduce the need for outside information. And for the cases when you still need data enrichment, you’ll find out how to cut the per-record cost by 25%.