As a business, customer data is one of the most important assets you have. 

Each contact in your customer database holds the potential for boundless revenue, and each piece of information you have about them represents an opportunity.for deeper engagement and personalized experiences that create sales.

But, if your information is outdated, you’ll have a hard time reaching them, leading to wasted marketing spend. If your customer information is incomplete, you’ll have a harder time capturing their attention, leading to a lower ROI for your campaigns.

Data appending services solve both problems by filling in the gaps in your information. However, there’s a drastic difference in the type, depth, and quality of information you receive from different data append providers. 

If you want to get the most bang for your buck, you need to find the right data appending provider for you – and we’ve created a quickstart guide to help you find them.

What To Look For in a Data Append Provider

The right data append provider makes all the difference. Here are a few different details to consider when choosing the best service for you.

Types of Appends Offered

Data appends come in different types depending on the kind of information you have and the information you’re looking for.

The more appends that are offered, the more complete your database can be and the easier it is to retrieve complete customer information from your limited existing information.

For example, if you only have a phone number, a reverse phone append can fill in the rest of the information. Or, if you have an email lead that isn’t opening emails, you can check for an updated email with an email append.

There are a wide range of appends that your data append provider can offer, including:

• Email
• Phone
• Address
• Social media
• Demographic
• Geographic
• Behavioral
• Business
• Automotive
• IP Address
• Reverse appends for all types

Each piece of information you can fill in gives you additional ways to target your leads with marketing campaigns and the ability to segment your lists for better engagement.

Database Size

In addition to the range of appends a data append provider offers, the size of their database should be considered. A larger database makes it more likely that they’ll have matches for the information you’re seeking, allowing you to skip additional appends with other providers to try to further expand your database.

Accuracy of Appends

If your data appends aren’t accurate, it doesn’t matter how many blanks you fill in. Your goal is to maintain the most accurate and up-to-date information in your customer database, so if your append provider has false information, it will cost you money and hurt your conversions.

Accuracy is often based on how often the database is updated and the methods it uses to track personal information, so choose a provider who stays up to date through multiple strategies.

Depth of Information

The more you know about your leads and customers, the better you can connect with them. Details like their birthday, the car they drive, which political party they vote for, and other data that surpasses contact information is great for targeting.

In most cases, data appending services that include more details give you a greater chance to convert your marketing strategies. However, be sure it’s accurate and useful information before you spend more on larger databases.

Compliance Management

The CAN-SPAM Act outlines rules that you have to follow when sending commercial messages of any kind to your contacts. One of the most important requirements is requiring permission from the receiver to send them marketing messages and allowing the recipient to revoke permission to stop receiving texts.

Your data provider should employ compliant practices like adhering to the Do-Not-Call list and sending permission emails to your contacts to make sure they consent to receiving your messages. These precautions can save you thousands of dollars in fines, so ensure that your provider verifies your customers and leads’ permission.

Best Data Append Providers

IMDataCenter

IMDataCenter provides data appending, hygiene, and enhancement solutions for both B2B and B2C businesses. Our secure, do-it-yourself platform makes it easy to clean up your data at any time without waiting and boasts match rates that are up to 30% higher than industry standards.

We offer identity management to help you evaluate the quality of your leads in real time to save you marketing spend. Complete integrated marketing appends (CIMAs) include everything you need to identify and target your audience through their preferred marketing channel to improve response rates.

Proprietary change of address solutions (PCOAs) and national change of address solutions (NCOAs) give you a leg-up on the ever-changing addresses of more than 44 million consumers and businesses per year. Plus, data monitoring for life event triggers provide actionable targeting information that you can use to personalize your marketing outreach.

You can stay compliant with Do Not Call flagging and scrubbing as well as permission emails to ensure you’re legally allowed to send leads and customers marketing content.

Access over one billion records for email, phone, property, and demographic information to clean, expand, and solidify your customer database so you can get the most out of your marketing campaigns.

Append Types

• Email and reverse email
• Phone and reverse phone
• Address and reverse address
• Reverse IP
• 1,000+ demographics

Highlights

• Over 600 million email addresses and 500 million phone numbers
• Up to 40% email match rate; up to 80% phone match rate
• Reverse appends from a single identifier to unlock more information
• Scoring for lead quality in real time
• PCOA and NCOA appends, up to the last 30 years
• Life event triggers to help you target more effectively
• Manual, FTP, and API access
• Compliance tools and features

Cost

You can sign up and review the system for free. Costs are charged per match not per entry, with three plans encompassing all services.

Getting Started with IMDataCenter

If you want a single solution for your data hygiene and appending needs, IMDataCenter can help. Our extensive database holds more data points, records, and accurate information than anyone else, so you can avoid bouncing between multiple data append providers to complete your database.

We provide appends for all critical information, including PCOA and NCOA, as well as more than 1,000 points of segregation through different demographics like car ownership, income, political affiliation, education, birthdays, and more. Plus, life event monitoring helps keep your records as up to date as possible and lead quality scoring to help you target the right contacts.