B2B Data Sourcing and  Partnerships

how do you source your data?

pop quiz!! Would you rather source your data:

A. From the best, most accurate source

B. From several good and reputable sources for a combination (or soup, if you will) of a few?

Rick Holmes here and back with more inside tips to share with my fellow data lovers!

Last week I was joined by Jeff Aucone, VP of Data Strategy and Partnerships at Intentsify on The Corporate Data Show. He and I go way back and while it's always a good time when we get together, we had a great time talking B2B Data Sourcing and Partnerships and how we feel about them. 

Unsurprisingly, Jeff and I are both soup (aka multi-source) guys. As Jeff put it, "by aggregating multiple sources, you build a better sense of truth. Not every model calculates data the same way; everyone is different in how they'll identify an intent signal and score it."

He went on to add, "In a single supplier, there could be gaps in their model, or by virtue of how the data was derived, it innately has gaps." He looks for multiple sources that can be incorporated together and works with partners to understand their models in order to adapt the output. "From there," Jeff said, "here's your truth". 

Everyone has to pick a data source

It's something we all go through. I agree with Jeff on multi-sourcing; combining multiples, picking the best fill rates. Single-sourcing can have scale issues; that one perfect set is always in limited supply. And as Jeff points out, we're talking about dynamic data. 

What data stays still? None, if it's any good.

Therefore, you have the find the means of maintaining your data on a very frequent basis to be, as Jeff previously mentioned, "that valuable source of truth".

And in the contact data world, what I find interesting is every company chooses to leave on the cutting room floor the difference in their product: How they arrive at the very subtle ways of what they're going to cut and keep.

Although two or three or five companies have a very similar based data set, what they end up publishing is very different. I definitely have multiple sources.

The Key? Think down to the customer

Jeff makes a great point in that not every customer can afford multi-sourcing. On top of that, you might not have a person to manage all of it. 

Because of this, the customer should insist on how the data they are considering licensing is comprised. Why? Jeff explains, "if it's simply a one-to-one-to-one? Ehhh...if the data you're licensing is multiple sources, there should be more confidence".

I like the compliance aspect of a single-source data partner, but even that isn't one source when you did. Some of our partners that sell data downstream could just tell their customers to contact us instead. And then it puts the responsibility on me to supply the various sources that my data came from.

On the other hand, multi-sourced data partners are always in good shape which can give you a compliance advantage if every source has its own set of consent or protections in place.

Our final thoughts?

One of the final benefits to multi-sourcing data is, if he single-sources and that company goes somewhere, he's in trouble. Which is happening all the time.

As Jeff points out, people can't afford to stay open, and they're not going to get funding. So, they're getting acquired.

And relative to a stock buy right now, companies might be where you put your eggs for a while. In my opinion, at least you have the control over where your money is going versus a spread. Especially with private companies, you get more control.

"At least for now, we do," Jeff added with a laugh.

Looking to get in touch with Jeff? You can find him on LinkedIn or at jeff.aucone@intentsify.io.

And as always, be sure to check back in for more tips to help you do your best work, and hit us up with any and all of your data needs!