NetProspex, a B2B data partner, just launched their first ever comprehensive look at the “State of Marketing Data.” I was fortunate to get an early look at the report which you can also access here on their content portal. In reading through the conclusions I was struck by the potential impact on your content marketing strategy.
The Data
The NetProspex report titled “The State of Marketing Data: 2013” creates a Database Health Metric that marketers can use to benchmark their database and then make actionable improvements. The four areas of database health encompass:
- Record Duplication
- Record Completeness
- Email Deliverability
- Phone Connectability
By assessing each of these areas, marketers are able to qualitatively assess their database and score it on a five point scale from “Less Marketable” to “Optimal.” The report goes on to provide a few key recommendations for improving the database in each of the four areas. Given the marketing scale opportunity that can be gained by even just a small improvement in the quality of your database, this report is a must read for all digital marketers.
The Content Marketing Connection
So why does database health matter to Content Marketing? Consider the following three key areas:
- Getting Found, Faster: If you are assuming you can just market to your database better without using your web site and digital properties to grow your database, think again. According to the study, and quoting data from Sirius Decisions, 58% of all B2B inquiries come initially via the Web. It’s time to accelerate your content marketing strategy to drive engagement with prospects who are not already in your marketing funnel.
- Form Completion: The argument of what content to put behind a form rages on. Marketers need more data from prospects to better score and nurture, while prospects want to give as little as possible. In fact, according to the report, 71% of IT buyers refuse to provide their business email addresses on web registration forms. New tools like progressive profiling and data appending services certainly help streamline forms. However, all signs point to making sure you are delivering high value content that engages prospects and encourages form completion.
- Content Nurturing: We typically talk about “nurturing” generally to engage prospects after they take a particular action. However, by combining your content strategy with your nurturing strategy you can now use your content to more effectively draw prospects through your funnel. And if your database doesn’t have clean data, then you will have problems.
So, after taking stock of the health of your database, make sure you are thinking about the role of your content marketing strategy to scale your contacts and better engage them throughout their buyer’s journey.
