Ascend2 recently released their Lead Generation Strategy Report which revealed a startling (to me at least) disconnect between how much weight marketing organizations are placing on lead quality and how little on data accuracy.
59% of marketers reported improving the quality of leads they generate as among their most important objectives for the coming year (which is good to know when the majority of CMOs are evaluating teams by the quality of prospects they generate). Yet only 8% of those marketers are focused on the accuracy of their marketing data. Am I missing something here? How can marketers drive quality leads if the very data of which they are comprised is incorrect?
We must improve data quality
If we claim to be hyper-focused on driving sales pipeline, we must take a step back to evaluate the accuracy and format of the data we’re injecting into that pipeline, as well as the means by which it’s getting there.
The good news is that there are various lead and data validation tools, including Integrate’s data governance software, that will validate and normalize data before it’s passed into our marketing and sales systems.
The better news is that some of those tools will directly inject the clean, standardized data into our points of specification, ensuring quality and increasing lead velocity.
The not so good news is that most marketers have yet to incorporate such software into their marketing tech blueprint, and therefore their pipelines are filled with polluted data that increases costs, slows prospect engagement, frustrates sales reps and lowers conversions.
Pipeline pollution affects everyone
The impact of this pipeline pollution expands far beyond sales and marketing. Resource-exhausting consequences span as far as IT and accounting. And this doesn’t even take into consideration the effect it has on our relationships with our customers. Pipeline pollution is a company-wide problem.
Marketing Job No. 1: Get the Whitepaper
One of my colleagues, David Crane, has developed this whitepaper “Pipeline Pollution | Marketing Job No. 1: How to Keep Your Sales Pipeline Clean + Accurate” that will help you understand the various forms of pipeline pollution and how they may be affecting your organization. More importantly, he’s identified a four-step process you can follow to increase data quality in your marketing database and sales pipeline. Take the first step in ridding your pipeline of pollution.
Download the whitepaper now. Your boss, colleagues and customers will thank you.
