Quality Above Quantity: Setting data goals

[Doha]

If you end up purchasing data, it?s a good idea to set up a plan for how to understand the data and the goals you have for using it. You need to know your destination before plotting the journey.  Ask yourself the following questions:

What are my goals for the data?

Is the purpose of the data to help introduce you and your business to new people, to help introduce a new product or service to a wider audience, or to help create more B2B sales? Writing this out before you begin using the data will help reinforce and remind you of where you?re going. Your target actions will be different based on your goals.

How productive can I be with the data that I have?

What?s the best way to use the data that you have? Is it something so complex that you need to be involved in sorting through it, or is this a project that be easily completed by one of your staff while you focus on bigger priorities?


If this data doesn?t help produce the business I want, how can I rework it or go back to the drawing board to help it serve a purpose?

Based on the goals you set, how can you manipulate the data to meet your needs? What kind of results are you expecting, and how do you plan to follow up if those results don?t rise to your expectations?


How can I map out  a strategy that will target the contacts I have?

Who the contacts in your data? What motivates them? What kind of marketing or phone calls are they going to respond to? How can you demonstrate that your product or service is valuable?

How will you follow up to keep the data ?clean??

Think about how quickly your own contact information changes. In about two years, the majority of contact information you have for clients might be outdated. Set up a plan to help you stay on top of keeping that data clean.

Considering these questions before implementing your plan will ensure that you are prepared on all fronts and help you make the most of your data.