The Marketers Guide to Choosing a Data Provider

Here are the 8 questions you should ask when choosing a data provider!

Businesses need data to survive. And that has never been more true than it is today.

The first party data you collect and hold is an extremely valuable asset – as long as you are applying the right insight! But when it comes to acquiring new prospects and customers, why limit the scale and profitability of your campaigns? If you choose your data partner wisely, third party data can help you to find more of your best customers, drive more informed decisions and deliver ROI.

54% of business leaders asked believe third-party data is valuable for enhancing the data that they hold in their organisation.

The Devil is in the Due Diligence

So, it’s clear that third party data can help businesses to gain even more value from their marketing activity. But how do you find quality data?

As with any important purchase it is imperative to do thorough research. When it comes to buying marketing data you should apply strict due diligence before you select a supplier – or repent at leisure.

Here are some of the qualifying questions you should always ask when you are choosing your data provider...

Source and Provenance

How is the data collected and what is the source? You should also ask for confirmation of the collection methods and audit trails to ensure the principles of the regulation have been meet and the data is being processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner.

Permission

Your supplier should be able to provide you with the permission statement used at the point of collection.

Validation and Due Diligence Processes

Ask for confirmation of the validation process. A provider with nothing to hide should be able to provide on request an outline of their due diligence process and the steps they take to ensure their data fully satisfies legislative requirements.

Recency

When was the last engagement?

Quality

Is the data accurate and up to date? Has it been screened against a reliable suppression file to remove deceased and Gone Away contacts to meet GDPR data quality requirements?

Reputation

Check out their creds and ask peers for a recommendation or ask to speak to an existing customer of the supplier for a candid view.

Results

Ask for some examples of the results and case studies – especially if you are using the data for acquisition campaigns.

Do They Offer a Trial?

If you are new to buying data or using a new supplier – ask if you can run a trial campaign to test the quality of the data.

If a supplier can’t answer these key questions…approach with caution. It is important to remember that at the heart of GDPR is transparency, accountability and the fundamental rights to process data. It is the minimum you should expect from a reputable data provider.

About Us

We have been supportive of the GDPR from its inception and we are proud to say that our due diligence is the best and most thorough in the UK.

All contributors must pass our strict Data Compliance Due Diligence Audit and GDPR rules before we will accept the data. The audits for existing and prospective data contributors also include the following verifications and checks for compliance:

Contributor’s legality, location and contact details
Contributor’s Professional membership, accreditations and certifications (ICO, DMA, ISO) registration
How contributors deal with enquiries, complaints, data subject access requests etc.
Full Permission statement audit including audit of all permission statements, FPN and privacy policies served at point of data collection which are provided in our unique Online Permission Library
Details of how the permissioned data was originally captured and channel collection methods
Asking suppliers to confirm information security practices and that data is processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of personal data

Our compliance team also carry out 6 monthly audits on the data provided, requiring contributors to provide full details of when and how the data subject’s permission for their data to be passed onto a third party was obtained to ensure collection methods remain compliant and align to the principles of the regulation.

Not all data providers are created equal so choose wisely!