Looking for HTFD (Hard-to-Find-Data)? We Found It!
Data is everywhere. The number of unique data sources out there is larger than any one organization can wrangle. And make no mistake – these big data sets are the source of competitive advantage for companies across all industries. But finding the right information from today’s huge data ecosystem is a hurdle that more than one marketer has yet to cross.
Looking for HTFD (Hard-to-Find-Data)? We Found It!
Data is everywhere. The number of unique data sources out there is larger than any one organization can wrangle. And make no mistake – these big data sets are the source of competitive advantage for companies across all industries. But finding the right information from today’s huge data ecosystem is a hurdle that more than one marketer has yet to cross.
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We have all heard of Big Data, but how many of us have heard of Data-as-a-Service (or DaaS)? Still a relatively new concept, DaaS is primed to make a huge entrance in 2015 – it is the game changer that is completely revolutionizing marketing.
DaaS is a service approach in which unique and Hard-to-Find Data (HTFD) assets are sourced and structured to deliver a constant stream of qualified prospects, including a company’s own customers, who are actively searching for what they are selling. Distinctly different from list buying, these data sources are a highly customized marketing asset versus disconnected, one-time use prospect lists.
Marketers analyze the data and crunch the numbers – but how many can really say they know which consumers or businesses are in market for their products and services? Or how many companies are overly dependent on modeling what they think a prospect or customer may do versus having real-time insights into their actual behaviors?
DaaS empowers companies with knowledge – not guesswork – for sustainable and immediate revenue.
HTFD – The New 4-Letter Word That Will Empower Your Marketing
Well, really more of a 4-letter acronym, but a powerful advantage of DaaS is the ability to source hard-to-find data that has been aggregated from hundreds of Big Data sources. These data sets are highly targeted and go well beyond third party lists.
To really understand the potential of these unique data sets, it is important to understand where all this data is coming from. The information being generated from Big Data can be segmented into six specific categories:
- Web Mining: Data compiled by mining the open web. This includes automated processes of discovering and extracting information from Web documents and servers, including mining unstructured data. This can be information extracted from server logs and browser activity, information extracted about the links and structure of a site, or information extracted from page content and documents.
- Search Information: Data available as a result of browser activity tracking search and intent behavior. This data also identifies digital audiences through onboarding (matching consumers to their online IDs).
- Social Media: The average global Internet user spends two and a half hours daily on social media. A vast array of data is available on personal preferences, likes, “check-ins”, shares, and comments users are making.
- Crowd Sourcing: This is collective intelligence gathered from the public. Data is compiled from multiple sources or large communities of people, including forums, surveys, polls, and other types of user-generated media.
- Transactional: Data that is created when organizations conduct business, and can be financial, logistical or any related process involving activities such as purchases, requests, insurance claims, deposits, withdrawals, flight reservations, credit card purchases, etc.
- Mobile: Mobile data is driving the largest surge in data volume. It isn’t only a function of smartphone penetration and consumer usage patterns. The data is also created by apps or other services working in the background.
DaaS provides highly specialized data assets – HTFD – that have already been mined from these Big Data sources.
Some examples include:
- Niche company lists, beyond high level SIC and NAIC code descriptions.
- Information (contacts, top customers, products, shipments) on 1.5 million buyers and suppliers in 90 countries. Helps sellers identify/evaluate buyers, helps buyers identify/evaluate suppliers.
- Data collected on residential and commercial building permits 88 million residential and commercial building permits, 155 million inspection records, and 7 million contractors in the U.S.
- Spend data on specific businesses by categories.
- U.S. manufacturing industry data with unique attributes such as certifications (ANSI, ISO), business type (exporter, distributor) and products & services (adhesive technologies, compounds).
- Comprehensive healthcare data (doctors, dentists, other prescribers, their practices, clinics, hospitals, etc.)
- Directly measured Digital Footprint Data™, that includes web pages surfed (minority of web traffic) all email and Machine to Machine (Internet of Things) digital activity (the majority of web traffic) – 60-80 Billion Transactions Daily.
By sourcing Hard-to-Find-Data through DaaS, you really don’t need to have a huge data repository to find the right information. The right information is sourced for you and delivered directly to your CRM or digital marketing systems.
HTFD and DaaS – two 4-letter words worth remembering!