14 Easy Steps to Choose the Right Technographic Data Provider

• What hardware/ software solutions your target prospects use
• How they operate those solutions
• If they are ready to try out new technologies or solutions

You already know the role personalization plays in customer attraction and retention. In fact, you can achieve 6 times higher conversion rates with personalization.

That's why you must find a trustworthy partner when it comes to your technographic data provider.

But before you get overwhelmed with all the options available in the industry, we'll help you choose the best partner. In fact, a wise choice will give you the competitive edge you seek. 

So, join us on this journey as we explore the checklist of steps to pick the best technographic data provider for your business. 

14 Easy Steps To Pick The Right Technographic Data Provider

Here are 10 curated steps to help you choose a perfect technographic data provider. 

Step 1. Identify Your Business Requirements.

Firstly, figure out why your business needs technographic data in the first place. Start by identifying your specific goals and objectives for using the data. You can do this by learning technographic data types that are best fit for your business strategies. Here's how you can define the needed data: 

• Understand your audience and their needs to tailor your business offerings effectively.
• Conduct market research to understand industry trends and the competitive landscape.
• Define clear and measurable business goals to guide your decision-making process.
• Evaluate your current resources and capabilities to identify gaps and areas for improvement.
• Establish effective communication channels to understand and address customer feedback.
• Make a thorough business plan with goals, strategies, and action steps to implement your plan effectively.

Step 2. Check the Credibility of Potential Providers

Next, researching your options is a must. It helps you sort the best fit for your business. Here's how you can research the credibility of potential providers: 

• Conduct a comprehensive online search to identify potential technographic data providers.
• Review reviews and testimonials from other clients to gauge their satisfaction and the provider's reliability. 
• Seek recommendations from industry peers who have experience with technographic data providers.

Step 3. Try Their Service Demo

Check whether your shortlisted providers offer a service/product demo. Usually, when you connect with a legit service-providing company, a product demo is a given. However, if you can't find any such option, you can connect with their sales rep to inquire about it.

With the free demo, you can watch their services in action. Thus, you can be more assured of making the right choice before you sign up for a long-term partnership.

During free-trial ensure to assess their services' usability and functionality. See if their services match your business needs.

Asking for a free service demo enables you to sort potential providers further. 

Step 4. Evaluate The Provider's Data Quality

It is important to always remember to prioritize the accuracy and reliability of technographic data providers. Thus, ensure to inquire about the following:

• Their data collection methods and sources, such as surveys and questionnaires. 
• Score on standard data quality parameters based upon 4Cs:

a. Correctness
b. Coverage 
c. Consistency
d. Completeness

• Data relevance in terms of your current and long-term business needs. 

Step 5. Verify Data Freshness

Besides, you must also check whether the provider updates their collection regularly. Fresh data collection allows you to follow industry trends and stay ahead of your rivals. 

Thus, you must check the providers' data freshness and ensure it aligns with your requirements.

Step 6. Check For Specialized Data Points

When you evaluate potential technographic data providers, find ones with specialized data points beyond basic demographics and firmographics. In fact, advanced B2B data providers dig deeper to provide valuable data such as:

• Company revenue
• Psychographic
• Behavioral
• Trigger events

These rare criteria filters can offer deeper insights and enhance your targeting capabilities.

Step 7. Consider Data Coverage

The geographic scope of the data provided holds great importance too. Thus, your chosen technographic data provider should satisfy the needed scope.

For example, If you aim to reach global clients, ensure your data provider can offer worldwide market information. However, to target specific regions, ensure the data provider can access information from those areas, making it suitable for you.

Therefore, evaluate the provider's industry coverage to ensure they have access to data relevant to your target market. 

The data must match your needs and help you connect with your target audience successfully.

Step 8. Analyze Data Customization Options

90% of leading marketers agree that customization hugely contributes to their business profitability. Thus, it's vital that your data provider offers you customization options. Hence, to find out, do the following: 

• Evaluate if the provider can customize data to fit your requirements.
• Determine if they offer segmentation and filtering capabilities that allow you to refine the data based on your requirements. 
• Evaluate the flexibility of integrating the data with your existing systems and processes to ensure seamless utilization.

Step 9. Explore Data Enrichment Services

Data enrichment services further enrich your dataset. Thus, they give you a better understanding of your target audience. These services usually include the following:

• A data normalization process 
• Missing customer data addition 
• Data standardization 
• Redundant data removal 
• Data automation setup 

So, to find out what kind of data enrichment benefits a data provider offers, ensure to do the following:

• Inquire about additional data enrichment options provided by the technographic data provider. 
• Assess their ability to enhance existing data with complementary information, such as firmographic details, behavioral insights, or intent data. 

Step 10. Check For Tech Data Points

Your ideal technographic data provider must offer a range of specialized data points to support your B2B business. Some of the critical tech data points you can expect include:

• Technology Usage: Information on the specific technologies and software applications companies use, such as CRM systems, marketing automation tools, content management systems, etc.
• Technology Stack: Contains information on a business's entire technology stack. It comprises hardware, software, programming languages, frameworks, and infrastructure elements.
• Technology Spending: Gain valuable information about how companies budget and spend on technology investments, encompassing IT infrastructure, software licenses, and digital transformation projects.
• Technology Adoption: Data on the adoption rates and trends for emerging technologies within a specific industry or market segment, helping you identify early adopters and market opportunities.
• IT Infrastructure: Information about the hardware, network infrastructure, and data centers businesses use can be crucial for targeting companies with specific infrastructure requirements.
• System Integration: Data on companies' integration capabilities and preferences, allowing you to tailor your offerings to align with their existing systems and workflows.
• Cloud Adoption: Details on the cloud services and providers businesses choose, enabling you to understand their cloud strategy and potential integration opportunities.
• Security Measures: Insights into the security technologies and practices companies implement to safeguard their data and systems, helping you identify potential partnerships or service offerings.
• Digital Footprint: Details about a company's online presence like websites, social media, and ads, revealing their digital marketing approaches.
• Industry-Specific Insights: Specialized data points tailored to specific industries include industry-specific software solutions, compliance requirements, and regulatory frameworks.

Step 11. Check For Set-Up Assistance

You need close support during the early stages of data platform integration. In fact, it'll help you in generating high-quality leads as quickly as possible. While many data providers offer set-up assistance services, not all have the patience to address a new partner's doubts. 

Therefore, always confirm what your provider's necessary support consists of before you join the partnership. Make sure the provider offers help, answers questions, and supports integration. It'll help you to experience a smooth and successful implementation process.

Step 12. Review Data Security And Compliance Measures

Undoubtedly, data security is of utmost importance when you choose a technographic data provider. So, ensure your chosen provider adheres to the following:

• Check if it follows relevant data protection regulations depending on your location, such as:

• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
• CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)

• Inquire about their data encryption and storage practices to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the data they handle. 
• Make sure they have strict privacy policies so your data is safe and follows industry rules and standards.

Step 13. Assess Pricing And Scalability

You must be clear about the pricing structure and cost models of your shortlisted technographic data providers. In other words, get complete quotes and details of their subscription packages/plans. Ensure to check the following: 

• Determine if they offer scalable solutions for your future growth and evolving needs. For example, add-on options as per your needs. 
• When assessing data providers, weigh the value for money concerning data quality and depth. 

Striking a balance between price and scalability ensures optimal returns on investment and supports business expansion.

Step 14. Seek Customer Support And Account Management

One last point that you should never overlook while making the final decision is customer support. Your ideal technographic provider will have proactive customer support. It will not only help you begin the partnership smoothly but also help maintain it for the long-term.

Therefore, you must:

• Inquire about the customer support channels available and the expected response times from the technographic data provider. 
• Evaluate their track record in resolving issues and providing assistance to ensure you receive timely and effective support when needed. 
• Assess if the provider offers dedicated account managers who can provide personalized guidance and address your specific requirements. 

Having access to knowledgeable and responsive support can significantly enhance your overall experience and maximize the value you derive from the data provider.

Conclusion

Picking the right technographic data provider is vital for your business's success. Think about data quality, customization, security, pricing, and support to make an informed choice that meets your needs and drives growth in the data-driven era.

Currently, Revnew is making waves as the leading technographic data provider. Our experts are highly qualified to leverage solutions to bring you the best industry data. In fact, you must check out how Revnew brought higher turnarounds for one of its clients and captured over 411 leads to date. 

Contact us here and connect with our experts!