There is no question that data and the use of it globally has been heavily relied upon during the COVID-19 crisis, especially within health sciences. Statistics have been pulled around the world to help forecast and identify hot spots, trending and even the flattening of the curve.  It has been a constant and reliable source employed to forecast and understand the reach and impact of Coronavirus and one that serves all industries beyond healthcare. For organizations that rely on data for marketing, the need for data maintenance and upkeep has never been greater.

Data officers and marketing leaders alike, especially in the B2B space, are busy taking measures to ensure that the quality and access to their data remains unchanged during this period of uncertainty. It is their responsibility to prioritize the hygiene on their existing customer and prospect data knowing that when business returns to normal, it will indeed be a very “new normal”.  Much will have changed – new flags and capabilities for identifying essential vs non- essential businesses, identifying businesses that are in fact still in business, and updating information at the contact level that may have been affected by workforce reductions, permanent remote situations as well as normal attrition. Maintaining business continuity during COVID-19—and after it—requires brands to invest in both process and infrastructure that can refresh and reactivate data as well make it accessible when the majority of the workforce is remote.

Timely, accurate and robust data will play a pivotal role in helping brands respond to COVID-19 and emerge from the crisis in a position of strength. There is no better time than now to get your house in order.  As we look ahead to the next phase of business and the “New Normal”, data officers and marketers should begin planning and executing initiatives that allow their firms to emerge from the crisis with better data capabilities, deeper customer and prospect insights and accuracy across channels.

A few thoughts:

• Many brands have taken some sort of pause in prospecting and are relying heavily on their customer file for increased revenues.  This puts a heavy burden on customer data, so optimizing in-house data during this time makes the most sense. Consider using essential business flags to prioritize businesses that are still operating and in need of your services.
• Once those known customer sites are flagged and established, consider an expansion of your footprint at those sites. Finding additional buying contacts at current customer sites is a big win at increasing revenue without the higher cost of net new prospecting. Rely on lower cost communication options like email to advance that effort.
• When prospecting does return in full force – how do we prioritize our current inquiries and contacts when their employment status remains unknown? Our advice is to unleash the power of social validation to ensure that those contacts have not been adversely affected by the Coronavirus.

These are just a few thoughts as we look ahead to the next phase of normal business operations.  I invite you catch our Happy Hour Webinar from May 19t, “Data, Digital and Drinks: Getting Your Data Ready to Get Back to Work”, more ideas and tactics on how to optimize your current customer and prospect data for the next phase of business.

As always, Anteriad is here to help.  For over 20 years, Anteriad has used a “data first” approach to solutions built for multi-channel B2B and technology marketers worldwide. We are proud to be the leading provider of business data, database products, consultative marketing services, and campaign execution solutions with a singular focus in B2B. We welcome your inquiries and your comments. No matter which way you decide to work with us, you will know that data is at the center of everything that we do.

Cheers,
Deirdre Blohm
Senior VP, Marketing
Anteriad