I think every business person would agree that better data leads to better results. This is certainly true when we talk about batch search data. But what data and what results are we talking about?
The data most businesses search for:
- A customer’s current mobile or landline phone number
- A customer’s current property or mailing address
The results most businesses want from data:
- Contact the customer with a phone call
- Contact the customer with a text
Without good data businesses can waste a lot of time calling bad phone numbers or waste a lot of money mailing to out of date addresses. Not to mention the money they paid for the bad data. They never get in contact with the customer or get them on the phone and have a conversation, which is the result they most often want.
So, how do you know if the data you’re about to buy is going to get you good results or be a waste of time and money? Keep reading, I’m going to tell you a simple sniff-test for data quality.
What is quality batch search data?
Not all batch search data is created equal. There are two types that are available to small businesses: public personal information, PPI, and non-public personal information, NPI.
An example of PPI is a database that anybody can qualify for. phone book such the White Pages. NPI is only available to credentialed businesses. might come from a person’s credit bureau file. PPI is considered low-quality data. It is often in-accurate and out of date. NPI is considered the best quality data. It is accurate and updated regularly. Not surprisingly, the are tighter controls on NPI than on PPI.
So how do I get the best data?
The short answer is, your business has to qualify for the best data. Which leads to the sniff-test I’m going to tell you about.
Which non-public personal information can be shared, and who that information can be shared with, is governed by several Federal laws, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
In both laws there are allowances for access and use of non-public personal information for legitimate business purposes or what is called in the data world, “permissible use.” For instance, every BellesLink customer is reviewed, qualified, and has a permissible use.
Do I have a permissible use? Many businesses do.
Many businesses qualify for a permissible use to search for some NPI data, such as current phone numbers and addresses. That’s what BellesLink customers do. To see if you’re business might qualify read more about permissible use on our website. Or just sign up for a free account and let us review your business. And, finally the sniff-test.
The sniff-test
Ok. Here it is. My sniff-test for low quality data.
- If you are buying data from a service that DOES NOT qualify your business for permissible use you ARE NOT getting the best data you could be.
- If you ran a batch search and all you had to do was upload your list and pay, you ARE NOT getting the high quality data your business needs.
If a service does not qualify your business for permissible use, they fail the sniff test because the federal laws governing personal information will prohibit them from given you the best data. Period. It’s that simple. No qualification equals low-quality data.
While those low-quality services may have an attractive data price, the time you loose and the money you waste trying to contact customers using wrong numbers and wrong addresses is going to cost you a lot more.
Don’t sacrifice good results for cheap data
I hope this post has helped you understand the differences, and the value, of public personal information versus non-public personal information when it comes to batch people search data quality.
There are several top-quality batch search services which work, like we do, to make sure your business gets the best quality data so you can get the best results.
Use the permissible use sniff-test to eliminate the low-quality services and avoid the high cost of bad data. Of course, feel free to contact us with your questions at customersupport@belleslink.com