Business and Marketing

B2B marketers need meaty data. But “The State of Marketing Data” benchmark report by NetProspex suggests that many marketers just don't have the chops they need to beef up their data quality. Eighty-four percent of databases analyzed were deemed barely functional. Although most records had the basic fields filled out—such as first name (78%), last name (77%), and title (63%)—many lacked key targeting characteristics. In fact, 82% of records were missing companies' revenue data and 80% lacked the number of company employees, according to the report. Similarly, 74% of records had no industry data and 64% were missing phone numbers.

Disordered databases can cause B2B marketing efforts to fry up like bacon. For instance, only 35% of files were considered functional or higher in terms of email deliverability.

But most marketers have cleaned up one area: duplicate records. Ninety percent of the analyzed files contained less than 10% duplicate records. In fact, companies that leverage data-enrichment services are two times more likely to be satisfied with contact-level and company-level database accuracy compared to those who don't leverage the service, according to 2013 research from Aberdeen Group.

Not surprisingly, 98% of organizations plan to increase their use of data-driven marketing over the coming year, according to Aberdeen. Indeed, having a data-driven mind-set separates leading marketers from the rest of the pack

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Business Breaking News: 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Full-Time Job

This time two years ago, I, like many other members of the Class of 2012, was anxiously awaiting my college graduation. At the end of April, I had officially signed an offer letter and accepted a full-time job at a marketing company in midtown Manhattan, just a short subway ride away from the East Village I'd come to know so well during my time at NYU. In a few short weeks, I would be a degree-holding college graduate, ready to start my career and take my first steps into the long-awaited "real world."

I'd done a couple of part-time internships during college, so I assumed I'd already have the hang of working in an office. How different could it be? I'd arrive at 9 a.m. sharp, sit down at my desk, do my work and go home eight hours later. I'd get a steady paycheck and paid vacation time, and make some great new friends. That's what I thought, anyway.

I had a lot of expectations going into my first day on the job. Some of them turned out to be correct, but many of them were quickly shattered. The year that I spent at this company taught me a lot of valuable lessons — both about my career and life in general — that I took with me when I began working for Business News Daily last summer. Here are five things I would go back and tell myself before starting my first full-time job. [Smart Job Search Tips for New College Grads]

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