Utilizing Alternative Data to Improve Sales.

Business is a competitive field where everyone constantly has to aim for all possible advantages and improvements just to keep in the game. And even more so to reach success and stable growth. Thus, businesses constantly look for ways to improve their operations and ensure high levels of efficiency wherever possible.

One of the main ways to do it in the last decade has been the usage of alternative data sources, which can benefit pretty much all aspects of the business. Find out more at Coresignal. As for this article, let us look at how alternative data is used to improve sales.

The importance of data in business

The way business has been changing in the 21st century could be considered revolutionary in many ways. But more than any other, it has been an informational revolution. The rise of informational technology has, of course, completely transformed not only business but pretty much everything around us.

Alternative Data to Improve Sales

However, this change has been especially important in business because it came along with the realization of how strong of an asset is data. Now we mine for data the way we used to mine for gold and precious stones. We search for new types of data and new data sources as we used to search for oil and natural gasses. And as the latter materials’ value may diminish in the future, that of data will only rise.

Thus, currently, we are experiencing a constant proliferation of alternative data. Data sources are considered alternative when they are not the types of information that have commonly been used in business before that usually come from industry sources themselves. Alternative data is any kind of information from any sources applied for business or financial insights or improvement of business procedures. Therefore, anything from social media or any other internet data to such various diverse types of information as weather or transactional data can become alternative data if utilized.

Alternative data sources have already been extensively used for investment intelligence and financial analyses. Additionally, ways have been found to apply it for improvements on most business operations. Let us now turn to how alternative data is used in the department of utmost importance – sales.

Alternative data in sales

Sales intelligence is vital to ensure high rates of conversion and a high-value customer base. And good intelligence is, of course, derived from good data. Thus, the sales department can appreciate the importance of high-quality and quantity of data as much as any other.

There are many types of alternative data that can be utilized for sales, and there are surely more to come as new ways of using data are constantly being discovered. Clearly, the most important source of information relevant to sales is the internet.

Salespeople can use such information as company funding or job posting data to determine which firms are of the most expected value and have the true potential of being interested in the service or product offered. This helps for both lead generation and lead scoring, which are the stepping stones of a great sales pitch.

Furthermore, such information as your own sales data and various transactional data like that of credit/debit card transactions help to see opportunities and previous errors. This allows the creation of sustainable sales and marketing strategies for future improvements of the sales funnel. Such information, as well as various social media and other public sentiment data, works magic for business-to-customer sales as well.

But it is absolutely invaluable for business-to-business sales. And so is the alternative data that helps to segment the market, such as firmographics and technographics. Firmographic data helps to generate and evaluate leads based on various statistical data about the firm, like its size, age, and growth tendencies. Technographic data does the same; it concentrates on the company’s technological stack. Both of these separately or event better – combined, help to produce a high-quality sales pitch and offer the potential customer precisely what they need.

In addition to ensuring the willingness of the customer to take the offer, utilizing alternative data improves customer retainment. Gaining a client is of little use if they are going to opt out soon. But the deep understanding of customer’s needs that comes with diverse information allows building strong and long-lasting relationships.

Improving overall quality

At the end of the day, the foundation for great sale rates and the overall success of the business is the quality of products and services it provides. When we go into business, we believe in the value of what we are doing while also being well aware that there is always room for improvement.

Utilizing alternative data can show where exactly that room is and how to fill it. With enough data, it is possible to see how products and services can be improved to fit the current needs of the potential customers better. And nothing ensures high sale rates better than giving people what they need when they need it.



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