What is a Data Append?

What is a data append? 

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, append means to attach, affix, or add as a supplement. In the world of marketing, a data append adds 3rd party data to your customer history to help fill in gaps, correct/update existing data, and provide additional insights. 

The service is a widespread practice that has a variety of applications. From audience key performance indicators (KPIs) to target audience creation to the hygiene of your database – appending data is the first step to maintaining and growing your business relationships or accuracy of statistics.  

Types of data append services 

Whether you have information regarding customer orders, social interactions, sign-ups for newsletters, donations to your cause, or a scientific research project, appending data can be the only way to understand the types of people that you do business, serve, or interact with. Here are the most popular types in the marketing world. Check out the different types of data append services LiftEngine offers.

Address appends

More than 40 million Americans move each year.  This means 10% of addresses become outdated annually. Making sure you have up-to-date and accurate information on your customers will save you from wasting your marketing dollars by mailing to the wrong address. Further, if you only have email sign-ups you can append postal addresses to broaden your reach to mailboxes.  A physical piece of mail will be looked at more than an email in passing and can help convert your sign-ups into customers faster. 

Email appends

While you may have the name and mailing addresses of your customers, knowing their email addresses will allow you another way to communicate with your customers.   

Phone number appends

Like with email appends, phone number append services provide you with the most accurate phone numbers for your customers. Phone numbers can be leveraged for SMS campaigns, telemarketing efforts, and used to increase match rates when onboarding social or digital platforms. 

Date of birth 

Knowing your customer’s birthdays will allow you to segment your audience by age bracket and even plan personalized birthday campaigns. Date of birth appending can easily and accurately provide you with the month and year that your customers were born in.  

Demographic

Like the date of birth append, a demographic append will provide information on the household characteristics of your customers. A demographic append will contain age, income, homeownership, single/married status, if children are present, and a whole lot more. Having accurate information about your customers will help you make informed strategies for products to marketing visuals. 

Interests & Propensities 

Knowing your customer’s interests empowers you with information to tailor your marketing campaigns and product lines to meet your customer’s passions. For example, knowing that a customer likes organic/natural products means you can promote such products and expect a solid return on investment (ROI.) 

Transactional 

Understanding what else and where else your customer spends their discretionary income enables you to make informed business/product strategy decisions.  From price points commonly spent at, if similar products are being bought from other brands, or identifying what other types of products your customers are purchasing – you will be able to customize your business to meet your customers where they spend their money with products and price points that make it easier for your customer to become brand loyal! 

Why are data appends needed? 

Scalability! Staff gets stretched thin as a business grows, making bootstrapping your business untenable. Little knowledge of who your customer is (and is not) makes it hard to plan the future of your business. A data append can help shine light onto specific characteristics about your customers so key insights can be made.

On the marketing side, having access to more data can help when customer outreach yields little to no response or the return on investment is stagnant. Overall, appending your data with privacy-compliant 3rd party data allows you to effectively and efficiently market to your customers, glean insights based on data rather than assuming, and grow your business. For more details on what can be possible, check out our data append solutions.

Who uses data append services? 

All types of businesses, industries, and organizations utilize data append services to strengthen their data with relevant and actionable information to make decisions. To name a few: Direct to Consumer (DTC) Brands, Retail, Consumer Package Goods (CPG), Charities, Services (Banking, Education, Home, etc.), Business to Business, and the list goes on.  If you run a business or organization the next evolution in your plans should be a data append. 

About LiftEngine

Since 2005, LiftEngine's primary mission has been to help clients better understand and connect with their most responsive prospects and customers, online or offline. Our expertise is behind the marketing campaigns of 400+ clients.

Behind LiftEngine is LiftBase, our proprietary addressable consumer database. Comprised of 250 million US consumers, 140 million US households, and 1,000+ enhanced data elements, LiftBase powers our audience development services and industry-leading products, PortalLink and LaunchPad.

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