Best Way Forward: Choosing the Right Data Collection Route

Data powers everything from digital marketing and analytics to insight generation, enabling an organization to reach new customers and drive business intelligently. Nick Jordan, Founder & CEO at Narrative, discusses three fundamental means of data collection, the main challenges that persist, and how best to overcome them. 

There’s no doubt that data has become central to just about every organization, but having access to high-quality data is a different story. According to a recent surveyOpens a new window , 99% of companies polled reported that they’ve invested in data initiatives, but only 24% believe they’ve created a data-driven organization. So how can an organization acquire this data and ensure that it’s clean? There are three ways to reach your end goal, but each has pros and cons. 

1. Do It Yourself 

The first route you can take to acquire data is the do-it-yourself method. This is going back to the basics; hiring a business development point person, sending them out to hit the streets and look for the data you need, sometimes literally. This is a roll your own method, and while many have done this historically, it’s a very resource-intensive way to acquire data. The benefit of this method is that not only will you get exactly what you’re looking for, but you’ll know exactly where your data is coming from and how it was collected. 

However, it doesn’t scale and has the highest barrier to entry. Doing it yourself takes a long time and is an expensive option. The costs include your time and that of your employees, engineering costs to make connections, legal fees to draft up contracts and agreements, and more. What’s more, each time you collect a new data type, the entire process must be started all over again. A hidden cost of this is the competitive disadvantage that comes with slow speed. Say it takes six months to obtain the data needed to execute a clear strategy. That’s six months you’re waiting on the sidelines.

2. Data Broker Route

The second route is to use a data broker, who functions as a middleman to do all of the heavy lifting, i.e., source the data. This is the offshoring version. A data broker’s job is to collect data –  personal or non-personal, secured either from public information or privately. 

The downside of this option is there’s zero transparency into where the data came from, how it was collected, and ultimately the data quality suffers by virtue of using a middle man. The middle man also takes off large portions of value for themselves off the top, so that not only is this less cost-effective, but more expensive too. Data brokers also typically lock customers in, so if for whatever reason you’d like to opt out, that leaves you back at square one. That’s not to say data brokers have no upside, but this method’s convenience depends on your needs and processes.

3. Using a Data Commerce Platform

The third and last route is to go with a data commerce platform. In this case, software replaces the data broker or the full DIY method so that you don’t need to build all of the people, processes and technology from the ground up. 

The true advantage is that you don’t lose control, transparency, or money from paying the middle man exorbitant feeds. Essentially, data commerce platforms provide all of the benefits of DIY with none of the costs associated with building out the process. 

Still unsure of which route to go? To put this into perspective, say you need to buy a suit. You can make it from scratch, growing the cotton to cleaning, processing, sewing, etc. You’ll know the entire process that went into making the suit, and there’s no doubt where your suit came from or what was included in it. 

You could purchase a suit off the shelf. This might not be the best-fitting suit, and you won’t know whether it was made with ethically-sourced materials or the working conditions of those who made it, but you have yourself a suit. The last option? Get a tailor-made, custom suit. Your suit will be of good quality, well-fitted, and you’ll have transparency into the process.

Checklist to Choose the Right Data Collection StrategyOpens a new window

Choose Your Own Data Adventure

The DIY method is like creating your suit from the ground up. While most can do it themselves, there’s a massive investment upfront to do so, and no guarantee it’ll be done well. With a data broker, data quality can be dubious and require further analysis on your part. In the case of a store-bought suit, the objective is to drive up margin and lower the cost of goods, and the way that will always manifest itself is in quality. Data brokers aren’t too different. 

The third option is like a data commerce platform; you’re paying for convenience, quality, and expertise. A transparent supply chain, understanding exactly where that data came from, is crucial to ensure that it’s accurate and will help make strategic business decisions. 

Ultimately, accurate or clean data is too critical of a component in today’s business decisions to overlook. Each organization must have a data acquisition strategy in place, and while there are pros and cons to each route, it pays off to have the right one for your business, whatever that may be. 

Which option of data collection is the best suited for your business and why? Share with us on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to know!

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