In B2B marketing and sales, understanding and targeting potential clients has always been a game of data.
Platforms like Dun & Bradstreet, HG Insights, Lexis Nexis, and MergerMarket have been at the forefront, offering tons of data aimed at helping businesses find, understand, and engage with potential clients.
However, despite the wealth of data, a common challenge persists: the ability to quickly and accurately identify qualified leads.
While these platforms may have the data to help me with my qualification, I certainly can’t access it.
This is where the biggest value gains will be found with Account Insight platforms in the next 12 months.
The Status Quo: A Glut of Data, A Dearth of Relevant Insights
The traditional workflow today usually involves:
Find company on account insights platform
Scroll through various dumps of information (much of which isn’t relevant to me)
Move off the platform and start google searching, checking LinkedIn and job postings to find out relevant information about the company that will help me sell to them
Despite these platforms having a ton of data, the most valuable searches are happening outside of these platforms.
And the reason for that is Account Insight and Data Platforms can only present information that they “own” or have access to within their own database.
They may acquire some data points via partnerships e.g. for technographic data), but the point is they are restricted to the data they have.
The user’s problem
The problem is that each customer has very different queries and requirements, meaning it is impossible for an Insights platform to have all the information that would be relevant to a HR company, Kubernetes company, a Construction company and a Manufacturing firm.
Each business has their own, very custom data needs and it would cost the Insights platform way too much to acquire all this data (and even if they did, the structuring and recall would be another complex issue).
Meaning that at the end of the day, as a consumer, I will not be able to get access to my specific questions from an Insights platform.
The coming shift in data recall
With LLMs, the biggest change for account insights platforms is they will allow users to ask completely custom questions.
These questions could range from anything:
What are this company’s publicly announced ESG goals for 2024
Has this company been working on new AI products
Is this company entering any new markets
Does this company use multiple cloud providers
Has this company issued any new RFPs in the last 120 days
Unlike current tools that offer a broad but shallow view, insight platforms are set to evolve to allows users to delve deeper.
The new workflow
Imagine being able to visit any company's page within a database and ask highly specific questions about that company - and receiving accurate, detailed answers instantly.
This capability transforms the vast, often poorly structured sea of data into a rich, navigable ocean of insights.
Meaning as a user, I now only have to rely on a single platform for ALL my account research, insights, data, qualification and outreach data points. The dream.
When is it coming?
Any insight platform that does not offer this functionality by the end of 2024, is going to be left behind
How do you know that 😲🤯
Because Noki is already working with some of the largest players in the Insights space to bring this functionality alive.