Question 1

What criteria are used to qualify a customer file?

Accepted Answer

Here are the main criteria used to qualify BtoB customer files:

Company size: classify companies according to their size: VSE, SME, ETI or Large Enterprise. This classification can be based on the number of employees and/or turnover.
Business sector: an interesting criterion for understanding the specific characteristics of each sector and customising your marketing campaigns.
Geographical location: this criterion is important for targeting specific regions, countries or any other relevant geographical division.
Persona function: qualify contacts according to their function and responsibilities, such as general management, IT, purchasing, human resources, etc. This enables you to target the most relevant contacts for your solutions.
Hierarchical level: It can be useful to qualify personas according to their hierarchical level in order to identify decision-makers and influencers.
Customer relationship history: the history of interactions with the customer company, such as information on previous orders, contracts signed, complaints, previous communications, etc.

Question 2

How can I maintain the quality and currency of my qualified customer database?

Accepted Answer

Before activating any commercial operations, you need to have a qualified file. Here&#8217;s a very effective approach:

Process, purify: clean, standardise and deduplicate your customer data.
Apply the fundamentals of segmentation: with simple solutions (CRM, or even simple Excel filters), it is perfectly possible to segment your file effectively.
Maximise the performance of your customer database: your database is segmented, and you can then evaluate and prioritise the performance of each segment in terms of its contribution to your company&#8217;s results.
Determine the performance levers: identify the levers to be activated for each segment to boost your company&#8217;s financial results.
Work on inactive customers: target your inactive customers and surprise them with new offers and features to win them back.
Convert your unconverted prospects: once you&#8217;ve segmented your file, you&#8217;ll notice that there are a significant number of unconverted prospects. These will help you to achieve rapid results by offering them attractive deals.

Question 3

What tools and software are available to facilitate customer file qualification?

Accepted Answer

There are a number of tools and software packages available to help you qualify your customer database. Here are a few examples:

CRMs: CRMs such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Zoho CRM offer functionalities for managing and qualifying customer files. They enable data to be centralised, interactions to be tracked and contacts to be segmented according to various criteria.
Data enrichment solutions: services such as Clearbit, ZoomInfo, Dropcontact and PhantomBuster enable customer data to be enriched and qualified.
Marketing automation tools: platforms such as Marketo, Mailchimp and Lemlist offer interesting marketing automation functions.
E-mail address verification and validation services: services such as NeverBounce, BriteVerify, ZeroBounce and Dropcontact help to verify and validate the e-mail addresses in your customer file. This eliminates invalid addresses and improves the quality of your contacts.
Lead scoring tools: solutions such as Leadfeeder, Lead Forensics and MadKudu provide lead scoring functionality. They assess the level of interest and qualification of prospects by analysing their online behaviour, website interactions and other relevant data.

Question 4

What is the recommended frequency for qualifying my customer file?

Accepted Answer

A database naturally degrades by almost 20% per year.

BtoB file: To keep your BtoB file qualified, it is recommended that you update your customer database every 6 months. However, the frequency of qualification of a BtoB file can vary according to various factors. If you run regular and intensive marketing campaigns, it is advisable to update your database and re-evaluate its segmentation more frequently. This will ensure that your campaigns are effective, relevant and targeted.
BtoC file: we recommend that you qualify your BtoC customer file on an annual basis. This allows you to check existing information, delete obsolete contacts and add new data if necessary. However, you should consider updating your customer database more frequently if your business is more dynamic or if you make significant changes to your products. For example, launching new products or targeting new market segments.

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