It is not that uncommon for websites, especially smaller companies - to be out of date.

You also have to be aware or telemarketing and email legislation, especially TPS.

The greatest stumbling block is that you simply cannot guarantee that people are who they say they are. Persuading business people to part with their data online will always require some form of incentive, whether this is access to a whitepaper or quote tailored to their company, the nature of the incentive will play a considerable role in the quality of data received. The incentive to give incorrect details, whether name, job title, or decision making responsibility is always significant and the inherent problem in web data capture, whether for business or consumer marketing, is that most people do not want to give their details away. The ‘hassle factor’ of future marketing approaches will often discourage business decision makers from giving their real details away.

The processes required to verify web gathered data, especially email data, will usually cancel any cost savings delivered from online data sourcing and the cost of matching web data to business data universes can be phenomenal. Of course filters, such as PAF look-up, will help remove some of the rubbish but wherever there is a free text box, such as name or address, then errors and obscenities will be common. In niche or specialist business areas, the quality of data is likely to be better due to the small pool of prospective businesses however incentives will have to be tailored accordingly.

Businesses also need to ensure that the email addresses they have captured are in fact business emails. There should be caveats and double checks, such as confirmation emails which ask recipients to reconfirm details. This is crucial as the opt-in law differs between marketing to businesses or consumers, if you are contacting a business address then the opt-in is automatic and B2B marketers must ensure the purpose of the data capture is made clear at the entry point on the web.

The question of trust in web gathered data all comes back to verification. Unless a marketer can prove that the person is who they say they are and the details are accurate, then why bother marketing to them at all?

I would say it’s certainly possible to gather relevant marketing data from the web. For a while now the internet has proved to be valuable as a source of data – even simple interactions with sites can be used to collect information that can prove useful in the long and short term. There’s often a perceived need to opt for highly advanced collection methods, in order to collect real-time behavioural data for example, but in reality the majority of brands would better benefit from a more considered but accessible approach. B2B brands shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that simple methods, like dynamically serving questions to users interacting with the site based on what is already known about them and what is relevant to sales and/or marketing needs, can reap significant and instant benefits.

It’s also vital to be able to deliver data collected instantly into the marketing database, so businesses can take full advantage of the benefits of real-time knowledge. Again, this doesn’t require anything revolutionary. Cost effective tools are available, and B2B brands should embrace them, regardless of how much experience they have with data.

The internet can be a valuable source of business data; from transactional and behavioural to demographic. However the value of this data is based on the accuracy of the universe to which it’s being appended. Additional insight must be underpinned by up to date contact information, such as company address, and names of decision makers. Without these vital building blocks the individual customer cannot be easily identified, making the process of subsequent engagement that much harder. B2B brands must also set clear objectives to drive how data sourced online should be used. Investing in this form of data collection is inefficient if clear KPIs and deliverables are not set from the start.

Social media networks provide an enormous opportunity for businesses to gather data from the internet. Recent developments, such as the policy change on Facebook that allows groups to collect data, demonstrate that this is an area of growing interest for businesses.

Across different social media sites there is huge variation in how data is collected and used. Some websites such as forums and specific business networks like Jigsaw in the USA, already collect valuable data through membership systems and in some cases have advanced systems set up to sell and trade data. However many other networks simply don’t realise the potential of the data assets they have available!

Social media channels have mainly been focused on generating revenue through traditional display advertising and sponsorship opportunities. Few have really explored how to maximise the potential data, and those that have may have held back due to concerns about data privacy, protecting their brand, or simply aren’t aware that the option is open to them.

On the flip side, global social networks considering using their data in this way do need to invest extra time to ensure the work complies with the different legislation governing data collection in their user’s countries. But potential benefits from data selling, may be worth that extra time.

From the work we’ve undertaken with clients so far, we are seeing that data coming through these sources can be much more granular, insightful and active, than traditional sources. Many key influencers and decision makers in the B2B industry won’t show up on traditional sources such as Companies House register, so being able to generate real time, detailed information on these individuals is a very attractive prospect.

There is no doubt websites like LinkedIn are a brilliant resource and tool from a B2B marketing perspective. But they don’t seem to have reached their potential in terms of doing the same for B2B data yet. With ongoing debates raging over monetising social media, this is certainly set to be an expanding area.