Picking a third party data provider from players at the enterprise level is like choosing between Coke, Pepsi or Dr. Pepper. They all offer a thirst quenching feeling and whatever you choose, your needs will most likely be met with the guidance of the 80-20 rule. With Avention, they work with you to ensure that you're not just purchasing products but solutions. They want to impact your company where it matters. I saw this shift when they re-branded from OneSource and became Avention. Here's what I like about them:
1) Browser tool - The business browser is very intuitive and empowering especially for Marketing and Sales business cases. It is instinctive to use and jam-packed with information. A user can perform research on company, contact, and Industry levels and also create reports with ease. They have included analysis summaries like SWOT, Industry analysis and other reports from various partners. The depth of data within enterprise companies is just staggering.
2) Agility - Avention takes customer success very seriously. This ranges from simple data questions to strategic data management solutions. My Avention Account team are both eager and solutionary in their apporach. The customer success team replying on the feedback button is no different. Within hours, they would have responded to your inquiry or data change request.
3) One stop shopping - Avention could easily be a single source of third party data and solutions. With Avention on board, I don't see them as vendors but partners and consultants to guide us with our data needs.
4) Technology and integration - Just ask about their "Mash-up" for your CRM.
5) Transparency - They know their strengths and do not shy away from their weaknesses as a company. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Like most data providers, Avention isn't a silver bullet solution to your data needs. Some opportunities Avention should take into heart are the following:
1) Contact population - Their company data far outweighs their contact prowess. There's a lot of contact data available out there. They need to catch up on the contact side. I believe the Doublle-OptIn laws are providing a hindrance at this progress but there needs to be action to enable data consumption that works with current policies.
2) Government details (US and International) - This can use improving and enrichment Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Video Reviews
Great program for finding quick references
Most complete database of worldwide company information available
Accurate useful tool
707 D&B Hoovers Reviews
With the correct module, we can view and correct our data. We can find charges against us and reject them. However, we can not know where the data comes from. I am not aware of any other competitor that can give us this level of information. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The least helpful thing is that no affordable module gives you access to the information or useful definitions. So when I was on the basic module that costs money, I was given the option of other paid modules. I had to take one of those, then call someone to turn the auto-renewal off. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I may use D&B differently than other people. I use the search by SIC code functionality to find niche businesses that we could supply to within specific geographic regions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I wish that there was a different payment plan. D&B is geared towards sales people who need specific contacts from a company. However as aforementioned, I use D&B for prospecting, and my list will often contain 3000 - 5000 results. I wish that I could download all those emails without using up all my credits, or that there was a different price model geared towards marketers rather than sales people. Also, it would be great if the information was more up to date and verified, because often the email addresses are outdated or wrong. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
D&B Hoovers is able to help immensely when doing a prospecting research regarding an industry or a company. You can set it up to give you updates on industries or companies you're following via it's triggers. D&B Hoovers also has the most up to date contact information for employees working at a company. I use it a couple of times a month. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy to use. There is no implementation period as you'll be searching through the database of D&B Hoovers. The lists and reports exported from D&B are easy to integrate to your presentations and research. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The research functionality can get complicated. There are many perimeters that can confuse first time starters. It's always a good idea to get help and some training from D&B Hoovers employees. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Generating target sales leads and downloading lists to excel. We also like how D&B Hoovers provides contacts including emails. The SIC and NAICS codes are helpful for researching leads as well along with revenue. We like how D&B Hoovers has a large repository of company profiles at hand. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Not all email addresses are provided nor accurate. Sometimes contacts are not accurate either. Some profile have limited marketability as well making it hard to find those profiles. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
What I like best about D&B Hoovers is the excellent connection to Salesforce. This makes it a breeze to access all the information I need from a single source. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
What I dislike about D&B Hoovers is that the financials for many companies seem to be incorrect. I double check them against publicly available information and a couple of databases I can access, so I can still usually get that information. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
D&B Hoovers is an essential tool for our company to maintain accurate records and keep our data integrity. The various search functions, including the ability to search via map with pin drops, is very helpful when trying to find accounts for a specific region or trying to verify a specific location. The automation we have built in using D&B Hoovers has helped reduce the amount of time our team spends cleaning up data records. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Sometimes, the search functionality feels like it could be improved. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I can quickly drill down into a company's personnel listings and find the people in the departments I need to communicate with. This allows me to skip the front desk receptionists who would otherwise try to screen my call. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There was a bit of a learning curve in the beginning, but once I learned how to search (aided by a free teleconference with a D&B professional) I was able to fully utilize the database. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The precision and completeness of D&B Hoovers' corporate information are something I value the most. It was of huge help in finding the most suitable target market in terms of geography, size, and industry. My marketing preparation was much better and more effective due to the advanced filters and decision-maker contacts. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The pricing can be a bit high for solo marketers and it would be great if the platform offered more real-time updates—some company details felt a bit outdated. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The vast amount of data that is included in the package to help get you the information you need. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The price is be high for a small business to have to pay out. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The most helpful part of using D&B Hoovers is the quick access to verified company data, and a key upside is that it makes account creation faster. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The least helpful is when an account cannot be found; the downside of there being a delay in account creation which will require additional time and effort to find alternative ways to get the account created. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Top Rated D&B Hoovers Alternatives
