Data
Every type of contact data, explained plainly.
Contact data isn't one product. It's four distinct kinds of work — each with its own fields, its own sources, its own shelf life and its own rules. Here's how they differ, and how to choose the one your project actually needs.
Overview
The four data types we work with
Most data requests fall into one of four buckets. Two of them are about acquiring new records — people or businesses you don't yet have in your systems. The other two are about improving records you already own — filling gaps and keeping what you have accurate and usable. Knowing which bucket you're in is the single most useful thing you can bring to a scoping conversation.
B2B contact data
Consumer contact data
Enrichment & append
Data hygiene
Side by side
Data types compared
The table below summarizes each data type at a glance: what it is, the fields you'll typically see, how teams use it, and the rules that matter most. It's a starting point, not a complete legal analysis — the compliance overview goes deeper.
| Data type | What it is | Typical fields | Common uses | Key rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B2B contact data | People in their professional role, organized around the companies they work for. | Name, job title, seniority, department, company, business email, direct dial or mobile, professional profile URL; firmographics like industry, employee range, revenue range and location. | Outbound prospecting, account-based marketing, territory planning, CRM enrichment, market sizing. | CAN-SPAM for commercial email; TCPA and Do Not Call rules still matter for mobile numbers; state privacy laws can apply to business contacts; respect opt-outs. |
| Consumer contact data | Individuals and households at their residence, with demographic and interest attributes. | Name, postal address, personal email, landline or mobile phone, age range, household composition, homeowner or renter, lifestyle and interest selects. | Direct mail, opt-in email programs, audience matching on ad platforms, market research, customer analytics. | Prior express consent for many calls and texts (TCPA); National and state Do Not Call; opt-in for email; state privacy laws on sale/share and opt-outs. |
| Enrichment & append | Adding missing fields to records you already own by matching them against a reference file. | Appended email, phone or postal address; firmographics; demographics; reverse append from an email or phone to a name and address. | Completing CRM records, reactivating lapsed customers, improving segmentation, lead scoring and routing. | The appended field inherits the channel rules of its type — an appended mobile number still needs the right consent before you call or text. |
| Data hygiene | Cleaning and standardizing records so they're deliverable, deduplicated and lawful to contact. | Standardized and move-updated postal addresses, email validation status, phone line type, DNC flags, duplicate and merge indicators. | Pre-mail and pre-send list prep, CRM cleanup, reducing bounces and returned mail, honoring suppression lists. | DNC scrubbing before telemarketing; keep internal suppression and opt-out lists current; document what you checked and when. |
Notice the pattern in the last column: the rules attach to the channel and the person, not to where the record came from. An email address is governed by email rules whether you bought it, appended it or collected it yourself. That's why we ask how you plan to use the data before we talk about anything else.
Fundamentals
The anatomy of a contact record
Whatever the data type, a well-built record has the same basic layers. Understanding them makes it much easier to read a data card, compare samples and specify what you want.
1. Identity
Who or what the record describes: a person's name, a business's legal or trade name, or both. Identity fields are what make a record matchable against your own files, so their formatting — consistent capitalization, separated first and last names, standardized suffixes — matters more than most buyers expect.
2. Contact points
The ways to reach that person or business: postal address, email, phone. Each contact point has its own validation process, its own decay pattern and its own legal rules. A record can be excellent on one contact point and stale on another, which is why good files carry status or verification flags per field rather than a single score for the whole record.
3. Attributes
The descriptive layer you segment on. For businesses, that's firmographics (industry, size, revenue range, location) and sometimes technographics. For consumers, it's demographics (age range, household, homeownership) and lifestyle or interest selects. Attributes are often modeled or inferred rather than directly observed — a reputable file tells you which is which.
4. Metadata
The information about the record: when it was last verified, how it was sourced, what consent or notice applies, and any suppression flags. Metadata is the least glamorous layer and the most important for compliance. If a sample arrives without it, ask for it.
Decision guide
How to choose the right data for your project
The fastest way to a useful scope is to answer five questions before you ask for counts. You don't need perfect answers — "we're not sure yet" is a fine starting point — but each one narrows the options considerably.
- 01
Who are you trying to reach?
Businesses and the people who work there, or consumers and households? If it's businesses, describe your ideal customer profile: industries, company sizes, regions, and the titles or departments that buy. If it's consumers, describe the household: life stage, location, homeownership, interests. - 02
Which channel will you use?
Postal mail, email, phone, text, digital advertising, or no outreach at all (analytics and research). The channel determines which contact points you need and which consent rules apply — and it's the biggest single driver of what's appropriate to license. - 03
Do you already have records?
If you have a CRM, customer file or lead list, start there. Hygiene and enrichment on what you own is usually cheaper, faster and better-permissioned than new acquisition. New lists fill the coverage gaps that enrichment can't. - 04
How will you segment and measure?
List the fields you'll actually filter, score or report on. That's your field set. Anything beyond it adds cost and privacy exposure without adding value. - 05
What's your permissible purpose and consent position?
Be ready to state what the data is for and what consent you hold or will obtain for the channel. We ask every buyer this, and the answer shapes which records and fields we'll recommend.
Evaluating data
What “quality” actually means
Every data seller says their data is accurate. The useful question is accurate how, and as of when? Quality has several dimensions, and they trade off against each other. A file can be very fresh but thin on coverage, or broad in coverage but carry older contact points. Knowing which dimensions matter for your use lets you evaluate samples with a clear head.
- Accuracy — does the field describe the person or business correctly right now? Ask how each contact point is verified and how often.
- Recency — when was each record last confirmed? Contact data decays continuously; a last-verified date per record or per field is a strong sign of a well-maintained file.
- Coverage — what share of your target market does the file reach, and are there blind spots by region, industry or company size? Coverage should be judged against your criteria, not the file's overall size.
- Completeness — how many of the fields you need are populated? A record with a name and no usable contact point isn't much help for outreach.
- Provenance — how was the data collected, under what notice, and with what consent? This is the dimension that keeps your program lawful, and it's the one most often skipped.
- Consistency — are fields formatted and coded the same way across records, so you can segment and match reliably?
The best way to evaluate any of this is a sample against your own criteria, reviewed alongside a data card that explains fields, sourcing and refresh cadence. We provide both before any delivery.
Boundaries
What we don't offer
Some data is valuable precisely because it's intimate — and that's exactly why we stay away from it. We don't offer the following, and we won't scope projects built around them:
- Health or medical information, including inferred health conditions
- Precise geolocation data or location trails
- Data about children, or records targeting minors
- Financial account data such as account or card numbers
- Records collected without notice to the people they describe, or without the consent the intended use requires
We also won't help any buyer work around Do Not Call, consent or privacy obligations. If a project depends on that, it isn't a project we'll take on.
Keep reading
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about choosing between data types.
What's the difference between B2B and consumer contact data?
B2B data describes people in their professional role — their title, employer and work contact points — and is organized around companies. Consumer data describes individuals and households at home: residential address, personal email and phone, and household-level demographics. The two are compiled differently, decay differently and are governed by different rules, so we always scope them separately.
Do I need to buy a new list, or can I improve the data I already have?
Often the best first step is enrichment or hygiene on the records you already own. If you have customers or leads with missing fields, outdated addresses or undeliverable emails, appending and cleaning those records usually beats starting over. New lists make sense when you're entering a new market, segment or territory where you have little or no coverage.
Can I mix data types in one project?
Yes. A common pattern is to license a B2B prospect file, run it through hygiene, and then enrich your existing CRM with the same firmographic fields so everything segments consistently. We scope each component on its own terms — fields, sourcing, permitted channels — and then deliver them in a consistent format.
How do you decide which fields to include?
We start with what you plan to do with the data. Fields cost effort to compile and maintain, and extra fields you won't use add complexity and privacy exposure without adding value. Tell us the channel, the audience and how you'll segment, and we'll recommend the smallest field set that does the job.
Is any of this data 'sensitive' under privacy law?
We deliberately don't offer the categories that privacy laws treat as sensitive — health information, precise geolocation, children's data and financial account data among them. The data types on this site are contact, demographic, firmographic and interest data, which still carry rules about notice, consent and permitted channels.
Who is responsible for using the data legally?
The buyer is responsible for lawful use of any data they license — including how they contact people, which consent they hold and which laws apply to their campaigns. We expect every buyer to state a permissible purpose, and we'll flag channel and consent considerations during scoping. Our compliance overview explains the main rules in plain English.
Not sure which data type you need?
Describe who you want to reach and how. We'll recommend the right mix of new data, enrichment and hygiene — and tell you honestly if you need less than you think.