Global Software Company Gains a Reliable Data Foundation to Support Growth

Dun & Bradstreet works with a global software provider that helps its customers streamline reporting and compliance within functions such as financial planning, accounting, risk, and audit. The client’s platform enables users to integrate data, documentation, and workflows from multiple systems to improve transparency and efficiency.

The client’s marketing analytics team is responsible for building and maintaining the data foundation that powers a broad range of marketing activities, from campaign targeting to pipeline analysis. After running out of patience with outdated, manual data processes that were slowing down its go-to-market efforts, the team turned to Dun & Bradstreet for help. They needed to modernize the way they handled account data and build a more scalable, reliable, and real-time data management approach.

Challenges: Manual Account Enrichment and Multiple Data Sources

Before partnering with D&B, the client’s account enrichment process was manual, sporadic, and time-consuming. It was typically performed once a year with large data loads and could take weeks to complete.

This often led to outdated or incomplete firmographic data in the client’s CRM system, which hampered efficient segmentation and identification of new target accounts. Consequences included missed opportunities in whitespace and territory planning.

The team also struggled with managing account hierarchies and integrating data from multiple niche providers, which increased operational overhead and created unnecessary, costly duplication of effort.

“We knew there was a great deal of frustration across the business, both from the teams with operational responsibility for updating data and from the end users of that data,” said the client’s global director of marketing analytics. “We knew that a lot of time was being wasted doing things that should just happen in the background.

“We had stakeholders who were missing key details like revenue numbers or why a company went from private to public. We couldn’t get a clear view of our TAM (total addressable market) or SAM (serviceable addressable market). It was taking us six months to catch up on this information, and dollars were being left on the table. We finally conceded that it was time to make some meaningful changes.”

A Suite of D&B Solutions to Overhaul Data Operations

The client selected two of D&B’s flagship solutions to help transform its data operations:

• D&B Hoovers was chosen to improve speed and accuracy when identifying and targeting net-new accounts. In the words of the marketing analytics director, Hoovers provides “an educated view of the market,” helping users clarify TAM and SAM with greater confidence. It also serves as a robust source of firmographic data to help define market segments and prioritize outreach based on the right business attributes.
• D&B Connect for Salesforce was implemented to help the client maximize the value of its CRM by bringing insights from D&B’s trusted data directly into the platform. Connect for Salesforce was designated as the automation solution for eliminating manual enrichment processes and refreshing the client’s account data on an ongoing basis. By automating enrichment and using D-U-N-S® Numbers as unique identifiers to manage hierarchies, the client aimed to provide its go-to-market teams with greater assurance that they were working with the most up-to-date information.

The client was impressed by the tools’ user-friendly interfaces and the ease of integration with Salesforce and other key systems. But the strength of D&B’s reputation as a global data leader was equally significant in helping the client decide which path to take. 

“We learned that many of our business partners also use and trust D&B,” said the marketing analytics director, “and that gave us confidence in the reliability and ecosystem compatibility of the solutions we ultimately opted for.”

Smooth Implementation with Strong Support and Collaboration

Implementing these tools was a straightforward process. “Our relationship with D&B stands out because of the strong level of support and partnership we’ve received,” said the marketing analytics director.

“The D&B team has been responsive and collaborative. They’ve worked closely with us to understand our needs and help optimize our use of their tools. They’ve been instrumental in helping us navigate our challenges and continuously improve our data workflows.”

The marketing analytics team was used to getting feedback from internal stakeholders when they encountered a data-related problem. After the transition to D&B’s tools and data, that feedback stopped coming — and in this case, the team is confidently interpreting that silence as success.

Results: Better Efficiency, Alignment, and Expansion Capabilities

Post-implementation, the client has noted significant improvements to its operations in several areas:

1. Time Savings. Previously, the client’s data enrichment process was a labor-intensive effort that required two to four team members working for over a month. The manual extraction, review, and upload of data — often limited to 3,000 rows at a time — was not only frustratingly inefficient but also prone to delays and errors. With Connect for Salesforce now refreshing data frequently and automatically, the team has eliminated this burden entirely. This automation has freed up valuable time and resources; as the marketing analytics director said, “We can focus now on using our data instead of fixing it.”
2. Operational Efficiency. The shift from manual updates to automated enrichment has dramatically reduced operational overhead. Previously, the marketing analytics team had to respond to frequent ad hoc requests from dissatisfied stakeholders to fix outdated or inaccurate data. Now, with consistent refresh cycles and reliable data flows, those “squeaky wheel” complaints have virtually disappeared. The process runs quietly and uneventfully in the background, enabling smoother workflows and reducing the need for reactive data fixes.
3. Improved Segmentation. D&B’s firmographic data and hierarchy insights have empowered the client to build more precise and actionable market segments. Using D&B Hoovers, the team can filter accounts by ownership type, revenue thresholds, and geographic footprint, enabling targeted outreach and territory planning. This granularity is especially valuable for multi-entity organizations, where understanding the full corporate structure is critical. The result is smarter segmentation that supports both strategic planning and day-to-day sales execution.
4. Sales and Marketing Alignment. D&B data serves as the foundation for the client’s go-to-market segmentation strategy. With shared data powering both sales and marketing efforts, the teams are now aligned on which segments and sub-segments to prioritize. This alignment is crucial for account-based experience (ABX) programs, where coordinated targeting, personalization, and messaging drive better engagement. The unified view of target accounts ensures that both teams are working toward the same goals, improving collaboration and campaign effectiveness.
5. Global Expansion. D&B’s solutions and data are helping the client expand its footprint beyond North America into EMEA, APAC, and LATAM markets. By identifying subsidiaries and operational hubs across regions, the team can tailor its outreach to meet local regulatory requirements and business needs. This global visibility has enabled the client to pursue new opportunities more confidently, ensuring that its solutions reach the right entities in the right markets.

One other bonus benefit of leveraging D&B is that it’s made it easier for the client to pursue joint targeting and account planning initiatives with its business partners — especially the Big Four accounting firms. “In terms of how we’re going to target and approach accounts, it’s become very quick and seamless for us to join data universes together and analyze their relationships, our relationships, and get concrete, actionable information,” said the marketing analytics director.

Data Governance and AI Capabilities

Looking ahead, the marketing analytics director considers D&B’s solutions to be important in the context of the client’s long-term data strategy. He notes that the company and its processes are maturing, and some of its newer hires from larger SaaS organizations are bringing best data practices with them. In fact, the IT organization just hired a data governance leader, and the marketing analytics team was able to show that person the capabilities they had gained with D&B’s help.

With data governance rising in importance, the marketing analytics team has been engaged in conversations about reducing tech spend, decreasing the number of data systems, and having a single source of data truth. D&B has been highlighted in those conversations and may also help when the client is ready to leverage AI for deeper enrichment and data integrity.

From Manual to Modern: Removing Obstacles to Growth

D&B helped this client move from manual, outdated processes to a modern, automated data ecosystem. With cleaner data, stronger segmentation, and unified go-to-market strategies, the client was able to expand its footprint; it now does just as much business globally as it does in its North American base.

Prior to adopting D&B’s solutions, the company had providers who, while offering strong data quality, lacked the integration capabilities the client needed to scale efficiently. Manual exports, fragmented systems, and niche providers created operational bottlenecks and tech debt, making data management a burdensome and error-prone process.

D&B stood out not only for its robust data but also for its seamless integration with Salesforce and other core systems. By consolidating multiple data sources into a single, trusted provider, the client was able to streamline workflows, reduce overhead, and virtually eliminate the need for manual intervention. Ultimately, D&B didn’t just replace previous vendors — it elevated the client’s entire data strategy and equipped it to pursue growth, achieve better efficiency, and make data-driven decisions more confidently.