Ask the experts

With such information unlikely to reside on your database, you will need to collect it.

Creating an online survey to accomplish this is a quick, low-cost solution. Indeed, they are used frequently to qualify, update and collect data, typically signposted via an emailed link to a website. Once you have the relevant data, you can communicate directly, subject to permission, with respondents.

Additionally, you can run analysis to reveal trends among the audience surveyed, and use segmentation techniques, such as cluster analysis, to identify the existence, quantity and profile of groups such as "token greenies" and "active planet savers". You can also score individuals on their propensity to be interested in green issues.

If you wish to apply such models beyond the surveyed base, you will need "bridging variables". Using these as a proxy for the missing data, you may be able to identify approximate "look-alikes" on the remainder of your database.

Finally, identifying those for whom a certain product or service will be attractive can be accomplished in a number of ways, and an overarching strategy to maintain a dialogue with these people is recommended.

- Our agency has devised three options for our next B2B campaign. I really like one of them but my boss thinks differently. There is also pressure from our European HQ to toe the Euro line. How can I take the guesswork out of which creative to choose? Time is tight and we can't afford extensive test mailings.

Mike Housley replies: This is a common problem - both in B2B and consumer marketing - and it raises this question: who decides which creative executions to use?

In your case, it may simply be down to the gut feeling of your boss. Or maybe your European HQ is trying to impose a creative theme on you, which you feel is entirely inappropriate.

So, what are the alternatives? Testing can be especially difficult in the B2B sector. Budgets are usually smaller and volumes can be seen as too small to test. Profiling techniques are also very different. The good news is that online surveys can do the job. Panellists have opted in to review a range of media, creative and product options, and provide real-time feedback.

The panels are representative of the UK population, and services such as Business MAP have recently launched to meet the specific needs of the B2B sector.

Testing via an online panel is faster, cheaper and provides a more accurate and timely response than other methods. It can provide attitudinal feedback on the merits of each potential communication, and valuable feedback on whether your brand message is on track. Plus, it allows you to profile in greater depth and apply the results to external prospect databases for improved DM segmentation and targeting.

So, before you argue with your boss, I suggest you see what an online panel thinks.

- I am the marketing manager for a major retailer. In response to some complaints from customers that we were sending them multiple mailings, we changed the match key we use, but that has left us with fewer unique customers. Is it better to over- or under-match customer records?

Steve Tuck replies: Both present problems. If you are overmatching, you have "false positives", the result of de-duplicating records for different customers. On the other hand, under-matching creates "false negatives", which leaves you with a fragmented view of your customers and leads to the type of problem you have experienced.

It can be difficult to achieve a happy balance - all matching systems have the potential to create both false negatives and false positives, and this is particularly a problem if you are relying on a match key to find duplicates. A match key is an imprecise and inefficient way of identifying matches because it puts too much reliance on a tiny subset of the information available.

You might like to consider the type of technology used in situations where the highly accurate identification of duplicates is a prerequisite. The tools banks use to screen customers against lists of known criminals are no longer out of the marketer's reach, as costs have come down and systems have become easier to use and maintain.

This type of solution also allows users to tune match rules to their particular needs and their specific data, and you don't have to be a technical genius or a data-matching guru to use it. P

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DATA DOCTORS

John Menhinick, data director at Joshua, has spent 18 years providing data insight and value for clients.

Mike Housley is director at independent agency Cyance, which specialises in B2B digital and data-driven marketing.

Steve Tuck joined Datanomic as chief strategy officer in 2005, and has more than 20 years of IT experience.