And Why You Should Always Start with the First One
Most people think data enrichment is where the magic happens.
You take a contact, press a button, and – bam! You get an email, phone number, title, maybe even a LinkedIn link.
But here’s the catch:
If your data wasn’t validated first, that enrichment might be completely wrong.
Let’s explain the difference.
Step 1: Data Validation = “Is This Info Still True?”
Validation is all about checking what you already have.
It answers questions like:
- Is this person still at this company? (MAIN QUESTION)
- Is this email still working?
- Is this phone number real?
- Is this contact a duplicate in your CRM?
It’s like cleaning your kitchen before cooking.
You wouldn’t make a gourmet meal in a sink full of dirty dishes, right?
Validation comes first.
It removes bad records, fixes errors, and flags outdated info.
So when it’s time to enrich, you’re building on solid ground.
Step 2: Data Enrichment = “What’s Missing That We Can Add?”
Enrichment happens after validation.
Now that we know what’s correct, let’s add in the missing pieces:
- Work email
- Direct dial
- Job title
- Department
- LinkedIn profile
- Company info (size, location, revenue)
This step fills in the blanks, but only works well if your original data was clean and verified first.
Imagine trying to decorate a broken cake.
It might look nice… but underneath, it’s falling apart.
That’s what enrichment without validation feels like.
Common Mistake: Skipping Validation
Some companies jump straight to enrichment tools without fixing their base data.
This leads to:
- Wrong matches
- Broken emails
- Wasted credits
- Frustrated sales reps who don’t trust their CRM
At eCore, we’ve seen it happen too many times, and we’ve built our process to avoid that. We check every contact and company to make sure it’s real, current, and accurate. Only then do we start enrichment, using real-time lookups, automation, and optional human review.
That’s why we see 2-3x higher match rates than most providers.
Because we don’t try to add data to broken records.
In conclusion:
Validation is like fact-checking.
Enrichment is like filling in the details.
They work best in that order.
If your data isn’t clean, no enrichment tool can save it.
But if your foundation is solid, that’s when enrichment really shines.