6 'out of business' signals to keep your B2B data up to date

2018

February

When a new business opens its doors for the first time, it’s often accompanied by balloons and confetti. However, when a business goes under, there are usually no headlines, no pomp, and no circumstance. Every minute, 4 U.S. businesses close. So how does ICS Corporation capture these in a timely manner?

We have identified 6 out-of-business signals to help us mark suspect addresses.

1. Disconnected Phone Line

About 85% of disconnected phone lines result in a closed business. When encountered during phone verification, a disconnected phone is a primary trigger for a business about to close their doors.

2. Address Changes reported through NCOA

After we remove all records with disconnected phones, the NCOA move is a positive indicator that the business is now closed over 50% of the time.

3. Web Research

Over 3,000 closed website banners are recognized each week. While bad URL pings and low activity have not been great indicators of a closed business, they do combine with other signals to provide insight into the business’s current status.

4. National Provider Identifier Registry

Deactivations within the NPI Registry indicate that healthcare practitioners may have retired or are otherwise no longer practicing.

5. Aging

If the business is no longer found in the data source being compiled, and telephone verification is not able to contact the business, this record will remain in the database for another round of compilation and telephone verification before it is removed.  Typically the timeline for aging off the active file based upon this rule is 24 months.

6. Industry-Specific Audits  

Through our research, information is learned about the business which leads us to believe it may be out of business, from there we mark this record as suspect.

Truly Out Of Business

ICS will not code a business record as ‘out of business’ unless that status is confirmed.  This confirmation most often takes place within conversations during our telephone calls or through websites and social media updates. The scenarios described above will cause a record to become ‘suspect’ until its true status can be determined as open or closed. ICS offers new Out Of Business records through both monthly and weekly deliveries, and offers daily suppression through many of its solutions.

To learn about how to run your files through this suppression list please contact your ICS Account Executive.

Thank you! for connecting with us. We look forward to seeing if we can work together in the future.
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