Clean, complete data helps sales and marketing teams reach the right people at the right time. However, not all data is equally valuable, and not all vendors can fill every gap.
Traditionally, B2B companies would use waterfall enrichment to get the most complete data possible.
How does waterfall enrichment work, and how does it compare to using multi-source integrated data from Coresignal?
What is waterfall enrichment?
Waterfall enrichment is a chain-like process. It works by using multiple data vendors, one after another, in a set order. Each vendor gets a chance to fill in missing data fields. If one vendor can’t provide the needed information, the next one tries. This process continues until the required fields are filled or all vendors are tried.
The main goal is simple. It’s about maximizing the chances of getting accurate data about the profile in question. Also, this method indirectly allows you to check which provider gives you the most value in the long run.
What makes waterfall enrichment different?
Traditional data enrichment usually relies on data from multiple vendors. If one vendor doesn't have the information, another might. That means you don’t need to manually search for every bit of missing information after your one vendor fails to provide it. If you leverage waterfall enrichment, this solution will automatically check every other vendor that you use just for that one piece of critical information.
Limitations of single-source data enrichment
Relying on waterfall data enrichment method might seem like the most straightforward and best way to go. But in reality, all it hides a few big problems.
Coverage gaps by region and role
Due to the specifics of data collection, some vendors focus mostly on North America, while others have stronger databases in Europe or Asia. It’s the same story with job roles. One vendor might excel at providing executive-level contacts and corporate mid-level managers and specialists, but fall short on more traditional or manual jobs. If you’re trying to target a wide range of buyer personas, you’re bound to hit a wall.
Even if a vendor says they have a lot of profiles, it doesn’t necessarily mean that those millions of people include your niche audience. You could end up chasing leads with missing business emails, wrong job titles, or other critically important data.
Waterfall method: Why single-source vendors miss critical fields
Data constantly changes. People switch jobs, phone numbers change, companies get acquired, and new job roles get created every day. Sometimes, what may look like a complete and accurate profile is quietly outdated, and you won’t know that until your outreach efforts start bouncing.
The cost of incomplete or inaccurate data
It’s no secret that bad data slows everything down. Sales reps waste hours chasing down dead leads, and marketers burn budget on email campaigns that never land. Even worse, if your CRM gets polluted with useless data, your entire pipeline starts to suffer. In short, you’ll most likely spend more time cleaning data than actually using it.
The waterfall enrichment process
Waterfall enrichment is based on a layered logic of getting what you need. Here’s how it works in practice:
Sequential enrichment
Data flows from vendor to vendor in a specific order. Vendor A gets the first try, and if they fail to deliver, Vendor B gets the next chance. This continues on and on until the blanks are filled or until you run out of data providers.
Vendor prioritization
Not all vendors focus on the same areas. Some are better at emails, others are stronger in specific industries or regions. With waterfall method, you pick the order based on what each vendor does best. That way, you get the most value at the optimal cost.
Cost efficiency
You don’t need to pay every vendor with this method. You only pay when they deliver results. In turn, it helps you stretch your budget and avoid waste.
How waterfall enrichment works (step-by-step)
- Identify data requirements. Start by asking yourself what you need. Is it email addresses, job titles, company revenue, or something else? Make a checklist of required fields for your leads or accounts.
- Select appropriate vendors. Pick vendors based on what they’re known for. Some are better at firmographics, others at contact information. Choose a mix that covers your needs best.
- Set up the enrichment workflow. Now it’s time to build the sequence. Decide which vendor goes first, second, third, and so on. Use their strengths to guide the order. Make sure each one gets a chance only when needed.
- Integrate with CRM systems. This step is the most important. Enriched data should flow right into your CRM without any manual copy-pasting. Use tools or APIs to sync the data automatically.
- Monitor and optimize. Don’t do the “set and forget” approach. Watch performance over time. If Vendor C starts doing better than Vendor B, switch their order. Track how much each is contributing and tweak your flow regularly. It will help you save a lot of money.
When to use waterfall enrichment
Waterfall enrichment is a traditional method that helps to improve the quality and completeness of your lead and customer data. It can be useful in specific scenarios, especially when working with partial or stale data. Here are some situations where it might make sense to consider it:
- Enriching outbound lists. If you’ve got a cold list but need contact details, use waterfall to fill in the email, phone number, or LinkedIn profile blanks before you start doing outreach.
- Updating CRM entries. CRMs age fast, but not well. Use waterfall enrichment to refresh old records and keep your team working with fresh and accurate data.
- Pre-campaign lead cleaning. Before a big campaign, make sure to clean up your list. Nothing kills results faster than bad data. Waterfall enrichment will help you avoid bounces, wrong names, or irrelevant leads.
Benefits of waterfall enrichment
Waterfall enrichment can offer a few practical advantages, depending on your use case and data quality goals. While it’s not always the right fit, teams that need to fill gaps in large datasets or improve existing records may find value in this approach.
Below are some of the potential benefits to keep in mind:
- Increased data accuracy. More vendors result in more chances to get the right information. It boosts your match rate and trust in the data.
- Enhanced lead scoring. Accurate and complete fields help score leads better. Your sales team won’t have to waste time on unqualified contacts.
- Better personalization. With more detailed profiles, you will be able to make more tailored emails and messages that perform better than general messages.
- Cost savings. You only pay for successful data fills. Waterfall enrichment eliminates guessing and fixed costs for low-return investments.
Alternative to waterfall enrichment: multi-source integrated data
While waterfall enrichment can be effective, especially for large teams with the resources to manage multiple vendor integrations, it’s not always a straightforward solution. Setting up the infrastructure requires technical expertise, custom logic, and ongoing maintenance to make sure you’re querying providers in the right order and handling match conflicts correctly.
For smaller teams or organizations without dedicated data engineers, this overhead can quickly outweigh the benefits.
An alternative approach is to start with data that’s already been aggregated and enriched across multiple sources.
Coresignal’s multi-source datasets offer just that: ready-to-use, integrated records that combine fields from different providers into a single, unified profile. There’s no need to build a cascading system or reconcile conflicting records. You get high-volume, consistently structured data that’s available on demand.
Instead of managing relationships with several vendors, you can work with just one.
Coresignal’s multi-source company dataset includes over 39 million profiles, while its employee dataset contains more than 773 million records. These datasets are continuously updated and available in formats optimized for analytics and integration.
For teams looking to improve their lead scoring, enrichment, or analytics workflows without taking on extra technical debt, multi-source data can be a more accessible and scalable option.
Why are multi-source data providers like Coresignal changing the game?
Coresignal provides the next generation of data for creating data-driven products and enriching leads:
Future of enrichment: real-time & AI
The data enrichment landscape is shifting. Instead of building complex internal systems to clean, match, and append records from multiple providers, more teams are opting to buy data that’s already enriched and production-ready.
This change reflects a broader trend: companies want to spend less time managing data pipelines and more time using the data to drive results.
As demand grows for high-quality, low-lift enrichment, the future is pointing toward real-time, AI-enhanced datasets. Coresignal is already leading this shift.
By combining structured data collection with LLM-powered enrichment, Coresignal delivers data that’s not only fresh and scalable but also context-rich and more usable out of the box. This shift is especially valuable for businesses that need to move fast, whether it’s for real-time lead enrichment, dynamic audience segmentation, or market analysis at scale.
The result: less time spent cleaning and merging, and more time acting on insights. As AI continues to advance, enriched multi-source datasets are poised to become the default starting point for data-driven teams.
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