Enrichment goes wrong in a predictable way: a vendor writes into every field, overwrites human-verified values, and six months later nobody trusts the CRM. The fix is governance, not a better vendor.
Pick one match key
Match on registration number where you have it, domain as a fallback, and name plus postcode only as a last resort with a confidence threshold. Store the match key and the confidence on the record.
Never let an enrichment job create accounts silently. Route low-confidence matches to a review queue instead.
Declare field ownership
For every field, decide who owns it: the register, the enrichment vendor, the rep, or the customer. Register-owned fields (legal name, status, registered address, sector code) can be overwritten on refresh. Human-owned fields (relationship notes, preferred contact) never are.
Write this into the CRM as a field map, not into a document nobody reads. Then enforce it in the integration.
Set a refresh cadence per field
Status and registered address: monthly. Directors and sector codes: quarterly. Size bands and filings: on publication. Contacts: continuously, because people move.
Log every write with source and timestamp. When a rep asks 'where did this come from?', an answer within two clicks is what keeps enrichment trusted.
Frequently asked questions
Should enrichment create new CRM records?
Only above a high confidence threshold, and always with the source logged. Low-confidence matches belong in a review queue.
How do I measure enrichment quality?
Track match rate, field fill rate, bounce rate on enriched contacts, and how often reps manually correct an enriched field.
