• Terms dictate it!
• It’s seen as good thing to do
• Data will tell you more about the account and the marketplace at large to boost your marketing focus and understanding of the category.

Data is easy to buy from most accounts and can deliver real value, but there are a few areas to consider and pertinent questions we’d advise you to ask before signing up to what may be a long-term commitment.   It’s always difficult to reduce expenditure with an account once money has been committed!

1. Do check what information will actually be available, as different accounts offer varying levels of detail
2. There tends to be a recognised wholesale rate for data but in reality, this should be negotiated based on the extent of the data released.
3. Some wholesalers do not release competitor information, some do not show individual depot profiles and so on, so dig deep as to what you will be receiving to make sure if gives you comprehensive outputs that adds value to your existing knowledge.
4. With GDPR now in force, it is very unlikely that you will be given access to customer details – in the end it is these details that are the main asset of the wholesaler.
5. There can be different packages available and the natural reaction is for the wholesaler to try to sell the top one and the supplier to try and get the lowest one – both can end up as poor value and not necessarily delivering what you want. The vital question is what do you intend to do with the data and what resource do you have to use it?  In this context check how the data is delivered and ask for a sample/demo; if it is not in a standard, easy to use reporting format it will be more time consuming to analyse.   If it is simply a matter of keeping the account sweet and maybe looking at some category data, then that is fine but in this case always go for the cheapest package.  If you intend to do rather more with it, then you will need to ensure that the data that you buy is sufficiently granular to allow you to analyse it and devise a series of actions that will make a difference to your business with that account
6. Bear in mind that if you intend to use the data to make category recommendations you will need to see the whole category.
7. And, if you intend to use the data to develop your business in the account in a more focused way you will need to see distribution, weight of sales, rate of sale, regionality and competitive set