B2B Data Aggregation for Marketers

📊 The idea from our last edition had me thinking - acquiring vast amounts of valuable data is often viewed as technically challenging or expensive. Providing a service that does this for people can be very profitable, especially if it helps them save time and make more money.

In this edition of Easy Startup Ideas, we’ll discuss creating an agency around data arbitrage - acquiring publicly available data for cheap, cleaning it up, and selling it to businesses for a profit.

Today’s Idea

Create an agency (even if it’s just you at the start) that specializes in scraping and aggregating business data for marketers in specific industries. Start by selling enriched lead lists and business insights, then scale into dashboards and automated data feeds.

Ideal Customer

• Target: B2B marketers, sales teams, and suppliers looking to target specific industries (e.g., car washes, dental offices, real estate agencies).

• Example: A car wash equipment supplier that wants a clean, verified list of all car washes in the U.S. with contact info and key business details (e.g., annual revenue, number of locations).

• Pain Points:

  • Difficulty finding accurate, comprehensive data

  • High cost of buying data from traditional providers (like ZoomInfo)

  • Lack of clean and organized data sets

Why It Will Succeed

1. Specialization = Competitive Moat – Focusing on specific industries allows you to create higher-quality, more tailored datasets than general data providers.

2. High Margins – Once you automate the scraping and refining process, the cost to produce data sets is low while the sale price remains high.

3. Growing Demand for Data – Businesses are becoming more data-driven, but most SMBs and marketers don’t have the tools or skills to gather and clean this data.

4. Easy Expansion Opportunities – Once you’ve established a client base, you can upsell value-added services like automated dashboards and deeper analytics.

Data Scraping Legality and Ethics

1. Legal to Scrape:

   • Publicly Available Data: Scraping publicly available data from business websites, Google Maps, LinkedIn (within terms of service), government databases, and similar sources is generally legal.

   • Public APIs: Data retrieved from public APIs provided by businesses and platforms is typically fair game, provided you comply with the API’s terms of use.

   • Business Contact Information: Aggregating business phone numbers, emails, and addresses listed publicly is usually permitted (though mass marketing or spamming may violate anti-spam laws like the CAN-SPAM Act).

2. Illegal or Frowned Upon:

   • Private or Password-Protected Data: Scraping data from behind login walls (e.g., LinkedIn profiles that require a login) is often a breach of terms of service and potentially illegal.

   • Personal Data: Collecting personally identifiable information (e.g., personal emails, social security numbers, medical records) without consent may violate data privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA.

   • Mass Harvesting of Social Media Profiles: Scraping data from social media platforms (like Facebook or Instagram) is against most platforms' terms of service and could result in legal action.

3. Gray Area:

   • Some platforms (like LinkedIn) allow public profile scraping for research purposes but prohibit commercial use.

   • It's generally acceptable to scrape summary information (e.g., name, business type, and location) but not detailed user-generated content.

Best Practices:

• Focus on business-related (not personal) data.

• Respect "robots.txt" files, which signal a website's scraping policy.

• Include an opt-out mechanism for any businesses that want to be removed from your database.

Getting Started and Building an MVP

To launch a minimum viable product (MVP), you need to gather initial data, refine it, and start offering value to customers. Here’s a step-by-step process:

1. Pick a Niche:

   • Focus on one industry to start (e.g., car washes, dental offices, gyms).

   • Research industry pain points and the type of data that would be most valuable (e.g., business name, location, contact info, revenue).

2. Scrape Initial Data:

   • Use Outscraper or Octoparse to gather business data from Google Maps, LinkedIn, and other public sources.

   • Start small with ~500 businesses to test the quality of the data.

3. Clean and Enrich the Data:

   • Use OpenRefine or to clean and deduplicate the data. You can also do this manually yourself within Google Sheets.

   • [Optional] Use Hunter.io and Apollo.io to fill in missing emails and contact details.

   • [Optional] Use Clearbit to enrich data with company size, revenue, and employee count.

4. Create Sample Reports:

   • Create a clean spreadsheet with key data points (e.g., name, address, email, website, revenue).

   • Format the report for clarity and professional presentation.

   • Save in CSV and Google Sheets format for easy distribution.

5. Build a Simple Website:

   • Use Carrd to quickly create a professional-looking landing page.

   • Include:

     • A clear value proposition ("Get Clean, Verified Lead Lists for Your Industry")

     • A contact form for inquiries

     • Sample reports for download (blur out sensitive details)

     • Testimonials or early customer feedback (if available)

   • This makes the business look professional and allows you to collect inbound leads.

6. Initial Outreach:

   • Start with direct outreach to marketers and suppliers via LinkedIn and email.

   • Offer sample data for free or at a low cost to build trust and gather testimonials.

Monetization Strategies

• One-Time Data Sales:

  • Sell lists of businesses for $500–$5,000 depending on the depth and quality of the data.

• Subscription Model:

  • Monthly subscription for updated data ($100–$500/month).

• Custom Reports:

  • High-value, industry-specific reports for individual clients ($1,000–$10,000).

• API Access:

  • Provide ongoing access to real-time or regularly updated data sets ($500+/month).

Marketing Strategies

• LinkedIn Outreach – Build a strong profile and use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to connect with sales managers and marketing directors. Send targeted messages highlighting how your data increases conversion rates.

• Cold Emailing – Build email lists with Hunter.io and Apollo.io. Focus on pain points and offer clear solutions with a call to action. Use a follow-up drip sequence every 3–5 days.

• Partner with Marketing Agencies – Offer white-label data products to agencies, allowing them to resell as part of their services.

• Content Marketing & SEO – Write case studies showing improved sales performance. Target search terms like "buy verified car wash leads." Offer sample reports to capture leads.

• Targeted PPC (Google + LinkedIn) – Run Google and LinkedIn ads targeting high-intent search terms and job titles. Retarget visitors who engage with your site.

Expanding and Improving

1. Predictive Insights – Develop a lead scoring model to rank leads based on conversion potential.

2. Self-Serve Platform – Create a customer portal with Bubble or Webflow where clients can filter and download data.

3. Automate Data Updates – Use tools like Outscraper to refresh data monthly and promote "up-to-date" as a selling point.

4. API Access – Offer larger clients API integration with CRMs (e.g., Salesforce) for premium rates.

5. New Verticals – Expand to adjacent industries using the same data pipeline (e.g., car washes → auto repair shops).

6. Tiered Pricing – Charge based on data depth, number of leads, and update frequency (e.g., $200 for 500 leads; $500 for monthly updates).

7. CRM Partnerships – Partner with Salesforce and HubSpot to offer your data as a premium add-on.

8. Data Licensing – License your data to research firms and other platforms for recurring revenue.

Brainstormed Business Names

Names for this website/business will likely depend on the specific niche and type of data you choose to focus on, but here are some generic ones:

1. LeadHarvester

2. DataForge

3. Precision Leads

4. ScrapeSmart

5. MarketPulse Data

6. InsightScout

7. BizMine

8. LeadVault

9. DataDrip

10. SmartProspect

Thanks for checking out another edition of Easy Startup Ideas!

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Disclaimer: This writing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The publisher assumes no liability for any legal, financial, or other consequences arising from its use. Readers are responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and terms of service.