Is Automatic or Manual Data Enrichment Right for Your Business?

Data enrichment is like the magic wand your CRM has been waiting for. It fills in the gaps—things like job titles, company size, and social links. With tools like Breeze Intelligence, data enrichment transforms your contact records into something way more powerful.

Now, the big question is: do you go automatic or manual? Automatic enrichment promises to save you time, but manual gives you control. It’s not a one-size-fits-all, though. Your business might thrive on one, while others prefer the flexibility of both.

Think of it like cooking—sometimes you want a quick meal, and sometimes you want full control over every ingredient. Same with data enrichment. The choice you make will depend on your goals, budget, and how hands-on you like to be.

What is Data Enrichment?

Data enrichment is more than just a buzzword. It’s the process of enhancing your CRM by adding vital missing details. With Breeze Intelligence, you’re able to enrich contact and company records with precision, giving your sales and marketing teams the insights they need to close deals faster.

Contact Enrichment

Contact enrichment fills in critical details about your leads. Breeze Intelligence can instantly add key information like job title, employer, and location. This saves your team from manual data entry, allowing them to focus on building stronger relationships instead​(Breeze Intelligence - D…).

For example, imagine you’re nurturing a lead but only have their email. With contact enrichment, you could learn they’re a decision-maker at a fast-growing company. Now, you can personalize your messaging and increase your chances of converting that lead​(Breeze Intelligence).

Company Enrichment

Company enrichment takes things a step further by adding essential firmographic data. This includes industry, company size, annual revenue, and even social media profiles. With these details, your team can prioritize high-value accounts and customize outreach.

Say your lead works for a company with 500 employees in the healthcare sector. Company enrichment instantly lets your team know if they align with your ideal customer profile, helping streamline your efforts and focus on top opportunities​.

Understanding Automatic Data Enrichment

Automatic data enrichment simplifies the process by removing manual work. Once a new contact or company enters your CRM, the enrichment happens instantly. This means your team always has up-to-date, detailed information at their fingertips.

How Automatic Enrichment Works

Automatic enrichment pulls from a vast data pool as soon as records are added. Breeze Intelligence taps into over 200 million profiles to ensure the data is fresh​. Your CRM is always up to date, with no extra effort from your team.

For example, as soon as a lead enters your system, their role, company, and location are enriched instantly. This data syncs seamlessly, helping your team focus on outreach instead of data collection​.

Advantages of Automatic Enrichment

One of the biggest advantages of automatic enrichment is time-saving. Your team doesn’t need to manually research every new contact or company, which frees them to focus on higher-value tasks​. It also ensures accuracy, as it continuously pulls from updated sources.

Additionally, automatic enrichment scales easily. If your company is dealing with hundreds of new leads weekly, automatic enrichment keeps things manageable and efficient​.

Understanding Manual Data Enrichment

Manual data enrichment offers more control, allowing you to enrich only the records you select. While it takes more effort, it lets you be strategic about where your data enrichment credits are spent. For many businesses, especially those on tighter budgets, this option provides the flexibility needed.

How Manual Enrichment Works

Manual enrichment puts you in the driver’s seat. Instead of automatically enriching every new contact or company, you choose when and where to enrich. This level of control helps manage costs, as you avoid using credits on every new entry​.

For example, if you have a list of highly targeted accounts, you can focus enrichment on those, leaving out less critical leads. This targeted approach ensures your team gets the most out of each credit without unnecessary spending​.

Advantages of Manual Enrichment

Manual enrichment’s biggest advantage is cost efficiency. You get to decide which leads or accounts are worth investing in. This is particularly useful when you have a smaller number of high-value leads and need to maximize every credit.

It also allows more control over data quality. By choosing which records to enrich, you ensure that only relevant, high-priority records are updated. This means no wasted credits on low-priority or unqualified leads​.

The Key Differences Between Automatic and Manual Enrichment

When comparing automatic and manual data enrichment, the main differences come down to cost, timing, and control. Both options have their advantages, but the best choice depends on your business needs and goals. It’s about finding the balance between efficiency and strategic resource allocation.

Cost Structure

Automatic enrichment can rack up costs quickly if you have a high volume of contacts entering your CRM. Since every new record is automatically enriched, you can burn through your credits faster than you realize​. On the flip side, manual enrichment allows you to be more selective, so you’re only using credits where it matters most​.

Imagine having hundreds of low-priority leads that get enriched automatically—those are credits you might have preferred to save. With manual enrichment, you’re in control and can allocate your budget more effectively.

Christopher Nault, CEO and founder of Growths, recently provided an in-depth look at Breeze's pricing on LinkedIn.

Timing and Data Freshness

Automatic enrichment happens instantly—every time a new record enters your CRM, it gets enriched without any additional action​. This is perfect if you need up-to-date data at all times and want your sales team to have the freshest information at their fingertips. It’s set-it-and-forget-it simplicity.

Manual enrichment, on the other hand, requires a more hands-on approach. You’ll need to decide when and which records to enrich, meaning data may not always be as fresh or immediate. However, this gives you the chance to prioritize key accounts and refresh data only when it’s truly needed​.

Control and Customization

Automatic enrichment is efficient but offers less flexibility. It’s a great fit for companies dealing with a large volume of inbound leads and no time to manually enrich each record. But if you value control, manual enrichment allows for more customization. You can choose which records to enrich based on your own criteria—maybe focusing only on MQLs, or accounts that have shown buyer intent​.

For businesses where every credit counts, the ability to pick and choose is invaluable. You’re not wasting credits on unqualified leads or older records that don’t need updating.

Which One is Right for Your Business?

Choosing between automatic and manual data enrichment isn’t just about picking what’s easiest—it’s about aligning your enrichment strategy with your business goals. The decision depends on factors like lead volume, budget, and the importance of up-to-date data. So let’s break it down.

When to Choose Automatic Enrichment

If your business sees a steady flow of inbound leads, automatic enrichment is probably your best friend. This option is designed for high-volume operations where time is of the essence. The last thing you want is your team manually enriching hundreds of contacts a day​.

Automatic enrichment ensures your CRM is always up-to-date, without extra effort from your team. It’s perfect for businesses that prioritize speed and data accuracy at scale. Think of companies in fast-moving industries, where even a day-old record could mean missing out on an opportunity​.

When to Choose Manual Enrichment

Manual enrichment is ideal for businesses with a smaller, more focused list of leads. If you’re running a more targeted campaign, like account-based marketing (ABM), manual enrichment lets you prioritize high-value contacts​. It’s all about precision here—you’re spending credits only where it matters most.

This is a good fit for companies that work with a limited budget and need to stretch every dollar. You’re not enriching every single record, just the ones you’ve identified as high-priority, which maximizes the impact of your data​.

The Hybrid Approach: Leveraging Both for Maximum Impact

Sometimes, the best solution isn’t an either-or scenario—it’s a blend of both automatic and manual enrichment. By combining these two strategies, businesses can achieve a balance of efficiency and control. This hybrid approach offers the flexibility to maximize the impact of your credits while keeping your data fresh.

How the Hybrid Approach Works

In this approach, you use automatic enrichment to handle the bulk of your incoming contacts. This ensures that your CRM stays updated in real-time, without your team needing to intervene every step of the way. Meanwhile, you reserve manual enrichment for high-priority records—those key accounts that need a more tailored approach​.

For example, let’s say your business sees a steady flow of mid-tier leads but also targets specific, high-value accounts through ABM. Automatic enrichment keeps your general database clean and current, while manual enrichment ensures you’re focusing resources on the right accounts​.

Best Practices for a Hybrid Strategy

The trick to making this work is setting clear rules around when to use each method. Automatic enrichment can be set up to handle all new inbound leads, while manual enrichment focuses on high-fit accounts, as identified by tools like Buyer Intent or internal scoring models​.

This hybrid strategy helps you avoid blowing through your credits on lower-priority contacts while ensuring your key accounts always have the freshest, most relevant data. It’s about being strategic, efficient, and flexible—all at the same time.

data enrichment is key to staying competitive

Whether you opt for automatic enrichment to keep pace with a constant stream of leads or manual enrichment for more targeted, cost-effective efforts, the goal remains the same—making sure your CRM is loaded with the right information to fuel your sales and marketing teams.

But here’s the thing: you don’t have to choose just one path. The hybrid approach lets you take advantage of both, allowing you to manage your resources wisely while keeping your most important data fresh and actionable. It’s about working smarter, not harder, and finding the balance that best supports your strategy.

So whether you’re just starting to explore enrichment options or you’re fine-tuning an existing process, there’s always more to learn. Dive deeper into our blog for more tips, strategies, and insights to help you get the most out of your data—and, ultimately, your business.