If you’ve ever stared at a CRM full of half-finished contact records and thought, “Is this really the best we can do?” — this guide’s for you. Accurate contact and company data make everything run smoother, from sales to support. But manual data entry? It’s a time-sucking nightmare. That’s where automatic enrichment tools come in.
Here’s how to set up real, automatic contact enrichment for your CRM using CompanyEnrich—plus some honest advice on what to expect, what to avoid, and how to keep it simple.
Why bother with automatic data enrichment?
Let’s get this out of the way: CRMs are only as good as the data inside them. If you’re tired of chasing leads whose company info was last checked during the Obama administration, enrichment tools can help.
Benefits you’ll actually notice: - Less manual entry (nobody wants to fill out fields all day) - Fewer embarrassing mistakes (like emailing someone with the wrong job title) - Better segmentation and targeting (because now you actually know who’s in your database)
But don’t expect magic. No tool gets it perfect. You’re trading 85% less grunt work for a few occasional errors — worth it for most teams.
How automatic enrichment works (in plain English)
In short: these tools take what you already have (usually email or domain), look it up against big datasets, and fill in missing info like company size, industry, or LinkedIn profiles. CompanyEnrich specializes in this for B2B contacts.
Here are the basics: - You provide: A list of contacts (at minimum, an email or company domain) - The tool does: Matches that data to its sources, finds what’s missing, and updates your CRM - You get: More complete contact records, almost no manual effort
Simple in theory. In practice, there’s a bit of setup. Let’s walk through it.
Step 1: Pick the right CRM and check your data
Not all CRMs play nice with enrichment tools. CompanyEnrich supports most of the popular ones — HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, and a few others. Before you dive in:
- Make a backup of your CRM data. Seriously. Enrichment is usually safe, but it’s your data — don’t trust anything blindly.
- Audit your contacts: If you’ve got 20,000 records and half are spam or 10 years old, you’ll waste credits enriching junk. Clean up first. (Delete, archive, or at least tag the ones you don’t care about.)
Pro tip: Start small. Run enrichment on a sample set first. You’ll spot weird edge cases before they mess up your whole CRM.
Step 2: Sign up and connect CompanyEnrich to your CRM
Head over to CompanyEnrich and set up an account. Most enrichment tools will walk you through CRM integration; the process is usually: 1. Authenticate your CRM (OAuth or API key, depending on your provider) 2. Pick which records to enrich: All contacts, a segment, or just new ones as they come in 3. Set field-mapping rules: Decide which fields CompanyEnrich can update, and which ones you want to leave alone (critical if you have custom data you don’t want overwritten)
What to watch for: - Some CRMs have weird field names or custom setups. Double-check that you’re mapping fields correctly, especially if you’ve got anything non-standard. - Don’t let enrichment overwrite good data with worse data. If you trust your existing “company name” field, lock it down.
Step 3: Configure what gets enriched (don’t just turn everything on)
It’s tempting to check every box and fill every field, but more isn’t always better.
- Focus on what matters: Usually, company name, website, industry, size, and social links are the high-value fields.
- Be careful with personal data: Some enrichment tools can pull in sensitive info (personal emails, phone numbers). Think about privacy and compliance.
Honest take: Most teams only use a handful of fields for actual workflows. Don’t clutter your CRM with 20 “enriched” columns nobody will ever look at.
Step 4: Run a test enrichment (and check the results)
Before you hit “enrich all,” run a test batch on 50-100 contacts.
- Review the data: Did it fill the right fields? Did it overwrite anything you didn’t want touched? Any junk data pop up?
- Spot-check for accuracy: Pick a few records and Google them yourself. Is the info current and correct?
- Check for weird surprises: Sometimes enrichment tools will pull in odd job titles, outdated company names, or mismatched industries. No tool is perfect — but you want to catch the worst of it early.
If something looks off, tweak your field mappings or enrichment rules and try again.
Step 5: Set up automation (so you never have to think about it again)
Once you trust the process, set up ongoing enrichment:
- New contacts only: Most CRMs let you auto-enrich new records as they come in. This is where enrichment shines — you get fresh, complete data without lifting a finger.
- Scheduled bulk enrichment: Some teams like to re-enrich their whole database every quarter or so. Not always necessary, but it can help keep things current.
- Alerts and logging: Keep a record of what’s being changed. It’s easier to fix mistakes if you know what happened and when.
Pro tip: Don’t set-it-and-forget-it forever. Once or twice a year, review what enrichment is actually doing. You may want to change fields, providers, or rules as your needs evolve.
Step 6: Use your enriched data for something real
Enrichment’s only valuable if you do something with it:
- Better segmentation: Group contacts by company size, industry, or geography.
- Personalized outreach: Use job titles or company info to tailor your emails.
- Cleaner reporting: More accurate company data = better funnel analysis.
But don’t overthink it. Start with one or two practical improvements, not a 10-step “hyper-personalized” campaign you’ll never finish.
What works (and what doesn’t)
What works: - Regular, automated enrichment of new contacts - Strict field mapping (don’t let enrichment overwrite your best data) - Occasional bulk re-enrichment (yearly or quarterly, if you care about up-to-date info)
What doesn’t: - Blindly enriching every field and contact (you’ll just clutter your CRM) - Hoping enrichment will “fix” a garbage database (clean it up first) - Assuming 100% accuracy (even the best tools miss stuff)
Ignore the hype about “AI-powered enrichment changing everything.” It’s just a smarter way to fill in blanks — and that’s plenty useful.
Keeping it simple: iterate, don’t overcomplicate
Automatic enrichment with CompanyEnrich can save you tons of time and headaches — but only if you keep it focused. Start with the basics, test on a small batch, and only automate what’s truly helpful. There’s no prize for the most “enriched” database, just the one your team actually uses.
Stick to what you’ll use, check your results now and then, and let the robots handle the boring data entry. That’s really all there is to it.