In the world of B2B operations, data is the fuel that powers everything from sales outreach to compliance checks. But how you source that fuel matters. Many businesses still rely on a costly, outdated, and risky method: manual data entry. The countless hours spent Googling company details, copying and pasting addresses, and trying to verify business legitimacy are more than just a drain on productivity—they're a significant hidden cost holding your business back.
It's time to look beyond the spreadsheet. The future of efficient business operations lies in automation, and the return on investment (ROI) is more significant than you think.
At first glance, having an employee look up a company's details seems like a minor task. But when you multiply that task across your entire team and throughout the fiscal year, the true costs begin to surface.
Consider a sales development representative (SDR). If they spend just 15 minutes per lead researching and manually entering firmographic data (company size, location, industry), and they handle 20 leads a day, that's five hours per day—or over 60% of their workweek—spent on data entry instead of selling. This expensive, low-impact work throttles productivity and inflates labor costs for tasks a machine could do in milliseconds.
A simple typo can have a massive ripple effect. An incorrect address leads to failed direct mail campaigns. A misspelled company name results in duplicate, messy records in your CRM. An outdated legal status could put you in a risky partnership. Manual data is inherently prone to errors that compromise your strategies, damage customer relationships, and create costly cleanup projects down the line.
What could your team achieve with the time they get back from manual data entry?
The answer to the manual data dilemma is to automate the process with a Business Intelligence API. Instead of having humans act as slow, error-prone data connectors, you can integrate a simple yet powerful API directly into your existing workflows.
This is exactly what we built at businesses.do. Our AI-powered API connects you to real-time, global business data on demand. With a single API call, you can programmatically fetch the information you need, when you need it.
Just imagine enriching a new lead in your CRM automatically. A single request can return a comprehensive, structured profile:
{
"status": "success",
"company": {
"name": "Example Corp",
"dunsNumber": "123-456-7890",
"legalStatus": "Active",
"address": {
"street": "123 Innovation Drive",
"city": "Palo Alto",
"state": "CA",
"zipCode": "94304",
"country": "USA"
},
"industry": {
"naicsCode": "511210",
"description": "Software Publishers"
},
"employeeCount": 500,
"annualRevenue": {
"value": 150000000,
"currency": "USD"
},
"yearFounded": 2010
}
}
This instant, accurate data stream eliminates manual work, erases human error, and frees your team to focus on what they do best.
Moving from a manual process to an automated API isn't just a technical upgrade; it's a strategic investment with a clear and compelling return.
Massive Productivity Gains: By automating data retrieval, you reclaim thousands of employee hours annually. This newfound efficiency allows your existing team to handle a higher volume of work or pivot to more strategic initiatives without increasing headcount.
Drastically Improved Data Accuracy: API-driven data comes directly from authoritative sources, including the Dun & Bradstreet global corporate registry. This ensures your CRM data is clean, your marketing campaigns are targeted correctly, and your business decisions are based on verifiable reality, not guesswork.
Accelerated Business Cycles: Automate your due diligence and Know Your Business (KYB) processes. Onboard new customers, partners, and vendors in minutes, not weeks. A quick D-U-N-S lookup via our API can instantly validate a business's credibility, collapsing your risk assessment timeline.
Enhanced Strategic Decision-Making: With instant access to key data points like annual revenue, employee count, and corporate family trees, you can automate lead scoring, create more sophisticated market segmentation, and identify high-value opportunities with precision.
Manual data entry isn't just inefficient—it's a liability. It introduces risk, drains resources, and caps your company's potential for growth.
By leveraging a powerful business intelligence API, you can transform your operations from the ground up. Empower your teams with the Data On Demand they need to make smarter decisions, move faster, and drive better results.
Ready to stop the manual grind and calculate your own ROI? Explore the businesses.do API and start automating your business intelligence today.