Why do B2B data capture forms reject records when website and email domains don't match?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from WebmasterWorld says that this practice helps filter out low-quality leads, such as those using personal email addresses for business inquiries. This ensures that the leads are genuinely associated with a specific organization, improving the chances of conversion.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's blog shares that some B2B forms reject records where the email domain doesn't align with the website domain to improve lead quality. They explain that this filter helps ensure the leads are genuinely associated with the company they claim to represent, reducing the number of unqualified or low-quality leads.
Email marketer from StackOverflow discusses that, in their experience, this is typically done to improve lead quality and ensure only business-related email addresses are captured. This helps companies avoid personal email addresses or those from free email providers.
Email marketer from Quora shares that companies may reject mismatched domains to ensure that only relevant and serious inquiries are captured. They discuss that this reduces the noise from generic or irrelevant email addresses, improving the efficiency of sales and marketing teams.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign reports that domain matching helps prevent spam submissions and ensure only legitimate leads are captured. By confirming the email domain aligns with the company website, businesses can avoid irrelevant or malicious sign-ups, improving data accuracy and reducing the risk of spam-related issues.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that companies might reject records with domain mismatches to maintain data quality, preventing spam or irrelevant leads from entering their system. A mismatch could indicate a throwaway email or a lack of genuine interest.
Marketer from Email Geeks points out that prospects might use personal email addresses due to corporate security measures that make receiving messages from unknown sources difficult and that companies that have been through mergers and acquisitions are more likely to have many 'from' domains but a single website.
Email marketer from MarketingProfs says that one potential reason for rejecting records with mismatched domains in B2B forms is to enhance lead quality. MarketingProfs shares that companies might implement this to avoid generic email addresses or those from competitors, aiming for higher-value leads.
Email marketer from LinkedIn shares that rejecting mismatched domains helps verify the legitimacy of leads and ensures they are genuinely representing their organization. This builds trust and improves the quality of interactions between the company and its potential clients.
What the experts say6Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks states that companies filter leads to ensure they only get No Time Wasters because they feel only Professional Manly Business Men use corporate email addresses. Steve jokes that there is some point in narrowing the funnel by limiting leads to those with a corporate website and avoiding anonymous Gmail addresses to prevent competitor discovery.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that there's little cost to allowing someone to download a PDF, as it provides contact information for the sales team to follow up on. He also notes there's no need for a reason to discard legitimate contacts unless there's a lack of sales bandwidth and suggests scoring leads instead.
Expert from Email Geeks asks what problem the client was trying to solve with domain filtering and suggests addressing the core issue without discarding valid leads. She emphasizes that discarding sign-ups doesn't reduce spam, and the key question is why they are discarding contacts in the first place.
Expert from Email Geeks shares reasons for domain mismatches, including not accepting email at domains not intended for email, wanting to avoid sales teams obtaining corporate addresses, and allowing users to use their preferred email interface like Gmail.
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains that the rejection of records in B2B data capture forms due to mismatched website and email domains often stems from a company's attempt to filter leads and improve the quality of the data they collect. This practice helps in reducing spam, ensuring that leads are genuinely associated with the company they claim to represent, and aligning with specific business objectives. However, it can also lead to the loss of potentially valuable leads if the filter is too stringent.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that the filtering practice could stem from efforts to block free email sign-ups, prevent competitors, or reduce fake subscriptions, although he has not seen this in practice before.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from LeanData explains that companies use domain matching to ensure accurate lead routing and account matching in their CRM systems. Rejecting mismatched domains can help keep data clean and improve the efficiency of sales and marketing efforts by correctly associating leads with existing accounts.
Documentation from HubSpot highlights that companies can set form validation rules to reject submissions where the email domain and website domain do not match. They share that this process is implemented to improve data quality by ensuring that leads are affiliated with the company they claim to represent, which supports better targeting and lead nurturing efforts.
Documentation from Salesforce shares that companies may use data validation rules within their forms to ensure that the domain of the entered email address matches the company website provided. The documentation shares that this helps maintain data integrity and ensures that leads are genuinely associated with the correct organization.
Documentation from Marketo shows that domain matching is part of a larger data standardization effort to ensure that lead information is accurate and reliable. This is key for effective segmentation, personalization, and lead scoring, which ultimately improves marketing ROI.
Documentation from Pardot says domain matching in B2B forms is often used as a component of lead qualification, ensuring that only individuals affiliated with relevant organizations are captured. This helps streamline marketing efforts and prioritize leads that are most likely to convert.