Item: D&B Hoovers
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with D&B Hoovers

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use D&B Hoovers for company research and internal reporting. Our leasing teams benefit greatly from the lists of companies I am able to pull based on very specific parameters. Once these companies are identified, I am then able to pull full reports from D&B Hoovers as well.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Provides accurate industry lists
Provides extremely accurate company profile information
Has great customer service and guidance

Cons

Adding more filters to the list function
Adding more company information to each profile
Have live agents that can chat

Return on Investment

Has significantly decreased my company research time
Has made my research process seamless and efficient
Increased research proficiency by 50%

Alternatives Considered

PitchBook and COSTAR

D&B Hoovers is A LOT better than PitchBook. It is much easier to navigate and the data is far more accurate. However, I think COSTAR does a better job with real estate related data. Specifically, lease expirations, tenants and owners. These are important factors I look for in data sets.

Key Insights

Do you think D&B Hoovers delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with D&B Hoovers's feature set?

Yes

Did D&B Hoovers live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of D&B Hoovers go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy D&B Hoovers again?

Yes

Other Software Used

CoStar Real Estate Manager, PitchBook, Salesforce CMS

Likelihood to Recommend

It is well suited for pulling company lists. For example, if you need to pull a list of the top Automotive manufacturing companies. It is less appropriate if you need lists that are super detailed, as there are only so many filters available. I would suggest D&B Hoovers makes a more 'advanced' function.

D&B Hoovers Feature Ratings

Using D&B Hoovers

Users and Roles

100 - They work on our research teams and many are analysts or associates. They pull data sets (lists) and company profiles. We then present this data to our leasing teams and this helps with pursuits and business development. The lists that D&B Hoovers produces are extremely useful. I highly recommend.

Support Headcount Required

We don't have any people in-house that provide support for D&B Hoovers. We do have an in-house IT department, but they do not provide product-specific help. It would be nice for D&B Hoovers to have someone easily available to chat with online for support. I know they have something similar now, but it is not very quick or easy to use.

Business Processes Supported

Pulling data sets
Pulling company profiles
Pulling company financials

Innovative Uses

For pursuits
For business development efforts
For internal reporting

Future Planned Uses

Pulling company portfolios
Pulling lease expirations
Pulling landlords (owners)

Likelihood to Renew

I use D&B Hoovers very frequently and could not do my job as efficiently without it. I think there is room for improvement, but it is effective enough that I feel as though I will continue renewing by subscription. I highly recommend D&B Hoovers and find it very accurate and easy to use.

Evaluating D&B Hoovers and Competitors

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

Scalability
Ease of Use

D&B Hoovers is able to pull large amounts of data which is very beneficial within my current role. Additionally, it is extremely easy to navigate and very straightforward. The data is also very accurate which makes my job much easier. The teams I work with appreciate the large data and accuracy.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I use D&B Hoovers first over any other tool I have. I only look to other sources if something is 'missing' from D&B Hoovers, which tends to be portfolios, tenants and lease expirations for me. I know that this is due to the fact that D&B Hoovers is not a commercial real estate focused tool, like others such as COSTAR are.

D&B Hoovers Implementation

Implementation Rating

I did not participate in the implementation of this product, however, I did teach myself how to use it. I found it extremely effective and very easy to navigate. I highly recommend this product and would like to again express how easy it is to use, regardless of any implementation processes.

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Don't know
Don't know

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal - We have always had access to D&B Hoovers, especially in our research teams. The usage of this tool did not come about to do management/leadership change or anything like that. We consistently use this tool because it is easy to navigate, accurate and very effective in research and business development efforts.

Implementation Issues

Customer support via the 'chat' function
Sometimes if the data file is large, it takes awhile to download
Sometimes the company profiles aren't updated to the latest extent

D&B Hoovers Support

Support Rating

I think it could be better, easier and faster. Whenever I chat with someone it takes so long to get to an actual agent, and then when I finally get to one, they oftentimes don't have the answers for me or do not understand what I am asking, which is very frustrating.

D&B Hoovers Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
None	Slow Resolution Poor followup Less knowledgeable Problems left unsolved Not kept informed Difficult to get immediate help Need to explain problems multiple times Slow Initial Response

Premium Support

No, I did not purchase premium support. That seems very unnecessary given the price of the tool itself. The 'chat' support should be quick, efficient and easy to use. However, I don't find that it is any of those things, and 100% of the time I am left frustrated and without answers.

Bug Resolution

Exceptional Examples of D&B Hoovers Support

One time I called D&B Hoovers, and that is when I got the best customer service. I was trying to pull a very specific list of Automotive users and I could not find what I was looking for. It turns out that I had the filters set wrong, and the D&B team was able to help me correct this and find the data I was searching for.

Using D&B Hoovers

Usability

I think D&B Hoovers is extremely straightforward and easy to navigate. I think it leads the industry in usability in regards to data and company information. The lists are very easy to pull and the company data is readily available and easy to find. I highly recommend this tool.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Feel confident using Familiar	Cumbersome

Easy Tasks

Searching company profiles and information
Pulling industry specific lists
Pulling pursuits for business development efforts

Difficult Tasks

Pulling location specific data lists
Pulling real estate specific data lists
Pulling size (SF) specific data lists

Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions

Yes, but I don't use it

Comments

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Kevin Johnson
(Vendor Representative) commented a year ago
Thank you so much for your kind words! We are thrilled that you are enjoying your experience with D&B Hoovers and I wanted to let you know we are constantly improving our product, so we value your feedback regarding our search filters and support. Thank you for taking the time to write this review; we appreciate it greatly. Cheers!