DACH Data Provider: Why Certifaction Chose Cognism

Swiss-based privacy-first eSignature solution, Certifaction, uses Cognism’s as their B2B data provider in DACH region to:

• Prospect compliantly to senior technical decision makers in German and Swiss Enterprise markets. 
• Replace other providers with Cognism. 
• Gain 300 leads in the first few weeks of using the platform.
• Seamlessly integrate with HubSpot

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The company

Founded in 2020, Certifaction has offices in Switzerland and Germany with clients worldwide. 

The solution provides a privacy-first eSigning solution with E2E encryption and legally valid identity checks in 40 seconds. The product can sign or certify files with protected confidentiality, stay in control with E2E encryption and digitise businesses with the next generation of eSigning.

The challenge

We interviewed Mortiz Van der Meer, Account Executive at Certifaction, about his experience with Cognism. 

After joining the business in January 2023, Moritz explained the lead generation tools Certifaction had in place when he started.

“Certifaction signed with a well-known B2B lead generation tool in Germany in December 2022 ” 

“As a relatively new company, we’re still figuring out our sales and marketing strategy. We initially signed with them because we had a mass outreach approach. The provider is suited for sourcing a huge amount of leads in one go; it served a purpose at the time, but doesn’t come without its challenges.”

Moritz explained the issues they faced:

1. Inaccurate and incorrect data

“We received a 30% bounce rate from the data, which is very steep. This had the potential to tamper with our email domain health. It’s also very tiresome generating a list of data only to find that many of the email addresses are faulty.” 

2. Costly add-ons

“The pricing model is based on purchasing a set number of credits in a given time period. If you want to generate more data, you have to buy additional credits. This felt like a rip-off when most of the contact details were inaccurate.”

3. Below-par customer support

“Firstly, we had to pay a hefty amount just to have an onboarding session. They sent us user videos to watch beforehand and asked if we had any questions about the platform during the call. That was it. It wasn't worth the money." 

“Additionally, we spent hours in customer support meetings trying to integrate the platform with our HubSpot CRM only to find that the integration didn’t work.” 

How did Moritz know of Cognism?

“I used the prospecting platform at my former company and loved it. I knew Cognism was the answer to assisting us with our new account-based approach.”  

He told us more: 

“We’ve recently pivoted to a more sniper-gun approach using account-based marketing. It didn’t make sense to use other tools for this, as with most providers you can’t search for particular leads in the database. The search parameters are very wide and it’s almost impossible to go after a particular buying persona in there.” 

“Cognism is perfect for an account-based approach which is why I pushed for it.”

How was the sales process with Cognism? 

“For me, there’s no other B2B sales data provider out there that delivers the services that Cognism does in the DACH region. It was a no-brainer to sign with Cognism.”

The solution

Moritz is the primary user of the platform. How was the onboarding experience? 

“Our onboarding manager was great from start to finish. The platform is very user-friendly and easy to understand. No questions asked, it just works.” 

What is their buying persona?

“We target technical decision makers like CTOs, CIOs and CSOs within Enterprise businesses across Germany and Switzerland. Our solution can be applied across industry. We use Cognism’s data to target this audience.” 

Moritz uses Cognism’s Chrome Extension to source new leads in the DACH region. What’s his workflow with the tool? 

“I go onto a LinkedIn profile and import the data to HubSpot in just two clicks. It’s that easy!”  

How does Cognism’s usability differ from other tools he used? 

“It’s incomparable. Transferring data from the old tool  to HubSpot was a laborious experience. Once I’ve generated the relevant names, I had to open the app in HubSpot and then push the data to HubSpot. It’s a lot of back and forth just to transfer some names across.” 

Moritz further elaborated on the teething issues he experienced with the data: 

“Within the old tool, not only were the names incorrect but the data points were wide of the mark.”

“Here’s an example: when searching for a relevant decision-maker, the platform will show me two names, but both are usually wrong. It’s highly frustrating and distracts me from focusing on building relationships with new prospects.” 

What outbound channels does Moritz use to get in touch with prospects?

“I use HubSpot sequences, a sales automation tool, to send email cadences. I usually connect with the leads on LinkedIn after sending the initial email. I get the most interest using these platforms.” 

Despite only being a customer for a month, they’ve already seen quantifiable results. 

“So far, we’ve generated 300 leads from Cognism through HubSpot sequences. It’s very early days but that’s a fantastic result given we’re such a new customer.” 

Reasons why Certifaction recommends Cognism's B2B data in the DACH region

1. Intuitive, easy-to-use platform

“You don’t have to pay an additional fee for the onboarding just to learn how to use the tool.” 

“As a sales rep, I don’t want to spend hours learning how to use a lead generation tool. I just want to get on with speaking to prospects and booking meetings. Cognism’s platform is self-explanatory and enables me to get on with what I do best - selling!”

2. Smooth, CRM integration 

“I’m not an expert and I’ve never had the responsibility of integrating a tech tool before. The integration with Cognism was easy breezy. It didn’t even take me three minutes to set up. I can sync leads from Cognism to HubSpot in a blink of an eye.”

3. Friendly, attentive customer support

“If I ever have a question, the support team gets back to me either the same or next day. All my interactions with Cognism staff have been very pleasant. It’s evident that Cognism really cares about its customers.”

4. Reputable compliant B2B database

“If a prospect asks: where did you get my contact details from? I can confidently say that I’ve sourced their data from Cognism’s globally compliant database in line with the GDPR. And no questions are asked.”

Moritz concluded that: 

“Cognism is a big part of the cake for any sales rep. It allows salespeople to fill the top of the sales funnel by providing an endless amount of data points to get the job done.” 

“Cognism does what it says on the tin and is a one-stop shop for all your prospecting needs.”