Waterfall Enrichment

Cleanlist.ai uses an advanced waterfall enrichment system to maximize data accuracy and coverage. This technology automatically tries multiple data providers in sequence until we find the information you need.

How It Works

The Waterfall Process

Request Email Enrichment
    ↓
Try Provider 1 → Found? → Return Email ✓
    ↓ Not Found
Try Provider 2 → Found? → Return Email ✓
    ↓ Not Found
Try Provider 3 → Found? → Return Email ✓
    ↓ Not Found
Mark as Not Found (No charge)

Key Benefits

1. Higher Success Rates: By trying multiple providers, we achieve significantly higher match rates than single-provider solutions
2. Better Data Quality: We validate results from each provider and return the most accurate information
3. Cost Efficiency: You only pay once, even though we query multiple providers on your behalf
4. Automatic Fallback: No manual intervention needed - the system handles everything automatically

Enrichment Types

Email Enrichment (1 credit)

When you request an email address, our waterfall system:

1. Checks our cached database first (instant results)
2. Tries primary email enrichment providers
3. Falls back to secondary providers if needed
4. Validates the email format and deliverability
5. Returns the best match found

Providers used (in order):

• Cached results (if available)
• Primary enrichment providers
• Alternative data sources
• Public data validation

Phone Enrichment (10 credits)

When you request a phone number, our waterfall system:

1. Checks our cached database first
2. Tries primary phone enrichment providers
3. Falls back to secondary providers if needed
4. Validates the phone number format
5. Returns the best match found with metadata (type, carrier, etc.)

Providers used (in order):

• Cached results (if available)
• Primary phone data providers
• Alternative data sources
• Public records

Data Validation

Every piece of data goes through our validation pipeline:

Email Validation

• ✅ Format verification (RFC 5322 compliance)
• ✅ Domain validation (MX record checks)
• ✅ Disposable email detection
• ✅ Role-based email detection
• ✅ Deliverability scoring

Phone Validation

• ✅ Format standardization (E.164)
• ✅ Country code verification
• ✅ Carrier identification
• ✅ Line type detection (mobile, landline, VoIP)
• ✅ Active status verification

Smart Caching

Our waterfall system includes intelligent caching:

• Recent Results: Previously found data is cached for faster retrieval
• Cost Savings: Cached results don't trigger new provider queries
• Data Freshness: Cache is refreshed periodically to maintain accuracy
• No Extra Cost: Cached results use the same credit pricing

Success Metrics

Our waterfall approach achieves:

• Email Match Rate: 70-85% (varies by industry)
• Phone Match Rate: 40-60% (varies by region)
• Average Response Time: 2-5 seconds per lead
• Data Accuracy: 95%+ verified accuracy

When Enrichment Fails

If our waterfall system can't find the requested information after trying all providers:

1. No Charge: You are NOT charged credits for failed enrichments
2. Partial Results: You may get one field (email) even if another (phone) fails
3. Retry Available: You can retry later as new data becomes available
4. Status Tracking: The lead list shows which enrichments failed

Technical Details

Provider Selection

Our system intelligently selects which providers to use based on:

• Lead geography (different providers excel in different regions)
• Company size (enterprise vs. SMB data sources)
• Industry (specialized providers for certain sectors)
• Historical success rates (we track which providers work best)

Response Time Optimization

• Providers are queried with optimized timeouts
• Parallel requests where possible
• Circuit breaker pattern to skip slow providers
• Automatic retry logic with exponential backoff

Comparison: Single Provider vs. Waterfall

Best Practices

To get the most from our waterfall enrichment:

1. Provide Accurate Input: The more accurate your input data (name, company, location), the better results you'll get
2. Use Both Email & Phone: Enriching both fields together provides more context for matching
3. Bulk Enrichment: Larger batches benefit from parallel processing
4. Monitor Results: Review match rates to improve input data quality

Learn More

• View our enrichment providers
• Understand credit pricing
• Learn about smart columns