Record Validation Vs DataGroomr Verify – Salesforce Email Validation Deep Dive 2023

TL;DR: This article compares Plauti Record Validation and DataGroomr Verify for Salesforce email validation. Record Validation, centred on Salesforce, offers robust features, real-time validation, and spam-trap detection. DataGroomr, a freemium app with machine learning, lacks spam-trap detection and has limited reviews. Record Validation's DNS approach and ease of use leans us towards this solution.

Record Validation is designed to improve failed email deliveries rates, offering a robust and comprehensive suite of features to validate, format and verify email addresses in Salesforce. If your company is comfortable in Salesforce, then they will be comfortable in Record Validation, as record validation was developed on the Salesforce platform. Record Validation reduces bounce rates and paves the way for a staggering email delivery rate of up to 99%​​. Here are some other neat features of RV:

Features

• Quick Entry: Facilitates swift and error-free data entry by validating email addresses as records are inserted or updated​.
• Direct Validate: A boon for real-time validation, this feature validates records instantly as they enter your Salesforce Org through API insert or bulk upload​​.
• Flow Action - Validate Email: A meticulous email validation process, allowing you to integrate email validation into your Salesforce flows seamlessly​.
• Spam-trap detection – Identify and eliminate spam-traps
• DNS check - A DNS check is a process of verifying the correctness and functionality of Domain Name System (DNS) configurations for a domain or network.

Pros

• Comprehensive Validation: Ensures email format accuracy, reducing data entry time and boosting efficiency.
• Real-time Validation & Verification: Validates data immediately at the point of entry, ensuring pristine data quality.
• Reduced Data Entry Time: Manually entering new records is 78% quicker, turning tedious data entry into a swift, smooth sail​
• Improved Deliverability: Customers have reported a huge reduction in postal delivery failures by up to 70% and email delivery rates of 97.5% on opt-in lists​.
• Pardot (Account Engagement): For organizations that prioritize Salesforce as their primary platform and utilize Pardot (Account Engagement), RV serves as an invaluable resource. Pardot seamlessly integrates with Salesforce, allowing Record Validation to effectively validate and authenticate your data.

Cons

• Salesforce-centric – might not be ideal depending on tech stack.
• No machine learning capabilities.

Record Validation Pricing

Starting at $39 per month, you get a system robust enough to significantly reduce failed email deliveries, with a free trial option available for test driving the solution​​. The free trial comes with 100 credits to kickstart your email validation journey.

DataGroomr Verify

DataGroomr Verify is a well-known solution for data validation and makes the promise of reducing failed deliveries by 70%. It offers a suite of features to cleanse your data, including email​​. The verify app is a “Freemium” app in which credits for validation need to be purchased and incorporates machine learning abilities to help identify poor data. Let’s check out some other features.

Features

• Format Check: Ensures the email adheres to the standard format, nipping common errors in the bud​​.
• Machine Learning: Utilizes machine learning to identify common misspellings
• Disposable domain check: Checks if an email originates from a temp / disposable address (like tempmail.org)
• SMTP check - a diagnostic process that assesses the functionality of the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server, which is responsible for sending and receiving email messages.

Pros

• Freemium app, only need to purchase credits for verification / validation.

Cons

• No mention of spam-trap detection: Spam-trap detection is a lacking component mentioned in DataGroomr. Spam-trap detection ensures better email deliverability, a positive sender reputation, legal compliance, cost savings, and, most importantly, the ability to engage with a genuinely interested and responsive audience.
• Unfamiliar to Salesforce users: DataGroomr runs as a separate interface outside of Salesforce. While they claim the interface is modern, it will be unfamiliar and require a steeper learning curve to feel comfortable. On the other hand, Record Validation is based on Salesforce and feels familiar to any Salesforce user.
• Limited reviews for DataGroomr Verify: While DataGroomr is a well-known company, reviews related to actual email validation are hard to find. Most reviews talk about DataGroomr’s deduplication abilities and thus it is hard to ascertain the effectiveness of the solution for email validation purposes. On the Salesforce AppExchange, there are only 4 reviews at the time of publishing this article, so a broad spectrum of opinion is not available.

Pricing:

DataGroomr Verify claims itself to be a free app. While you can download the app for free, you will need to purchase credits to actually use it. On the AppExchange it states that 20,000 credits come at a cost of $80 USD -whether this price decreases with volume is not clear. It is also not clear how many credits are needed for different validations.

Record Validation vs DataGroomr – Email validation techniques pros and cons

The main difference between Record Validation's DNS Check and DataGroomr's approach is that Plauti's focus is primarily on the DNS-related aspects of email verification. It checks if the DNS records, especially MX records, are properly configured for the email domain, ensuring that the domain can accept incoming email.

In contrast, DataGroomr Verify indicates the use of a more direct SMTP check, where they connect to the recipient's SMTP server to verify the validity of the email address and its ability to accept incoming email. Here are some pro's and con's of each method.

Pros of DataGroomr's SMTP Approach:

• Accuracy: SMTP checks can provide a good level of accuracy when it comes to assessing email deliverability. If the recipient's SMTP server accepts the connection, it's a strong indicator that the email address is valid and capable of receiving emails.
• Real-Time Validation: SMTP checks can provide real-time validation, making them suitable for situations where immediate verification is required.

Cons of DataGroomr's SMTP Approach:

• Privacy Concerns: Some SMTP servers are configured not to disclose information about the validity of email addresses for privacy and security reasons. In such cases, the SMTP check may not provide a definitive result. This is particularly common with larger email providers.
• False Negatives: SMTP checks can sometimes produce false negatives, meaning they might incorrectly mark a valid email address as invalid. This can happen if the recipient's SMTP server is temporarily unavailable or if it doesn't respond as expected.
• Limited to Valid Email Domains: The SMTP check primarily validates the domain part of the email address, ensuring that the associated SMTP server is operational. However, it doesn't guarantee that the specific user or mailbox exists on that server.

• Resource Intensive: Performing SMTP checks can be resource-intensive, especially when dealing with a large number of email addresses. This may result in slower verification times or increased server load.
• Complexity: Implementing SMTP checks requires more technical complexity and expertise compared to DNS checks, which are simpler to execute.

Pros of DNS / Record Validation Approach:

• High-Level Domain Validation: DNS checks are particularly effective at verifying the domain part of an email address. They ensure that the domain exists, is correctly configured, and has the necessary DNS records (such as MX records) to receive email.
• Non-Intrusive: DNS checks do not directly interact with the recipient's SMTP server, making them less intrusive. They don't send test emails or requests to the server, which can be appreciated by organizations concerned about privacy and security.
• Faster Processing: DNS checks are generally faster than SMTP checks, making them suitable for scenarios where quick, automated verification is required.
• Simpler Implementation: DNS checks are relatively simple to implement, making them accessible to a wide range of users without extensive technical expertise.
• Low Resource Overhead: DNS checks are typically lightweight and do not impose a significant load on servers or networks.

Cons of DNS / Record Validation Approach:

• Limited to Domain Validation: DNS checks primarily focus on the domain part of the email address. While they confirm that the domain is properly configured, they don't verify the specific email address, and there might be cases where the email address is valid, but the domain is not configured correctly.
• False Positives: Like SMTP checks, DNS checks may occasionally produce false positives, indicating that an email address is valid when it's not.

Plauti vs DataGroomr: User adoption

Record Validation is designed to feel comfortable, familiar and accessible to any Salesforce user. This means that adoption will require much less effort than learning a new interface. Additionally, Record Validation comes with unlimited seats, meaning that anyone in your organization can use it. While that might sound scary, it’s a part of the Plauti philosophy – empowering more users to take part in the role of data hygiene. Traditionally, the mindset is that data hygiene should be left to admins and people specialized in this task. The problem with that? They are often not familiar with the data as the people working with it daily. You might not want to give everyone access to clean abilities, but you can certainly involve more people! A collective responsibility towards data cleanliness is then achieved.

DataGroomr or Plauti Record Validation: Which should you choose?

As we begin to reach out the conclusion, the choice of the ideal email validation solution for your organization's needs will be balanced on several factors unique to your needs. An important item for consideration is your organization's use and familiarity with Salesforce. In this regard, Record Validation comes out on top, being familiar and easy to use for anyone who’s comfortable on Salesforce. Additionally, remember that RV’s features can be extended to any user in your organization, so if you like the idea of having more of your users taking a role in the data hygiene process, RV has no limits. RV also boasts the added ability to detect spam-traps, and this feature also sets RV apart from DataGroomr.

While there are good arguments in favor of Record Validation, ultimately, the optimal solution for your specific requirements hinges on your organization's unique needs and prerequisites. Interested in delving deeper into Record Validation? Why not explore it risk-free? Visit Plauti today and experience RV firsthand with no initial complications and no need for credit card information. Don't hesitate any longer – get started now!