Up to 21 percent of a financial institution's consumer accounts in a portfolio may also be small business owners or principals, according to a recent Equifax data analysis presented as part of a webinar entitled, "Increasing the Value of Your Data Across the B2B Sales & Marketing Ecosystem," which also featured Megan Heuer of SiriusDecisions.

"This finding is important because it represents a valuable opportunity for financial institutions to generate new revenue and wallet share of existing customers who may be wearing two hats – that of a consumer and a small business owner," said Dennis Behrman, assistant vice president of Product Innovation for Equifax Commercial Solutions. "The key is to be able to link consumer and business portfolio data into a 360-degree view that identifies those retail customers who also are profitable business-to-business targets. Armed with this knowledge, financial institutions can better understand and respond to the needs of those customers with tailored products and services, which can yield dividends immediately."

Behrman pointed to the patented data-linking technology in Equifax's new EFX Link product that can provide this new 360-degree view into a retail customer's small business data, providing information such as business name, annual sales and revenue, annual spend and geographic location.

The traditional customer view is limited in that it treats each entity as a different account, separating consumer data from business owner data. Being able to securely connect and consolidate the two datasets into one accurate, cohesive 360-degree view not only provides a better understanding of the customer, it also offers insight into the internal and external factors that influence their financial behavior. This knowledge can help facilitate better and faster decision-making when it comes to customer offers.