🔍 Unlocking the Power of Company Lookalikes with Ocean.io and Clay

One of the most powerful ways to grow your business is to build on your existing customers. If you know a certain type of customer already loves your product or service - then it’s likely true that other companies like your customer(s) will too!

That’s where Clay’s Ocean.io company lookalikes feature becomes extraordinarily powerful. Imagine a world where you pull in a list of your existing customers from your CRM into Clay, and then find a list of similar customers to reach out to.

It’s all possible in Clay, so let’s show you how. 

🚀 Two Approaches to Company Lookalikes

We offer two primary methods for utilizing company lookalikes in Clay:

1. As an enrichment on existing company lists
2. As a source for creating new lists

Both approaches have their merits, and the choice depends on your specific use case.‍

📊 Using Lookalikes as a Source

When you're starting from scratch or want to build a list based entirely on lookalikes, using the Ocean.io integration as a source is your go-to option. Here's a quick overview:

1. Select the Ocean.io integration
2. Choose your Clay account
3. Input up to 10 domains as your seed companies

This method allows you to kickstart your list with lookalikes of your core target companies.

‍🔧 Enriching Existing Lists with Lookalikes

For this example, we'll focus on adding lookalikes to an existing table of companies. This approach is particularly useful when you want to expand on a list you've already curated.

🔍 Setting Up Your Lookalike Search

1. Add the Ocean.io integration to your existing table
2. Use the company domain as the input
3. Set your filters:
   • Exclude specific domains if needed
   • Specify countries (e.g., United States)
   • Narrow down by location (e.g., New York)
   • Set company size parameters
   • Choose industry categories (e.g., software, e-commerce)

📈 Understanding the Results

After running the integration, you'll notice that your list expands significantly. For example, starting with 10 companies might result in a list of 90+ lookalikes. Each lookalike comes with valuable data, including similarity scores and company details.‍

📝 Organizing Your Lookalike Data

The raw data from Ocean.io is comprehensive but can be unwieldy in its initial format. This is where Clay's "Write to Table" feature comes in handy.

➕ Creating a New Table for Lookalikes

1. Use the "Write to Table" function
2. Select "New Table" if you don't have an existing one
3. Choose the fields you want to include, such as:
   • Company name
   • Domain
   • Similarity score
   • Company size
   • Industry
   • Source lookalike company

🧹 Refining Your Lookalike List

Once you've created your new table, consider these steps:

1. Rename columns for clarity (e.g., "Lookalike Source", "Lookalike Company")
2. Deduplicate the list to remove redundant entries
3. Add a lookup to ensure lookalikes aren't in your original list

💡 Strategic Use of Lookalikes

One of the most effective strategies we've seen is using lookalikes to double down on your existing successes. Here's how:

1. Identify your most successful customers
2. Find lookalikes for these customers
3. Segment the lookalikes by relevant categories (e.g., marketing agencies)
4. Craft compelling outreach that references your success with similar companies

This approach allows you to leverage your existing wins to create highly targeted, relevant outreach campaigns.

🌟 Maximizing the Impact of Lookalikes

By using Ocean.io's lookalike feature within Clay, you're not just expanding your list – you're strategically growing your potential customer base with companies that closely resemble your ideal clients. This targeted approach can significantly boost your outreach effectiveness and, ultimately, your conversion rates.

Remember, the key to success with lookalikes is to use them as a tool for precision, not just expansion. By focusing on quality matches and leveraging your existing success stories, you can create outreach campaigns that resonate deeply with your prospects.