Restflow.io

## Introduction

In modern marketing operations, having enriched, accurate lead data is essential for targeted campaigns and personalized outreach. However, manually researching and augmenting lead profiles can be time-consuming and error-prone. This is where automation can significantly boost efficiency.

This article provides a detailed technical walkthrough on how to build a real-time lead enrichment workflow using n8n and Clearbit. Marketing teams, automation engineers, and operations specialists will learn how to automate lead enrichment by integrating Clearbit’s powerful data API into n8n’s workflow automation platform.

The workflow automatically enriches new leads as they enter your system (e.g., via form submissions or CRM additions) by pulling in valuable company and contact intelligence from Clearbit and appending this data to your lead records. This setup enables smarter segmentation, lead scoring, and personalized marketing.

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## Why Automate Lead Enrichment with Clearbit and n8n?

### Problem Statement
Marketing teams often rely on incomplete lead data which hampers campaign effectiveness. Manually enriching leads:
– Is slow and inconsistent
– Requires costly research resources
– Lacks real-time updates

### Benefit
Automating lead enrichment solves these challenges by:
– Instantly enhancing lead data upon creation
– Reducing manual workload and errors
– Providing comprehensive firmographic and demographic data

### Who Benefits?
– Marketing teams gain richer insights for campaigns
– Sales teams receive higher quality leads
– Operations teams achieve scalable data workflows

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## Tools and Services Involved

– **n8n:** An open-source workflow automation tool that allows complex integrations and data manipulations.
– **Clearbit Enrichment API:** Provides real-time access to firmographic and contact details based on email addresses or company domains.
– **Lead Source:** This could be any CRM or form tool, for example, Google Sheets, Airtable, HubSpot, or a webhook from a landing page.

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## Overview of the Workflow

### Trigger
New lead data input, e.g., a new row in Google Sheets or a webhook from a form submission.

### Processing Steps
1. Extract lead’s email or domain
2. Call Clearbit Enrichment API to retrieve company and person data
3. Parse and clean the enriched data
4. Update lead record in your CRM or data store with enrichment data

### Output
An enriched lead record with detailed firmographic and contact information available for marketing campaigns and sales follow-up.

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## Technical Tutorial: Step-by-Step Guide

### Prerequisites
– Access to an n8n instance (cloud or self-hosted)
– Clearbit API key (sign up at https://clearbit.com with access to their Enrichment API)
– Lead data source configured and accessible (e.g., Google Sheets with leads)

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### Step 1: Setting Up the Trigger Node in n8n

– If you use **Google Sheets**:
– Use the “Google Sheets Trigger” node
– Configure it to watch a specific spreadsheet and sheet where new leads are added

– If using a **Webhook (for form submissions)**:
– Use the “Webhook” node
– Configure the URL and method (usually POST)
– This node will receive JSON payloads containing lead information

This node initiates the workflow every time a new lead is added.

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### Step 2: Extract and Prepare Lead Data

– Add a “Set” node if you need to extract and isolate the email/domain from incoming data.
– For example, you might extract the ’email’ field from the webhook or sheet row for enrichment.

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### Step 3: Add the HTTP Request Node to Call Clearbit API

– Add an “HTTP Request” node to your workflow.
– Configure it as follows:
– **Method:** GET
– **URL:** https://person.clearbit.com/v2/people/find?email={{$json[“email”]}} OR https://company.clearbit.com/v2/companies/find?domain={{$json[“domain”]}}
– **Authentication:** Basic Auth with your Clearbit API key as username and empty password

– Important: Choose the proper endpoint depending on whether you want person or company data, or use multiple HTTP nodes if you want both.

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### Step 4: Handle Clearbit API Response

– The HTTP response includes JSON data with rich lead info like name, role, phone, company info (industry, size, location).
– Use a “Function” or “Set” node to parse and map these fields into your desired schema.

Example mapping:
“`javascript
return {
json: {
fullName: $json.person.name.fullName,
jobTitle: $json.person.employment.title,
companyName: $json.company.name,
companyIndustry: $json.company.industry,
companySize: $json.company.metrics.employees,
location: $json.person.location
}
}
“`

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### Step 5: Update Your Lead Storage or CRM

– Use the appropriate node for your storage system, e.g., “Google Sheets” node to update the row, or “HubSpot” node to update the contact record.
– Ensure the enriched data fields are appended or updated accordingly.

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### Step 6: Add Error Handling and Reliability Features

– Use n8n’s “Error Trigger” node to capture errors like API rate limits or missing data.
– Implement retry logic or fallback mechanisms (e.g., queue leads for later enrichment).
– Validate input data before calling Clearbit to avoid unnecessary API calls (e.g., check if email is valid).

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## Common Issues and Tips

– **API Rate Limits:** Clearbit imposes rate limits—batch your requests or add delays if processing large volumes.
– **Missing or Invalid Emails:** Always validate emails before enrichment to avoid 404 errors.
– **Partial Data:** Clearbit might not have data for all leads—handle null or missing fields gracefully.
– **Authentication Failures:** Double-check your API keys and Basic Auth settings.

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## How to Adapt or Scale This Workflow

– **Multi-Source Lead Input:** Add more input triggers (e.g., CRM updates, other form tools).
– **Parallel Enrichments:** Use n8n’s “SplitInBatches” node for bulk lead enrichment.
– **Multiple Clearbit APIs:** Combine Person, Company, and Reveal APIs for deeper insights.
– **Data Syncing:** Automatically sync enriched data back into multiple systems (CRM, marketing tools, data warehouses).
– **Custom Scoring:** Add nodes to compute lead scores based on enrichment data for advanced routing.

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## Summary and Bonus Tip

By integrating Clearbit’s Enrichment API with n8n’s flexible workflow automation, marketing teams can gain real-time, accurate lead intelligence that powers smarter campaigns and sales efforts. This automation reduces manual research, accelerates lead qualification, and ensures your databases stay clean and enriched.

**Bonus Tip:** To avoid surpassing Clearbit API limits, consider caching previously enriched leads locally or in a database and enrich only new leads or those missing data. You can implement a cache check node before calling Clearbit, saving costs and maintaining API efficiency.

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This guide equips you with a practical, scalable solution to automate lead enrichment efficiently. Implement this automation to unlock richer lead data and drive better marketing ROI immediately.