As a data supplier to the IT industry, we spend a lot of time talking about intelligent data and how the specifics of the data in a database can make a considerable difference in the pursuit of lead generation and sales. We promote the market leading sales intelligence within our IT focused contact database, the in-depth nature of which allows our customers to leverage buying signals and close prospects. The intelligence in this database provides us with the insight we need to target marketing campaigns at the right people, providing solutions for challenges that customers may not even know they have. Previous buying behaviours, infrastructure and organisational information, and online activity research habits provide us with insight and intelligence, otherwise known as buyer intent data – a very powerful marketing tool.
As highlighted in a recent blog in B2B Marketing, data is the lifeblood of modern marketing. Organisations are continually looking for innovative methods to generate data and use it in such a way that gives them a competitive advantage. Companies need to dig beneath company level data and uncover data that delivers the type of insights into possible buying behaviours and patterns that they can use to their benefit when planning marketing campaigns.
Digging deeper than company level takes you from basic data and into the realms of buyer intent data by taking a focused look at your prospects’ online activity.
What exactly is intent data?
Bombora states: “Intent data is information collected about a web users’ observed behaviour – specifically web content consumption – that provides insights into their interests. This insight often indicates potential intent to take a specific action. For businesses, that means understanding who might be inching closer to a buying decision or the nuances of the most common path towards a sale or conversion.”
Intent data can be captured via your own website or sourced via a third-party such as Lead Forensics. According to B2B Marketing: “The goal of intent data is to be able to differentiate which leads or prospects are actively researching online, which particular topics they’re researching about more than usual and the overall set of behavioural signals that help us understand the intention of leads/prospects … The strength of the intention is determined by the spike of activity about that particular topic.”
How is intent data used?
Intent data can be used to run clever and persuasive sales and marketing campaigns which are highly personalised and, therefore, more effective than campaigns based on traditional, company level contact information. Intent data is packed full of the goodies you need to understand your market and its needs and create compelling marketing activities. The more you can understand the pain points and interests of your target audience the easier it is to tailor campaign interactions and activities to meet these needs, thus allowing valuable connections to be made.
Intent data can support sales teams in account-based marketing activities by creating highly personalised and targeted lists based on specific needs. Intent data enables you to understand where you sit in a prospect’s sales cycle and allows you to drip feed relevant content at the appropriate time. It is especially powerful when combined with your use of buyer personas to develop a really thorough understanding of your customers and prospects. Providing a solution to a customer challenge helps you build meaningful and trusting connections that lead to sales (Bombora).
Intent data isn’t bunkum, it is a sound and successful route to increasing interactions and sales.
How can buyer intent data help you?
Identify early opportunities - Acting on intent data and being the first to contact a prospect gets you in pole position. Buyers often purchase form the first person that contacts them; using intent data to be that first person will pay dividends
Lead scoring - Lead Scoring from buyer intent data informs an organisation whether the lead fits the ideal customer profile or not
Account-based marketing - Developing relationships with customers is key; intent data contributes to the ABM efforts by building trust and positive relationships
Lengthy sales cycles - The real value of intent data benefits those with lengthy or complex sales cycles; it is valuable in knowing when and how to meet challenges and provide solutions
Prioritise high intent buyers - Target buyers with high intent over and above those with lesser intent, thus saving resources by not targeting wrong or prospects that are not quite ready to buy
If you are looking for a clearer assessment of where buyers are in the buying process, a better understanding of how to keep their attention and solve their challenges and how to convert them into paying customers, then buyer intent data is for you.
For more information and a deeper dive into intent data read the blog by Sales Intel .