As marketers, grabbing the attention of buyers is everything. Without it, all our content, emails, ads, and offers might as well disappear into a void. Yet, it’s never been more challenging to capture that attention.
Thanks to intent data and abundant information on the internet.
Intent data is gathered from buyer behavior, enabling businesses to anticipate customer needs by analyzing their online actions—such as search patterns, content engagement, and website visits. Utilizing B2B buyer intent data tools can further enhance this analysis, offering more precise insights into potential customer interests and behaviors.
Here’s why this matters for your team:
- Targets prospects already showing interest, ensuring more effective engagement.
- Focuses on high-value accounts, replacing broad, unfocused tactics.
- Re-engages existing or lost accounts by identifying renewed interest.
- Boosts pipeline growth and efficiency by refining marketing and sales efforts.
When properly utilized, intent data doesn’t just complement your marketing efforts—it maximizes the ROI of your existing strategies. This guide will show you how to harness intent data effectively to grow your pipeline and reduce costs.
What is Intent Data?
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At its core, intent data provides insights into what a prospect is searching for, reading about, or interacting with online. It is divided into three types:
First-party intent data: Data gathered directly from your own digital platforms, such as website interactions or email activity (e.g., sessions, page views, clicks, etc.).
Second-party intent data: Information sourced from another company’s first-party data, such as reviews or feedback from platforms like G2 or Capterra.
Third-party intent data: Data compiled from various sources, aggregated into one (e.g., intent data from providers like Bombora).
Forrester highlights that companies using intent data-driven marketing strategies see up to a 40% increase in lead conversion rates, but only when it’s integrated into a comprehensive, long-term plan.
Why Intent Data is Important for Revenue Growth
Without a data-driven approach, you’re flying blind. That might sound cliche, but let’s get specific.
Imagine you’re able to spot which leads are most likely to convert right from the start. Instead of chasing every prospect, you focus only on those showing clear buying signals.
Your sales team delivers targeted, personalized messages that address exactly what those prospects need—at the right moment—helping you close deals faster and avoid wasting time on dead-end leads.
Many companies make the mistake of expecting immediate results.
Remember, intent data is a long-term investment. Be Patient. Consistent. Refine it timely. And your lead generation will shoot up — significantly and definitely.
As McKinsey notes, companies that integrate intent data into their strategies experience a 50% improvement in lead generation.
How to Use Intent Data to Drive Revenue
Data should be at the heart of your every business move. And B2B intent data is a goldmine. Whether fine-tuning your product offerings or crafting compelling content, using intent data to address user needs makes every decision more informed and strategic.
1. Identifying High-Potential Accounts
With intent data, you can pinpoint potential prospects into your funnel even before your competitors pluck them. This helps sales and marketing teams prioritize throughout the funnel.
Forrester research shows that account prioritization strategies that incorporate intent data lead to a 25% increase in average deal size.
When a qualified lead visits your website, intent data reveals what topics your prospect is interested in and the pages they browsed.
This information is gold. Integrate it into your lead-scoring models. It can be used in a number of ways to focus on prospects exhibiting the highest levels of intent.
It offers your marketing and sales teams real-time insights, enabling them to prioritize leads, fill the pipeline, and close deals more efficiently.
Must Read: Target High-Value Accounts With ABM Intent Data
2. Creating Targeted Marketing Campaigns
Intent data guides the marketing team in creating hyper-personalized campaigns. With the right data, you’ll understand what products or topics prospects are engaging with. One of the key benefits of intent data is enhancing your ability to tailor messaging effectively.
And when you know the qualified account deeply, you can improve the tailored messaging to resonate more deeply with potential buyers.
According to Gartner, personalization through intent data can improve campaign ROI by up to 20%. However, if the data isn’t sorted and centralized, it can lead to inconsistent personalization.
Thanks to customer data platforms (CDPs). Integrating intent data ensures personalization across all touchpoints, making targeting smarter and more efficient.
3. Prioritizing Sales Outreach
Which outreach efforts to prioritize? Too often sales teams often struggle with this question- especially when dealing with a high volume of leads.
Intent data simplifies this. But how?
It allows you to highlight leads that are actively in the market for your product.
According to Salesforce, using intent data to guide sales outreach can lead to a 20% increase in closing rates.
But intent signals can mislead you. Because not every intent signal means a lead is ready to buy.
What’s the best way to use it? Use intent data in complementary with lead scoring models. And you’ll avoid prematurely pushing leads through the pipeline.
4. Improving Lead Scoring Models
Traditional lead scoring models are outdated. And often rely too heavily on demographic data, missing out on behavioral insights.
Incorporating intent data into your models. And you will be able assess a lead’s readiness to buy- more accurately.
According to Gartner, companies that update their lead scoring models with intent data experience a 25% improvement in sales efficiency.
5. Optimizing Retargeting Strategies
Intent data boosts retargeting by focusing on leads already showing interest, maximizing ROI.
However, it’s not foolproof. While integrating intent data is powerful, don’t overlook precise segmentation.
Be cautious about over-personalization, as it can feel intrusive. Focus on broader yet relevant messaging for effective retargeting without crossing privacy lines.
For best results, target high-intent behaviors, like repeat product page visits, for better results. Remember real-time updates ensure ads are relevant and timely.
Measuring the ROI of Intent Data
ROI translates to a better bottom line—that’s no secret.
You’ll see:
- Report higher conversion rates
- Quicker deal cycles,
- And increased revenue.
For example, Only B2B clients have experienced faster deal closures and larger average deal sizes due to the precision and efficiency that intent data brings to their marketing and sales strategies.
To accurately track ROI, focus on key metrics such as:
- Conversion rates: The percentage of intent-driven leads that turn into customers.
- Average deal size: The value of deals closed with the help of intent data.
- Lead-to-close time: The speed at which intent-driven leads move through the pipeline.
Best Practices for Using Intent Data Effectively
Looking to maximize the impact of intent data? Follow these best practices:
Prioritize High-Value Signals: Concentrate on intent signals that directly support your business objectives.
Align Sales and Marketing: Make sure both teams are using the same intent data and collaborating effectively to act on it.
Invest in Quality Data Providers: Select reliable providers to ensure your intent data is accurate and actionable.
Optimize Continuously: Keep refining your lead scoring models and retargeting strategies with fresh intent data to maintain top performance.
How Can Intent Data Elevate Your Campaigns?
Having access to top-tier intent data can make or break your strategy. When evaluating intent data providers, there are three priorities to consider
- Data Quality: Make sure your provider offers comprehensive coverage and detailed insights. Poor-quality or inaccurate data will do more damage than good in the long run.
- Functionality: The intent data should be consistently updated and flexible enough to evolve with your business priorities. Review your internal workflows and spot the gaps that intent data can help bridge.
- Platform Integration: Intent data is far more valuable when it integrates smoothly with your tech stack and can be leveraged across the entire customer journey.
Ready to see how our B2B intent data services can boost your strategy? Only B2B offers unparalleled insights to help you stay ahead of the competition and close deals faster. Let’s get you started on a data-driven path to success.
Vikas Bhatt is the Co-Founder of ONLY B2B, a premium B2B lead generation company that specializes in helping businesses achieve their growth objectives through targeted marketing & sales campaigns. With 10+ years of experience in the industry, Vikas has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by businesses today and has developed a unique approach to lead generation that has helped clients across a range of industries around the globe. As a thought leader in the B2B marketing community, ONLY B2B specializes in demand generation, content syndication, database services and more.
