The 101 on Intent Data

Do you ever wonder what your target consumer is thinking when shopping? You probably want to know how to keep them on your page and what is causing them to leave your page. The answers you need lie in intent data, a behavioral dataset that tells your business what an individual or company is interested in. It is a tool used to predict the buyer’s behavior and intention to buy products or services.

Intent data represents a bold new wave in data-driven marketing. Our friends at Bombora are the leading intent data agency. They define it as “[d]ata that is collected about a prospective business web users’ observed behavior. Specifically, web content consumption – that provides insights into their interests and from this indicate potential intent to take any action.” In short, intent data allows you to target people who are researching what you are selling.

Types of Intent Data

First-Party Intent Data

This is the data that a business collects on its users from its platforms. This would include data from CRM systems, social media, landing pages, and your business’s website or app. This data helps you determine if your prospect needs similar data. The easiest way to get this info is by getting prospects to fill out forms on your website.

Third-Party Intent Data

This data is collected from other websites about its users. Third-party intent data shows you what your prospects are doing across the web. These are usually datasets sold by third-party vendors, like Bombora.

How Does Intent Help B2B Sales?

Intent data allows your business to be the first company your potential client sees. Intent data allows you to get to the buyer before they start looking at your competition. There are three ways to use intent data for your business.

• Scoring leads based on their intent – You can do this by ranking them by their intent. This can help you differentiate between the leads interested in your business and products versus those who a just browsing. Try creating an organized list of leads based on their intent on buying from your business. Make the your lead-to-customer process more efficient by targeting leads that want to shop from your company. Once you have a list of buyers, you can speak with your leads directly. This will help you to understand your customer persona and their intent which will help you better score leads and turn them into buyers.
• Cold Calling – This is a great way to know more about the prospect from the start. While they learn more about your products and services, your business will give the prospect a direct line of contact and understand what they are looking for. For example, you can know which one of your competitors your prospect is and has been looking at with intent data. You can pitch them and steer them away from your competitors with a well-timed cold call.
• Reduce Churn and Increase Up-Sells – Intent data is excellent for knowing and understanding your prospects’ needs. For example, say you are about to lose a prospect. Intent data allows you to see that they are losing interest in your website. You can then decide to save the client or offer them your service or product at a discounted rate. Suppose your business doesn’t provide the product or service. In that case, use the information to your advantage by finding the gaps in your services and possibly offering it in the future. In the end, the goal is to let your prospect know that they can trust your business.

Take advantage of intent data and put yourself ahead of your competition. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter and podcast and learn more about trending marketing topics.