Context Key to Intent Data

Over the last year I’ve become a plant mom – I’ve picked up a bunch of indoor plants to make my home a greener and happier place. Ever since, I’ve been doing my fair share of online research into how to nurture their growth – or at least keep them alive! Most plant care websites also sell plants, but I’m not into purchasing plants online – I’m an in-person kind of buyer here. However, many of these websites could log me in their CRMs as a buyer with intent to purchase because I’m researching, and they’d be wrong to do so.

If you saw our blog Intent Data: A Quick Explainer, you know intent data is behavioral data collected about an individual’s or company’s online activities meant to signal to marketers and sales pros their intent to purchase a product or service.

According to industry research:

Intent data can be very powerful if harnessed and used correctly.

    • 94% of B2B marketers report intent data is effective in solving critical marketing challenges, and
    • 70% of intent data users report their strategies as very effective, compared to only 33% of marketers who aren’t using intent.

So, what does it take to make sure your B2B buyer isn’t just doing some research about the type of software you create, like I research how to keep my plants alive? How do you zone in on the lead who wants to buy your solution versus the new hire educating themselves about what SaaS means, or the analyst writing a report about the current state of Software-As-A-Service? Context is key!

Context requires a deep dive into who the person researching your solution is. Intel can range from high-level info to the nitty gritty, including:

    • Knowledge about the prospect’s company and job title,
    • Their colleagues’ online activities,
    • Whether they align with your ICP, and
    • How much expertise they have in topics related to your product.

With these context clues, you can build a trail of intent to purchase your solution, weed out all the researchers,1 and focus on engaging with your target customers.

If you’d like to learn more about intent data or have ideas for how to help make marketers’ jobs easier, send us a note. We love hearing from our smart marketing friends!

1Puns always intended!