How widespread is the use of intent data by B2B companies? According to Gartner, “…by the end of 2022, more than 70 percent of B2B marketers will utilize third-party intent data to target prospects or engage groups of buyers in selected accounts.”

Intent data provides clues about both purchase intent and buyer engagement. Not only can high-quality intent data offer insights into prospect research history, those details can tailor messages that grab attention.

Justify Intent Data Like a Boss

How much does your organization currently use intent data? If your boss isn’t that into intent intelligence yet, keep reading to find out seven ways to demonstrate intent data ROI.

1 – ABM Campaigns Will Be More On-Point
With the help of intent data, marketers can better identify account-based marketing (ABM) prospects who are more likely to make a purchase soon. After prioritizing accounts based on purchasing intent, the next step is to invest in lead nurturing activities that serve up relevant messaging and content, also clued in by intent intel. ABM email campaigns, video, and programmatic displays are all well-served by intent.

2 – Expand and Rejuvenate Your Database
A major mistake for B2B organizations is to run campaigns based on old data. Poor data wastes time and budgets. It leads to campaigns that may irritate potential customers instead of engaging, if you reach them at all. Many companies use intent to update their databases with accounts that are active in the market. Within the B2B world in particular, intent data helps companies maintain a robust database beyond what other options can do, such as purchased lists.

3 – Produce Relevant Content Assets
Instead of assuming what your target audience might like or need, use intent intelligence to create content that aligns with what prospects actively search for. Depending on the quality of the source, intent data can be extremely beneficial for content marketers by providing details about content search behavior and preferences. Other insights can guide development and distribution efforts at all stages of a buyer’s or target account’s journey.

4 – Reduce the Length of B2B Sales Cycles
B2B sales cycle typically runs upwards of six months to a year, but sometimes longer. By trusting intent data, marketers avoid wasting time, energy, or resources on accounts that aren’t in the buying cycle. A shorter sales cycle is worth striving for, because it lessens the cost of acquisition to a significant extent. Shorter sales cycles not only empower businesses, but also satisfies all stakeholders involved whether they’re salespeople, marketers, or customers.

5 – Determine Cross-Sell Opportunities and Lessen Customer Churn
Another major benefit of leveraging intent data is that it provides businesses with the power to determine cross-sell opportunities and discover churn indicators through monitoring online behaviors. Thanks to intent data, companies can gain real-time visibility as accounts research competitor products and services, and then react accordingly before the customers disappear.

6 – Personalize the Digital Experience with Intent Data
Digital marketers use quality intent data to their advantage to provoke highly personalized marketing campaigns. Intent monitoring reveals clues from buyer behavior that brands can leverage to show they understand the buyer’s situation. Personalized marketing not only helps improve customer experiences, but also increases brand loyalty and produces consistency across numerous digital channels.

7 – Optimize Campaigns In Real-Time
It’s essential to be proactive and adaptable in the ever-changing, attention-challenged B2B marketplace. The pandemic proved that to marketers. Leveraging quality intent data gives marketers agility to optimize their ongoing efforts for relevance and channel.

More and more B2B marketers have come to realize how intent data enhances and strengthens overall sales and marketing performance. It plays a role in increasing conversions and earning business. It’s safe to say that personalized data-driven marketing is the attention-driven future, and intent data is at the heart of it all.

With all this being said, is it time to have a talk with your boss about maximizing marketing spend with intent data? Use these seven ways to make intent data a pivotal part of your marketing strategy.

Get Deeper into Data on July 14

In the meantime, learn more about incorporating intent intelligence into your B2B organization at the Anteriad Summit. Marketing, sales and data teams are invited to spend a couple of inspirational hours with experts in data-driven revenue.