AI and intent signals are a welcome combination as B2B marketers cautiously move into 2021. As businesses of all kinds prepare for a post-pandemic marketplace, leads and customer acquisition remain B2B marketers’ biggest challenges. Some marketing teams are seeing better budgets in 2021, while others struggle along on reduced or static budgets. In either case, artificial intelligence and intent data can level the playing field through quality leads with automation and scale.

There’s a difference between buyers actively evaluating a product vs readers consuming content to stay up-to-date with trends. True purchase intent matters. You know that, but you might not have had the help of AI to filter out those browsers. There should be a way to understand buyer’s action beyond content consumption, and there is. This is why artificial intelligence has become part of the game and will stay on the team post-pandemic.

360° Buyer Views: AI and Intent Signals Together

Both AI and intent data help B2B brands better understand and engage prospects and customers. Some methods achieve 360° views of in-market buyers and their intent behavior:

• Understand past behaviors of accounts, while monitoring current behavior of existing customers. Together you have a holistic view on how to serve their business with value.

• Intent data can pinpoint prospects in their buyer journeys based on digital behavior. AI can be leveraged to precisely analyze these signals at scale. 

Intent Intelligence about Real Behavior Signals

AI uses data mining, statistics, machine learning, modeling and other methods to analyze behavior, spot patterns and make predictions. When you’re dependent on historical information, your analysis may not take into account what’s currently trending in a niche. That is, those in-market prospects behind those trends.

Intent data is useful in understanding buyer behavior in action, not just in history. AI analyzes intent to understand what’s happening now and tracks digital footprints of in-market buyers. It gives you intent intelligence — clear pictures of buyer interest relevant to the websites they visit, content assets they download, and devices they use. 

No More Hit-and-Miss Marketing: Why Customization Matters

There’s no excuse and no reason for hit-and-miss marketing in 2021. Leverage intent signals and AI to identify, engage and nurture your best prospects. You can’t afford to lose time in 2021, because if you do, the road to recovering post-pandemic will only get longer. 

Customization is key to reaching the digital B2B buyer, so drive that home through your campaigns in all channels. No more beating around the bush with generic messaging and engagement, if you want to identify prospects ready to buy. Customize outreach and response based on their interests (as revealed by their intent.) Have relevant content assets to keep them engaged with you on their journey. Doing so saves time and resources, and leads to conversions. 

Intent Data and the Importance of Focus in B2B Marketing

It’s important for B2B organizations to focus on the right intent signals. Otherwise here’s what happens when all leads are pursued, regardless of interest and intent:

• Wasted budget
• Scattershot outreach
• Wasted staff resources
• Longer sales cycles
• Possible brand negativity
• Missed opportunities to help active buyers

B2B Marketers: Be Our Guest at Anteriad Summit 

Equip your marketing and sales team with AI-powered intent signals to provide relevant content to prospects searching for solutions you provide. When you do so, you increase the probability of getting highly qualified leads. It’s easier than you think. Also, please join us at “Accelerating Revenue with Artificial Intelligence” on April 14. It’s a couple of hours of deep dives into real stories about AI in B2B marketing.