What on earth is intent data?

Only if you knew who's actively searching for your solution

Your life would be so much better

That's exactly what "intent data" is

Intent data is a valuable asset for account-based marketers.

Why?

INTENT is ‘intention’

An individual or company’s ‘intention’ to buy your service or product.

Intent data is basically assigning a score to know which accounts have a high intention of exploring your offering 🥇

Think of intent data as digital footprints left by users (or corporations)

This includes the pages they visit, websites they visit, their searches, the content they engage with, the products they show interest in

You get the idea

Imagine you're a mind-reader – but in a totally legal but non-creepy way 😄

Intent data allows marketers to target high-value "in market" accounts via account-based marketing (ABM)

How would you make Intent Data work in ABM?

1. Identify your target audience:  Instead of focussing on accounts that may or may not be looking for a product like yours, you can directly reach accounts that you know for sure are searching for a solution right now.Wondering how you'll pick your Target Accounts?Read our Blog to get your answer
2. Personalize your marketing: When you know what your clients or prospects are interested in, you can personalize your marketing messages to be more relevant and persuasive. This enables you to connect with your target audience on a deeper level and increase the chances of converting them into customers.No no no, no need to thank me. Thank intent data !
3. Push up your conversion rates: When you know people who are already interested in your products or services and you pitch them, you obviously increase the chances of them converting into customers.The reason is simple- People who are already interested in a product or service are more likely to take action.
4. Optimize your marketing budgets: You'd agree with me when I say - There's nothing wrong with spending your budgets at the right places than exhausting them mindlessly.Have a look at this screen showing various information about an account.You get all you want and all you need, which means- No more useless spending.

When you already know who your target audience is and where they spend their time and attention, what are they talking about, you can allocate your marketing budgets more effectively.

The result: A clear improvement in your return on investment (ROI).

I hear someone partying. Is it you already?

Oh, the party's going on below..

Let’s go further a bit and know what are the 2 types of Intent Data:

First-Party Intent Data:

First-party intent data represents the valuable insights derived from your own digital properties and marketing channels.

It gathers the interactions and engagements within your ecosystem, granting you deep insights into customer behavior, preferences, and patterns.

By analyzing website visits, content downloads, email interactions, and form submissions, you gain an intimate understanding of your own customers.

Third-Party Intent Data:

Third-party intent data extends your view beyond your immediate circle by incorporating data from external sources and specialized vendors.

It offers a broader perspective on your target audience's online behavior, encompassing interactions across various platforms, websites, and industry-related networks.

Analyzing data from website visits, search queries, social media interactions, and industry platforms enables a more comprehensive understanding of customer intent signals.

Let's look at how the data actually gets collected and what's valuable.

Here’s how it looks in real.

Have a look at the Intent feature on Recotap’s product to

Get exposed to a never ending list of potential accounts to slide through and target your Ideal Customer Profiles.

Where from are all these numbers and data coming?

• Web traffic: This data can be used to track users' behavior on your website, which can help you better understand their needs and interests.
• Lead scoring: This system assigns a numerical value to each lead based on their level of interest in your product or service.

This information can be used to prioritize your leads and focus your marketing efforts on the most promising ones.

• Social media: These platforms can provide valuable insights into your target audience's interests and activities.

Use this information to create targeted ads and content that is more likely to resonate with your TAL and you're set. See more responses and better engagement.

Use Hublead with Hubspot to filter out target accounts from your LinkedIn

Ryann shares how to find your leads from LinkedIn using hublead.io (a little below)

• Internet scraping: This technique uses bots to gather information on prospects who might be interested in your offerings.

And your work is simplified already. Instead of approaching these accounts in a generic way, you can always greet with personalized content and win their trust.

• Marketing content: You can segment buyers into different lists based on the content they consume, and then provide targeted information about your software offering to each list.
• Sales activity: This data can provide insights into the interactions that your sales team has with your prospects. This information can be used to identify opportunities to improve your sales process and close more deals.
• Third-party sources: These sources, such as data directories and other intent signal providers, provide valuable intent that can be used to target and segment your prospects.

Let's understand the Target Account Statistics board for better clarity

1. You can know the engagement score of your account.
2. You know their business or focus trends- That gives you the signal when and in what direction you must change your messaging.
3. You know how good of an ICP they are.

To know the actual potential of intent data, it is crucial to employ the right tools and methods to track your customer’s activity.

After working with tools and various intent collecting methods here are some of my best trusted ones:

Analytics Data

Website analytics serves as a critical source of intent data, providing valuable insights into visitor patterns, page views, and click-through rates.

By delving into this data, you can discern customer preferences, understand content effectiveness, and identify potential opportunities for engagement.

Dig into your CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems act as a treasure trove of customer interactions, conversations, and purchase history.

Mining this data unearths valuable insights regarding customer preferences, pain points, and buying signals.

Listen to Ryan Gunn telling about how to use Hubspot to integrate your ABM campaigns with CRM.

Partnering with Third-Party Providers:

Third-party intent data specialists serve as valuable partners in acquiring comprehensive insights.

With Recotap you get 3rd Party Intent from our partner, Bombora.

Simply put, they scour the internet with their magic mix and tell you exactly who is in the market for your product this week.

If that's not a super-power, I don't know what is.

See how simply it's done on Recotap's platform:

How to use Intent Data in your Marketing?

Okay, having a super-power is of no use if we don't know how to use it.

You know, some great person said - "with great power comes great responsibility"

Now, as a B2B marketer it is your responsibility to make sure your intent data (super-power) is put to good use.

After 5 years in the ABM industry, I have learnt the best ways to use intent data.

Here they are....

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1. Hyper-Personalize your content:
   
   ‍Now that you know the needs, pain-points, behavioral patterns, you can segment and hyper-personalize your message for each account segment.
   
   The goal here is not to artificially put in a few words (name, company name etc won't cut it).Personalize using actual data that you have in your hand & speak to your prospects' deepest desires, fears & needs.
   
   Add just the right amount of personalization.
   ‍
2. Pick your focus areas better:
   ‍
   ‍How?
   ‍
   By guiding marketers to prioritize efforts effectively.
   
   By identifying accounts displaying strong intent signals, such as increased website visits or specific search queries, you can focus resources on high-potential prospects.
   
   Well you can? Can you?
   
   Obviously!
   
   This strategic approach optimizes resource allocation, enhances efficiency, and maximizes the impact of your marketing initiatives.
   ‍
3. Become friends with sales team: I know, I know. You may not believe me but here's the thing.
   
   Sales team doesn't like your marketing team because they think you aren't helping.
   
   But when you use
   
   - Intent data
   - Communicate clearly on the accounts you are targeting
   - Use personalized messaging
   - Influencing accounts before & after demo

Things change & yes you can become good friends after-all.

Simple, but not easy.

By sharing insights about accounts displaying intent signals, you equip your sales colleagues with valuable ammunition for personalized pitches and timely follow-ups.

What you’ll see is your engagement rate growing, customer journeys getting fostered, and none the less your revenue growth reaching new heights.

Wanna make the most by using Intent Data?

Unifying 1st & 3rd party data, the Recotap way...

While the first-party and party-first approaches have their distinct advantages, the true magic of intent data lies in their harmonious fusion.

By blending first-party insights with the broader context provided by third-party data, you can paint a comprehensive picture of your target accounts.

Wondering how to pick your Target Accounts?

The combination of first-party and third-party intent data allows marketers to create highly personalized and targeted account-based marketing campaigns.

Overall, with intent data, you can improve your marketing campaigns, save money, and make better business decisions.

If you are not already using intent data, I encourage you to consider doing so.

It can be a valuable asset for any business that wants to succeed in today's competitive marketplace.

Feel free to reach out to me in case you have any queries. I'll answer the silliest questions & the most complex ones too.

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