ABM TacticsMarTech

What Role Does Intent Data Play in Demand Generation?

Grasping the role that intent data plays in demand generation is today’s pivotal question in the data-driven marketing world. Intent data gives you a peek into the behavior and interests of potential prospects, letting you market to them a hell of a lot better than you used to. With intent data, you can actually serve and not just sell. You can better qualify leads and saw in our last installment how intent serves as a signal in that regard.

What is Intent Data?

Intent data is information gathered about user actions that suggest possible engagement with a product or service. This data may be collected from several different places, such as:

The online engagement of people with the materials and resources of UAT is captured using several metrics. The primary measure is the number of unique users who visit the UAT website.

In this academic year:

7,429 unique users
24,156 total visits
62,857 total page views
69% new users visiting for the first time

(Source: Google Analytics, 2017)

Content downloads
Social media interactions
Responses to e-mail

Businesses can analyze this data to understand which leads hold a higher probability of conversion, letting them market more effectively. For instance, if a potential customer is downloading a white paper on 3D printing, the company with that information can make an educated guess as to what the person’s intent is. Likewise, with this kind of intelligence, businesses can pick up on trends and changes in customer preferences—with much more ease and much closer to real time.

Why Intent Data Matters in Demand Generation

It’s really important to have data pertaining to intent when you’re trying to dream up and then set in motion, effective strategies for demand generation. Here’s the reason: leastways, here’s one very good reason.

Improved accuracy: The data derived from user intent allow for much sharper and more accurate predictions of which leads are most likely to convert. When it comes to coaxing a conversion from a lead, your best bet is to use what appears to be a good lead. And when using that kind of data, the conversion rate is much more impressive than using the average working world conversion rate.
Better leads prediction: Using intent data, companies can make lead models more predictive. Identifying leads likely to convert sooner is the goal. And the better your intent data, the better your models.
Content strategies based on solid information: Knowing the reasons behind the way buyers act allows businesses to make content that truly hits home with their audience, which in turn makes the audience far more likely to engage with what they’ve been served.

Furthermore, companies that make use of intent data can see returns on their marketing campaigns that are 50 percent higher than those not using the data.

What Role Does Intent Data Play in Demand Generation?

A vital part, for sure. It ensures that one’s marketing is in lock-step with genuine customer desire. When a company spots a prospect who is deep into research and therefore likely to be a near future buyer, it can swoop in and have a conversation with that person. That’s what I mean by alignment.

If a potential customer often checks out content related to cloud solutions, they are probably ready for a conversation about that subject. When you know someone’s intent, you can respond to it. Intent-driven engagement is essentially what a sales conversation is all about.

Also, intent data equips sales teams to speak with more context to leads. This makes for personalized conversations that hit the mark, sales-wise, because they’re tailored to the specific needs of the prospective buyer.

Integrating Intent Data into Your Demand Generation Strategy

For businesses to gain the full advantage of intent data, they must incorporate it into their demand generation strategies. Here are the steps to take:

Gather information: Employ instruments that monitor user actions over different contact points.
Examine the data: Find and recognize patterns and trends that demonstrate an inclination to buy.
Divide audiences: Make divisions based on intent signals for more focused marketing efforts.
Synchronize sales and marketing: Share the insights with the sales teams to ensure timely and relevant outreach.

Additionally, constant surveillance and modifying of tactics according to content data ensures the sustained relevance and potency of the overall content marketing campaign.

Challenges and Considerations

There are obstacles to overcome when putting intent data strategies into action. Numerous companies confront concerns like the caliber of their data and the confidentiality of their customers. Moreover, it can be intricate to bring together varied sources of data.

Organizations should take the following steps to address these issues:

Put your money into dependable instruments for gathering data.
Make sure that the data is kept private according to these rules.
Consistently check and purify data so that it retains precision.

Moreover, creating an environment of teamwork between marketing and sales can ease the path toward a shared destination. It is a potent way to improve overall strategy effectiveness in companies whose go-to-market model requires both sales and marketing to work together.

Conclusion

Grasping the part that the intent data play in demand generation is key for any company that wants to make it in a competitive marketplace. As we’ve seen, intent data not only enhances targeting but also leads to better lead scoring and content strategies. By using intent data in a sensible way, companies can upgrade the experiences they provide to a mostly impersonal set of prospects. The next step, then, is to look at intent data’s role in personalized demand generation.