Intent Data: Definition + Common Use Cases What Is Intent Data?

What is intent data?

Intent data is info about what your potential clients are thinking when they’re making decisions. For example, if a business needs to upgrade their warehouse software, they’re not just randomly browsing for solutions — they have a specific problem they’re trying to solve.

And here’s where Intent Data comes in handy for B2B sales teams. Instead of just relying on your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to sell to prospects, you can actually see when a potential customer is looking for a solution and what they’re interested in.

Intent data definition

Intent Data is basically like insider info that you get before you even pitch your product. It can tell you what your leads are looking for, and what problems they’re trying to solve. This way, you can tailor your approach to each lead and offer them something they know they need.

There are a few ways to gather Intent Data, like looking at topics being researched, research intensity, and product pages browsed. Much of this data is hidden in the Dark Funnel™ of anonymous online research — but technology and data partnerships can help uncover the info.

AI can then help sales teams spot patterns in the data, such as when a potential customer is likely to make a purchase, and the individual concerns of multiple decision-makers within a B2B buying group. 

A brief history of intent data

The roots of intent data have formed alongside search engine culture. Today, the population responds to everything with a quick Google search. 

Naturally, this has carried over into B2B buying. Modern professionals begin their search for business solutions by researching the topic and seeking a solution. While marketing continued to focus on pitching and demo meetings, clients started coming to their own conclusions. 

Common use cases for intent data

Identify leads seeking your solution

There’s a big difference between generic ICPs and ICPs that are actively seeking a solution that your company offers (which we call In-Market Ideal Customer Profiles, or IICPs). 

Intent data can make the profound difference between cold-calling a team that has no intention or ability to make a purchase versus meeting a customer “at the door,” so to speak, with the item they already want to buy.

Determine a lead’s decision-making phase and readiness

Intent data can also help to identify when a lead is ready to be pitched. You can do this by tracking the decision-making phase. 

Intent data makes it possible to intuit just how close a future client’s buying team may be to choosing a provider. By understanding the customer’s buying stage, you can deliver relevant content that offers value and builds trust, rather than pushing for a sale when its inappropriate to the customer’s journey. 

Gain key insights on how to offer persuasive value to leads

Lastly, intent data provides unique insights into the pain points and best-selling strategies of your intent-qualified leads. 

What your leads are searching for can clearly indicate their problems. You’ll also see their priorities when seeking a new business solution. This allows marketers and sellers to fine-tune their approach.

Intent data best practices

Intent data’s role in prospecting leads

Lead prospecting starts by identifying companies that fit your ICP. But how do you know which are the most receptive? How can you see who is ready to commit to the solution your company offers? 

Using intent data for prospecting leads allows you to make the best use of your team’s time and efforts. Focus only on leads whose intent-data analysis reveals:

1. Research reflecting a need for your product, or 
2. A specific intent to choose a new solution that you can provide

Most important aspects of intent data

Intent data relies on the ability to gather a wealth of information from multiple sources, and tie that data back to individual companies that are performing research. When evaluating an intent data provider, you should consider:

• Account match rates: How accurately does the provider match online activity to a specific business account, and build a profile of their current research and intent.
• Multiple data sources: How many points of reference does the provider use to identify what online activity can be connected to each account? This goes beyond a single IP address. It includes the online activity from laptops, tablets, mobile devices, home offices, and mobile hotspots of target business accounts.

Value-add of intent data vs. MQLs for sales teams

MQLs often align with top-of-funnel B2B lead prospecting. An MQL is a prospect who has responded to marketing in some way by clicking an ad, reading a blog, or following an affiliate link. 

If marketing identifies the account as within its ICP, the information will go to sales. However, MQLs are notoriously imprecise when it comes to qualifying just how ready a potential lead may be to convert.

The problem with MQLs boils down to:

• MQLs reflect the behavior of an individual, not an entire team. When multiple members of a buying team engage in research, it is a much stronger sign that the account is likely to buy. 
• MQLs are based on form fills, and reveal only the buyers who raise their hands. Because of this, MQLs only reflect a small fraction of potential buyers.
• MQLs don’t reveal the strength of purchase intent. Because of this, sales teams often become skeptical of their value, leading to misalignment and tension between marketing and sales. 

Intent data adds value to the traditional MQL approach by:

• Personalizing lead qualification: Identify more about the lead by examining their online activity through intent data.
• Identifying the most (and least) receptive leads: Inform sales teams of which accounts appear to be actively making a decision versus those early in the independent research phase.
• Tracking real-time buyer intent: Intent data allows you to update a buyer’s decision-making stage as it progresses. Then you can inform sales when prospects become less or more engaged and ready to be sold to.

Filling in the sales pipeline gaps: There are always gaps in the pipeline where a deal with a new prospect may fall through. By providing dynamic insights and understanding, intent data can inform sales on how to close these gaps through a more personalized approach.

Intent data resources

• How Banks Can Use Intent Data to Find New Customers
• Aligning Sales and Marketing with Intent Data: How Motorola Filled the Gap