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6 expert insights on using intent data to grow revenue

  • abm
  • Marketing
  • personalization

8 October 2024

0 min read

Knowing your target audience is important for revenue growth, so it's important to understand your customers' needs, interests, and behaviors. Intent data helps by offering insights into customers' buying intentions and business opportunities. By analyzing this data, businesses can identify and engage prospects at the right time, boosting conversion chances. 

In a recent webinar, Paul Gilhooly, VP, General Manager at G2, Lacey Gaitan, Director of Growth Marketing at Optimove, and Carol Howley, CMO at Exclaimer explored the world of intent data and how it can unlock revenue growth for businesses. 

You can watch the full webinar above, but here are the main takeaways on the challenges, benefits, and best practices of using intent data.  

1. Understanding the purpose of intent data 

Intent data is typically defined as information used to identify which accounts are researching your products online. 

It's categorized into three types: 

  • First-party data, gathered from your own website or tech stack 

  • Second-party data from partners like G2 

  • Third-party data, typically collected from publisher websites 

The core of intent data lies in understanding the behavior of potential customers, which is primarily driven by content consumption. 

Analyzing this data helps businesses align their strategies with the buyer's evaluation process. For long sales cycles, it's important to understand the research and validation potential customers need. On the other hand, for transactional sales, the focus is on fast external validation and quick research. This awareness allows businesses to adjust their sales approach effectively. 

Ultimately, intent data helps prioritize accounts, letting companies target the right ones at the right time. By focusing on customer behavior, organizations reduce guesswork in account targeting. Using intent data strategically prevents missed opportunities and ensures prompt engagement in competitive markets. 

man and woman working at a whiteboard

2. Focusing on high-value and in-market accounts 

For sales teams, using intent data allows them to concentrate on accounts showing increased intent signals. Identifying these key accounts lets businesses target those likely in the market, enhancing sales outreach strategies. Tools that track intent signals also provide valuable insights into potential customers' interests and behaviors. 

Effective outreach hinges on timing. Engaging with prospects at the right moment, rather than waiting, allows you to outpace competitors. Recognizing intent signals early lets businesses act proactively, reducing sales cycles and gaining a competitive edge.  

Once companies start their outreach, relevant messaging needs to be used so it stands out. By looking at intent signals for specific keywords and topics, messages can be better tailored to match potential clients' interests. This targeted approach helps messages resonate better with audiences, capturing attention more effectively. 

3. How to use intent data effectively 

a. Pick the right metrics 

To reach revenue goals, organizations need to focus on specific metrics such as improving win rates, increasing average contract value (ACV), and reducing sales cycle times.

To do this, it's important to move beyond the outdated MQL approach, which is where intent data comes in. This strategy will provide clear improvements in key areas, eliminating the need for guesswork. 

b. Prioritize accounts 

By promptly addressing known problems, companies can provide real value at scale. However, spending time educating prospects about issues they're unaware of might lead to smaller deals.

To maximize productivity and ACV, sales teams should focus on those accounts that are more likely to purchase, shortening cycle times by concentrating on evaluation and proof points over education. 

c. Reduce churn 

Beyond sales, intent data also helps reduce churn. Spotting those customers who are actively considering competitors lets businesses quickly reach out to retain them.

By using intent data within the revenue team, businesses can increase productivity, cut customer acquisition costs, and keep their current clients happy. 

Intent data shown on a laptop

4. Common implementation challenges 

While intent data provides great benefits, using it effectively can be challenging. Here are some common implementation challenges, and how to overcome them: 

a. Laying the foundations 

First and foremost, organizations must have a well-structured CRM to centralize all their data and use third-party integrations to get accurate intelligence. Using different delivery methods, like Slack and email, means everyone can get important information in a way they prefer, making it easier to understand and use. 

b. Validate data 

To successfully implement and maximize intent data, it's crucial to validate the data's quality and quantity against target outcomes and Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). This ensures the data supports business goals and provides measurable benefits.

Organizations should also focus on securing buy in from senior executives and integrating new data-driven processes into routine tasks like account and territory reviews. 

c. Celebrate success 

Celebrating successes and modeling desired behaviors foster wider adoption and create a culture of continuous improvement.

Early wins, whether big or small, will show the impact of new data strategies and encourage team members to embrace change. Over time, this creates a "snowball effect" where teams are continuously optimizing their use of intent data. 

5. Connecting company level intent data with key decision makers

Connecting company-level intent data with key decision makers is an important strategy for businesses wanting to align their marketing and sales efforts. This requires targeting the right personas within organizations, based on historical data from successful deals.

By focusing on these personas, businesses can strategically find and engage the right people, even if they don't know each individual at first. 

  • To start, marketers should analyze intent data at the account level rather than an individual level.

  • Geolocation data can further refine this, particularly with large enterprise accounts.  

  • It's important to trust intent data sources, deciding which behaviors truly indicate purchasing interest. For instance, comparing products directly can be a reliable sign of buying behavior, while general content consumption may not. 

  • Once an account's market interest is confirmed, you can make a strategic decision whether to invest in contact data. This allows sales and marketing resources to focus on the right opportunities. 

intent data dashboard

6. The opportunity with AI and automation  

Integrating AI with intent data can transform business strategies. AI combines automation with intelligence, helping organizations scale sales and marketing operations while providing insights that improve decision-making.  

However, success still relies on personalization and relevance, crafting messaging that's both thoughtful and precise. This is where AI assistants, like G2's Monty, can support. By using natural language processing and generative AI, these assistants can respond in real-time with relevant recommendations. This helps buyers make more informed decisions by providing strong, data-driven options. 

The final word 

Intent data offers valuable insights into customers' purchasing intentions, letting businesses focus on high-value accounts that drive more revenue. By personalizing experiences based on this data, companies can enhance customer satisfaction, increase conversion rates, and enhance marketing efficiency. 

And when combined with Exclaimer's email signature management solution, intent data can personalize email signatures, maintain consistent branding, and showcase relevant content based on recipient intent. This turns every business email into a marketing channel, increasing conversions without additional cost. 

Find out more about Exclaimer's marketing features or sign up for an online demonstration today. 

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