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Each of us has experienced a few B2B marketing trends that appeared and then vanished swiftly.
However, harnessing buyer intent data for more effective and efficient marketing is a trend that is undoubtedly here to stay.
Let’s take a look at intent data in detail. We will cover the myths, success criteria and mistakes related to buyer intent in this article.
- Introduction
- 5 Common Myths about Intent Data of B2B Buyers
- Choosing quantity is always better
- You cannot take action based on buyer intent data
- All intent data is the same
- A data team is required to work on buyer intent data
- Account-level intent data is not useful
- 8 Reasons Why Marketing Campaigns Created on Intent-Based Data are More Successful
- 7 ABM Mistakes Marketers Must Avoid
- The Journey of a B2B Buyer and Intent Data
- How to Use Intent Data to Create Successful B2b Marketing Campaigns
- Conclusion
Introduction
Buyer intent data is a compiled set of information that points to potential customers.
With the correct data, you may build effective ABM campaigns and concentrate your budget on accounts that are prepared to buy.
Your sales staff may simultaneously add content that customers are actively looking for to their pitches.
This way, marketing campaigns become more effective and transaction cycles are greatly expedited.
5 Common Myths about Intent Data of B2B Buyers
There are a few misunderstandings about buyer intent data.
It’s crucial to understand the difference between fact and fiction when there are so many tools, applications and methods to filter through.
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Quantity is always better
Recognize that more isn’t necessarily better while formulating your plan of action. Put quality before quantity.
After all, the noise of straightforward web research differs significantly from shopper activity that demonstrates true intent.
Buyer intent scores from companies that cater to broad online research are not an indication of consideration, impact, or interest.
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You cannot take action based on buyer intent data
Intent data tells you exactly when to strike.
The most useful intent data lets you know when your customers are interested.
It is useless if it doesn’t draw attention to customers in your target key accounts who are motivated enough to act.
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All intent data is the same
All intent data is not the same. The quality of intent data depends on how it was obtained; whether the information comes from a first-party, second-party, or third-party source.
The use of software review sites by marketers offers second-party data from actual customers who are reading reviews, conducting comparisons, and price-checking both your products and those of your rivals.
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A data team is required to work on buyer intent data
A data team is not required to use buyer intent data.
You can deliver the intent directly to the people who need it, in real time, as long as your intent data source can interface with your tech stack.
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Account-level intent data is not useful
With account-level intent data, you will know which case studies to give to which prospect and the sales team will know when to follow up with the ideal proof points to seal the transaction.
Buyers will get solutions that more effectively address their pain points, and sales cycles will be shorter.
8 Reasons Why Marketing Campaigns Created on Intent-Based Data are More Successful
Now that we have busted the five most common myths about intent data, let us see why intent-based marketing is effective.
Here are 10 reasons why:
- With intent-based data, customers get personalized content. Hence, it generates three times more leads than paid search advertising.
- Intent-based data helps you make your content SEO-friendly with the relevant keywords and more clickable since you target specific pain points.
- Specific landing pages, which are created based on search intent of the user, provide higher conversion rates. With the help of these landing pages, you can screen out less interested sources as well as drive buyers along your funnel.
- Specialized automation tools are available that compile data and send an automatic alert to your sales representatives as soon as the buyer’s intent indicates purchase.
- When clubbed with paid advertising, like personalizing ads as per intent, it improves the ROI of paid marketing.
- With intent data, you receive important information like the location of the customer or the store they visit often. Hence, this data can also be used to strengthen local marketing efforts.
- Intent adds greater value to your business at every level of the customer journey. This value manifests itself in higher landing page conversion rates, an uptick in sales, as well as increased website traffic and qualified prospects.
- By providing the sales and marketing teams with shared goals, intent marketing encourages them to collaborate with each other.
With all these benefits in mind, marketers can use search intent information to target specific accounts. But while doing so, they must avoid making some mistakes that would end up costing them a lot of wasted money and effort.
7 ABM Mistakes Marketers Must Avoid
Here are the seven mistakes that B2B businesses must avoid while creating an ABM strategy with intent-based data.
- Not using account-based marketing data while creating the list
- Not prioritizing the customers based on the ABM list
- Not personalizing content according to the interests of their potential customers
- Not conducting enough research
- Not using ABM as a long-term strategy
- Not tracking the correct metrics and optimizing according to those
- Not maintaining communication and alignment between their sales and marketing teams
The Journey of a B2B Buyer and Intent Data
Knowing where a customer is in their buying process is really helpful. The alignment and optimization of the appropriate content to search terms used throughout the buyer journey can enhance both the buyer’s experience and your conversion rates, as search is a key driver of contact acquisition and inbound inquiries.
You can optimize content by using relevant keywords. You must understand the different types of keywords — audience terms, solution terms, and branding terms — and use the ones most relevant to your target audience.
Once you have chosen the keywords, write an article, add the keywords, and add links to the different pages of your website.
You can also create your own discussion forums and communities to leverage the authority and credibility of relevant networks.
How to Use Intent Data to Create Successful B2B Marketing Campaigns
We have read about the benefits of intent data and the mistakes to avoid while creating an ABM marketing plan based on this data. Now, let us take a look at how we can use this data to create successful marketing campaigns.
- Use intent data to create powerful social media campaigns.
- Use intent data to personalize content and boost conversions.
- Use intent data to understand what new service or product you can create for your customers.
- Use intent data to make changes on your website and improve the site navigation.
- Use intent data along with the customers’ website journey to create a personalized experience for them.
- Use intent data to segment your customers into different categories, so you can target them accordingly.
- Use intent data to reduce the effort of the sales and marketing teams.
Conclusion
Buyer intent data is not just a trendy fad.
It’s already here and will continue to influence how we sell and market software in order to give clients fully customized experiences.
However, the source of your intent data is just as important to the success of your intent-based campaign as how you implement it is.