A Marketer’s Ultimate Guide to B2B Intent Data

Business-to-business (B2B) intent data definition: B2B intent data gives insights about an Internet user’s intention to buy from you or your competitors based on their online behavior.

Fun fact: 74% of B2B customers conduct 50% of their research online before purchasing offline. That said, it’s best to find — and possibly nurture — them while they’re researching.

How? Using intent data enables B2B marketers to understand whether someone is interested in buying your product or signing up for your services.

If you want to know more about B2B intent data and leverage it for your business, you’re in the right place. This blog post will discuss these topics:

• What is B2B intent data?
• 2 types of B2B intent data
• How to use B2B intent data

While you’re here, join our community of 200,000 marketers who stay updated on the latest B2B marketing by subscribing to our weekly newsletter!

Don’t miss our Marketing Manager Insider emails!

Join 200,000 smart marketers and get the month’s hottest marketing news and insights delivered straight to your inbox!

Enter your email below:

Inline Subscription Form – CTA 72

“*” indicates required fields

Hidden

cf_country

Hidden

ajs_anonymous_id

Hidden

mcfxlp

Hidden

mcfxsource

Hidden

mcfxmedium

Hidden

mcfxterm

Hidden

mcfxreferrer

CAPTCHA

Email*

Comments

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

(Don’t worry, we’ll never share your information!)

What is B2B intent data?

B2B intent data is a set of insights about an online user’s intention to purchase a product or service from you or a competitor. It helps you determine whether a prospect is actively looking for a solution you offer, so you can nurture them and move them further down your funnel by:

• Crafting relevant content
• Personalizing marketing messages
• Providing a seamless customer journey

B2B intent data provides you with your prospects’ buying signals, which can include any of the following:

• Researching keywords relevant to your business
• Requesting a quote
• Scheduling a demo
• Signing up for a free trial
• Downloading your gated content

2 types of B2B intent data

Two types of B2B buyer intent data exist: first-party and third-party. Together, they paint a picture of your prospect’s online activities and give you context on your prospect’s journey. As a result, you can take action to nurture these prospects and convert them into customers!

First-party intent data or internal data

First-party data is data your organization has collected and saved in your databases and tools. It includes data about your website traffic and social media page engagement.

The contact details that your lead forms collect are also first-party intent data. Did a site visitor fill out your “Request a Quote” form? Chances are, they want to know more about one of your offerings.

Your website’s analytics tools, like Google Analytics, customer relationship management (CRM) software, and marketing automation platform are sources of first-party intent data.

Here are some examples of first party B2B buyer intent data sources:

• Website lead forms: Free trial sign-ups, requests for a quote, or demo scheduling forms.
• Actions taken on your website or app: Visiting your product pages and requesting access to your gated content.
• Clicks on your ads: Inquiries from customers to learn more about your offering.
• Social media pages’ engagement: Following your brand’s page, sharing your posts, or liking your content.
• CRM and marketing automation platforms: Including lead score and NPS survey results.

Third-party intent data or external data

Third-party intent data is data your organization didn’t collect and save in your systems. Instead, this intent data type comes from — you guessed it — third-party sources.

Third-party intent data provides insights into a prospect’s online activities not done on your website. It gives you a hint about your prospects’ other interests, including whether they’re checking out your competitors’ websites, too.

How to use B2B intent data

For B2B businesses, providing a personalized experience and seamless customer journey is critical to closing deals. Thanks to B2B intent data, you know what your prospects search for online and which of your products they’re interested in.

Here’s how you can use B2B intent data:

• Provide a personalized customer journey for your prospects
• Deliver targeted ads
• Implement informed account-based marketing (ABM) strategies
• Attribute marketing campaigns to business results

Let’s go through each B2B buyer intent use case:

Provide a personalized customer journey for your prospects

When you understand your audience better, you communicate more effectively. B2B intent data tells your prospects’ pain points and the solutions they look for online. You can use B2B intent data to personalize your marketing messages, headlines, and call to action for your site visitors.

For example, let’s say you’re in the business of software-as-a-service (SaaS) for medical practitioners and hospitals. Your B2B buyer intent data tells you a particular visitor is from a doctor’s office.

Instead of a generic description of your product and how it can help doctor’s offices and hospitals, you can show personalized marketing messages for medical practitioners. This way, your site visitor will feel you know their needs and can provide a solution.

Deliver targeted ads

B2B buyer intent data feeds intel into your advertising. What ads do they click on? What headlines capture their attention?

Because you know the answers to these questions, you can fine-tune your ad messaging and copies for prospects and audiences who are likely interested in your business, too!

Implement informed account-based marketing (ABM) strategies

ABM is a B2B marketing strategy focusing on personalized and targeted campaigns for specific accounts and clients. B2B intent data identifies accounts interested in your products and your competitors’, so you can run campaigns to nurture and convert these accounts.

In addition, B2B buyer intent data enables you to find new accounts that are looking for offerings like your own. For example, say an online user posts about their need for a service or product on LinkedIn. You can add this to your accounts list, run campaigns for that user, and engage with them later.

Attribute marketing campaigns to business results

B2B intent data helps you identify the marketing campaigns driving sales and business results. It also lets you know which website content attracts your target audience and what’s driving them to move down your funnel.

Meet MarketingCloudFX:

One platform tracking countless metrics and driving stellar results.

Learn More About Our Proprietary Software

Leverage B2B intent data to grow your business

B2B intent data informs you of your prospects’ buying signals so you can strategically run campaigns to nurture and convert them.

If you need help unlocking the power of your B2B intent data to grow your business, consider partnering with WebFX. We’re a full-service digital marketing agency with over 28 years of experience in creating results-driven strategies for our customers.

In addition, you get to use our proprietary growth platform MarketingCloudFX and earn at least 10 seats in our user-friendly CRM Nutshell.

MarketingCloudFX houses all your data securely in one platform so that you can leverage the power of your B2B buyer intent data. On the other hand, Nutshell can help you gather lead data and streamline your sales process.

Contact us online or call us at 888-601-5359 to speak to a strategist about our B2B digital marketing services!