Most B2B organizations are making investments in intent data, but many still struggle to understand its impact in the sales pipeline. Not only do most experience challenges with leveraging intent in B2B Revenue Waterfall™, they also fail to leverage intent data fully across the opportunity lifecycle and the broader organization. By only applying intent data to limited use cases, such as identifying accounts that are in an active buying cycle, B2B organizations are leaving revenue on the table. What’s more, they are failing to gain efficiencies and broader business benefit from the intent investments they have made. To maximize the return from intent investment, frontline teams need to apply intent analytics across a broad set of use cases.
At their core, intent analytics provide signals that help organizations understand where potential buyers are in their decision-making journey. However, it doesn’t follow that intent is only useful to reveal in-market buying signals. By tailoring outreach strategies based on these signals, marketers can engage prospects more effectively, even in the early stages of research. Our latest report, Intent Analytics: Applying Intent Signals To Marketing Activation, lays out how to apply intent data in a variety of marketing use cases, including:
Understanding buying cycle stages for smarter engagement. Organizations can use signal intensity to identify whether a prospect is in the early research phase, actively evaluating solutions, or nearing a purchase decision. This allows marketers to tailor their outreach, ensuring that their efforts align with the prospect’s needs at each stage.
Finding the sweet spot for investment. Late-stage signals, while seemingly promising, may represent prospects who have already narrowed their options to a shortlist of vendors. By focusing resources on opportunities with the highest potential, companies can maximize ROI and minimize wasted effort.
Impacting the business beyond revenue goals. Intent analytics aren’t only valuable to the sales pipeline — they can be leveraged for broader strategic initiatives. From fine-tuning buyer journey maps to enhancing partner marketing efforts, intent data can provide critical insights that drive more effective engagement.
By integrating intent data into their systems, customizing engagement based on buyer signals, and aligning resources with high-priority opportunities, companies can unlock new growth avenues and maximize their precious budget, resources, and focus. When used effectively, intent analytics are a strategic asset that can transform the efforts of the growth engine, ensuring no opportunity is left untapped.
In an increasingly competitive B2B landscape, failing to maximize intent data isn’t just a missed opportunity—it’s a risk. By expanding its use cases across functions and refining its application, organizations can ensure they’re not leaving money on the table.
Clients can get more information, including insights from their fellow practitioners, by checking out this new report and by scheduling a guidance session to explore the use cases that are most relevant to them and develop a plan to fully leverage their intent analytics.
For insights into how you can evaluate available intent offerings, check out Brett Kahnke’s companion blog on how to select intent providers.
