How to Use Buyer Intent Data to Your Sales Advantage

March 27, 2020
Contributor: Patrick Fischer

Collect buyer intent signals from sources with a high volume of quality traffic to leverage insights and increase lead generation success.

If you’re running a successful pay-per-click (PPC) campaign, you know the power of lead generation fueled by buyer actions, or clicks, on third-party sites like Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice.

The future of B2B lead generation — buyer intent data — expands the traditional prospect pool by capturing valuable buyer data before any action takes place. Intent data provides insights into buyer engagement and purchase intent. When that data is collected from a source with a high volume of quality traffic, it can be leveraged to boost your sales advantage.
 

Maximize sales outreach

Prospects spend 50% of their time seeking information from third-party sources, according to Gartner (full research available to Gartner clients). Sales teams typically wait for buyers to complete an action or contact form to identify prospect interest. With buyer intent signals, it’s now possible to uncover prospect movement and prioritize outreach based on those intent indicators.
Buyers are seeking information from third-party sources.
Guide sales and marketing messaging

Use buyer intent data to strategically target in-market prospects and turn them into quality leads. Quality intent data can provide insight into prospect research history, including specific companies and products. Use that information to craft messaging and stay ahead of your competition, because “by the end of 2022, more than 70% of B2B marketers will utilize third-party intent data to target prospects or engage groups of buyers in selected accounts” (full research available to Gartner clients).

Initial sales and marketing outreach commonly includes generic marketing tactics, product information and offerings because of limited prospect information. Buyer intent signals help teams identify where buyers are in their purchase journey, enabling them to adapt targeted marketing messaging and sales pitches, and better align with the specific interest signals buyers leave across third-party sites.
 

Reduce churn rate

Continue to leverage buyer intent data after prospects convert to clients. Monitor intent signals to identify clients who research alternative solutions or competitors. That information likely indicates who may need additional attention or support. When clients search for additional or alternative solutions on third-party sites, it may be because your product failed to fulfill a specific need. Set up triggers to request feedback from those clients to identify gaps, guide future product development and reduce churn.

Buyer intent data from a reliable, high-traffic volume resource can be invaluable across many facets of an organization. Offer your teams access to intent data to increase efficiency, encourage data-backed decisions and create a stronger sales strategy.
 

Patrick Fischer
Patrick Fischer is the Vice President of Sales for Gartner Digital Markets. He has more than 20 years of sales and sales leadership experience with a passion for motivating his teams to consistently surpass their goals. He is also a proud alumnus of The University of Memphis and a big soccer fan. Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn.
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