B2B Intent data explained: Five ways to attract more prospects with ABM

Gone are the days of ‘spray and pray’ marketing tactics. Today’s marketer is opting for laser-focused audience targeting, and looking to Account-based Marketing (ABM) to get the job done. And adding Intent data can help to amplify ABM efforts, accelerating performance to goals and efficiency around activity.

Personalizing ads, content, campaigns, emails, and consistent outreach to a selected group of high-value accounts can radically help your B2B sales team close more deals. And according to TOPO, over 80% of B2B organizations run ABM programs.

But these efforts are only as reasonable as the data that fuels them. Knowing whether your accounts are in an active buying cycle can make all the difference, which is where Intent data can become your most influential ally. It provides insights into the current interests of potential customers and solutions they might be willing to purchase. And by the end of 2022, more than 70% of B2B marketers will use Intent data to amplify their ABM strategies in many different ways.

1. Targeting accounts with ABM early in the buying cycle can increase sales traction

Prospects do most of their research way before ending up on your site. By that time, your solution is likely just one of many they’re considering. Intent data can help you identify organizations in active buying cycles and target them using ABM long before visiting your website, so you’re top of mind, early on.

Additionally, you can de-prioritize accounts that aren’t ready to purchase. Instead, spend time on leads that are actively researching your product or service categories. Marketing and sales teams can then focus their efforts on a narrow pool of qualified prospects that are more likely to convert. This approach can contribute to an uptick in key performance metrics such as email open and click rates, helping you get the best value from your ad dollars.

2. Using emotive, personalized content can kickstart the right account conversations

Intent data can critically inform your content marketing strategy. Tailoring your latest eBook or buyers’ guide to the needs of your prospective leads can be the pivot your sales teams’ needs, to reach the target accounts you’ve been working to attract.

Whether you’re creating top-funnel educational blog posts, mid-funnel nurture emails, or bottom-funnel sales enablement material, Intent data will give you the insights you need to produce content that’s custom to your audiences’ interests along the buyer journey, minimizing the risk of irrelevant, low-interest marketing.

By delivering the right content at the right time, your team can attract and capture prospects’ interest before competitors even stand a chance.

3. Understanding prospect intent is vital for optimizing events

Events are another vital part of ABM. The COVID-19 pandemic made it challenging to organize in-person meetings in 2020, but events are here to stay as a critical marketing tactic in the post-coronavirus world. How they are championed is what’s currently under adjustment; marketers are investing heavily in top of the line hardware, aimed at providing a seamless remote meeting experience, to get as close as we can get to having a cup of coffee in person.

Intent data can take event marketing to a new level.

Marketers can use it to identify geographic regions with an unusually high cluster of relevant accounts. Events organized in these areas are likely to have higher attendance rates. Also, knowing prospects’ research interests helps you to optimize pre and post-event ABM outreach and spark conversations that attendees are excited about, thanks to focusing your content on the most popular Intent topics.

4. Data-driven lead scoring helps sales teams

Intent data can also shorten sales cycles across ABM programs by scoring accounts based on the intensity of their content consumption against specific products and services. If a prospect appears to be highly interested in solutions that you offer, your sales team can reach out at the right time and close the deal.

Conversely, you’ll know when it’s best to avoid outreach activities from the little to no intent signal in your offering at that point in time. Data-driven lead scoring can provide sales teams with a stream of accounts that are more likely to convert and positively impact your bottom line.

5. Finding new cross-sell opportunities and reducing churn

An important, but sometimes overlooked, part of ABM is the need to nurture relationships with existing customers. Intent data can be a game-changer in that regard.

It can alert you when customers are researching products that you already offer or explore offerings of your competitors. A sales team can then act on this information and provide relevant solutions.

Data-driven ABM strategies improve the opportunity to cross-sell, increase the account’s lifetime value, and reduce churn.

Integrate Company Surge® Intent data into your ABM platform

Amplifying your ABM programs with Intent data results in more leads, increased sales, and lower costs. Intercepting prospects and offering relevant solutions instead of waiting for them to stumble on your landing pages will ensure you gain a competitive edge. This will help you achieve your goals faster and save a lot of time and money.

Bombora can help you achieve this goal. Its Company Surge® Intent data will bring you in front of your accounts early in their decision-making process. You can also integrate this Intent data into various ABM platforms, including Outreach, Everstring, Engagio, HubSpot, and others.