Frustrated with marketing efforts that seem to fall into the void? Struggling to convert leads that never quite materialize or are losing ground to emerging competitors?
It's time to take off the blindfold and tap into the goldmine of buyer intent. Forget aimless targeting - zero in on what your customers need, exactly when they need it.
In the B2B industry, ignorance isn't bliss; it's burning cash. However, with buyer intent data, you get insights into what your prospects and customers are thinking at every stage of the sales process. Intent data works by analyzing the digital breadcrumbs your customers leave behind while interacting with online content– be it through searches, visits, or downloads. From these digital traces, signals about their interests, needs, and buying stage can be extracted, painting a detailed picture of your ideal customer.
So, instead of wasting time and money on outdated marketing methods, focus on what works. Use buyer intent data to attract leads, cut costs, and keep customers coming back. In this article, we'll uncover a few points about how to use intent data and measure ROI for it, based on insights from our recent webinar "Unlock Intent Data".
Intent data types
- First-party intent data is generated from interactions with a company's own content and digital assets, like website visits, form submissions, and content downloads.
- Second-party intent data involves the direct sharing of first-party data between two businesses. G2 is a second-party intent data provider.
- Third-party intent data is sourced from external providers like Bombora, who aggregate information from various publishers, websites, or other sources.
How to use intent data
Intent data can be used for various actions, like scoring leads, segmenting audiences, personalizing outreach efforts, and targeting accounts that are actively researching products or services similar to what you offer. But that’s not all! Let’s take a deeper look into how you can use intent data to increase conversion and retention rates.
1. Elevate outbound lead generation
Gone are the days when outbound lead generation was just a numbers game. To ensure your efforts aren’t wasted on uninterested parties, it is important to know your prospects' intentions. Knowing that the leads are already in a research phase helps sales reps increase the relevance and effectiveness of their outreach.
G2 intent data allows you to build a targeted list of high-potential companies actively researching your solution, your category, or engaging with your competitors. Tailoring your outreach to these leads with personalized messages that resonate with their current needs and pain points improves response rates and shortens sales cycles. It also positions you as a solution provider precisely when the prospect is actively seeking one.
2. Outbound inbound lead generation
For companies with long sales cycles, intent data is a map that reveals your prospects' entire journey, from casual browsing to active consideration. This allows you to tailor your messaging and personalize your content at every stage.
Integrate your buyer intent data with a lead-scoring model
- Give each visitor an engagement score. This score dynamically rises with every strong action – comparing you to a competitor or requesting a demo.
- Higher scores reflect super-hot leads deserving immediate attention and personalized outreach.
- Lower scores highlight leads in early exploration. Automate communication that provides general information until their interest intensifies.
Intent data integrated with a good lead-scoring framework allows sales and marketing teams to ensure that time and energy are invested where they're most likely to yield results: on prospects showing high intent and a genuine interest in what your business has to offer.
3. Slash customer acquisition costs
Understanding the return on investment (ROI) of marketing efforts is simplified with the integration of buyer intent data. By aligning efforts with the insights provided by B2B intent data providers, you can optimize campaigns for maximum impact. Simply invest where it counts and target prospects who are most likely to convert.
Using G2 intent data, you can pinpoint companies that are actively researching your type of software or service, which suggests they are further along in the buyer's journey. Focusing your marketing and sales efforts on these warm leads can yield higher conversion rates and lower customer acquisition costs.
4. Boost customer retention
Intent data isn't just about attracting new customers; it's equally vital for retaining existing ones. You can intervene before issues escalate by monitoring customer behavior and identifying signs of disengagement. Proactive measures based on intent data, such as targeted offers or personalized communication, can rekindle interest and loyalty, reducing churn rates.
G2 intent data alerts you when your existing customers are browsing competitor pages or looking for alternate solutions. This early warning signal allows you to engage with these customers, address any issues, and provide value-added services or incentives that could deter churn.
5. Personalize across the buyer's journey
One of the most powerful applications of buyer intent data lies in personalization. By segmenting your audience into different stages of the buyer's journey – Top of Funnel (TOFU), Middle of Funnel (MOFU), and Bottom of Funnel (BOFU) – you can tailor your content and offers to match the specific needs and concerns of each stage.
- For TOFU audience: For prospects exploring your category on G2, tailor awareness-level content that addresses the initial queries and concerns. Offer detailed guides, G2 Grid Reports, and educational resources to highlight how your product or service can solve their pain points.
- For MOFU and BOFU audiences: For prospects comparing you to a competitor on G2, craft content that illustrates how your offering stands out, utilizing case studies, comparison reports, review badges, and testimonials. Emphasize key differentiators and unique selling points to guide your prospects toward understanding why your solution is the optimal choice for addressing their specific requirements. Further down, you can offer personalized demos, free trials, competitive pricing details, and more to close the deal.
G2 integrations to supercharge your buyer intent strategy
G2 offers various integrations with platforms such as LinkedIn, Slack, and ZoomInfo, allowing you to harness buyer intent data in multiple ways. These integrations help enhance the customer acquisition process, align sales and marketing efforts, and improve the overall efficiency of the conversion funnel.
- The LinkedIn integration allows you to tap into LinkedIn's vast network to build and nurture customer relationships. Utilizing G2's data, you can create LinkedIn advertising campaigns that target specific individuals who have shown an interest. This could also involve retargeting users who have visited your G2 profile or have interacted with your previous ads.
- You can receive instant notifications via the Slack integration whenever a company rep takes important actions on G2, like checking your pricing page. This integration simplifies collaboration by bringing G2 alerts into Slack, where teams already communicate. It ensures quick responses to engaged leads.
- The ZoomInfo integration combines G2’s intent signals with ZoomInfo’s in-depth contact database. This integration ensures efficient prospecting, allowing you to engage with the right decision-makers at companies most likely to have signaled intent on G2.
Measuring ROI for intent data
Determining the ROI for buyer intent data isn't a one-size-fits-all endeavor. It highly varies based on industry specifics, the nature of software offerings, and individual customer lifetime value expectations. In higher-value deals, a transactional mindset falls short. Instead, the focus shifts to creating engagement and building a lasting connection with your brand.
Take, for instance, the initial costs associated with LinkedIn retargeting campaigns. While they may initially appear steep, especially when targeting specific job functions and companies aligning with your ICP, the resulting conversion rates and generated revenue often far exceed these upfront expenses.
When it comes to measuring the ROI of intent data, you can explore the following options.
- Compare companies showing intent signals on G2 with new CRM leads throughout the sales cycle. Analyze reports to understand the link between intent signals and successful deals.
- Use G2's CRM integration. Within the CRM, activity feeds simplify connecting closed deals to G2-sourced leads, allowing smooth tracking across companies, contacts, and deals.
Case study: Check out how Umbraco utilizes G2 intent data to monitor lead journeys, revealing that 15-20% of leads engage with G2 before being captured in their CRM.
Unlock intent data
G2's Buyer Intent is a powerful tool for B2B marketers, offering a nuanced understanding of buyer behavior that goes beyond traditional analytics. By using this data effectively, you can supercharge your marketing strategies and drive engagement, conversions, and ultimately, revenue growth.
With the gold mine of customer data in your hand, you just need to track your progress, tweak your approach based on the data, and continuously optimize your process.
So stop casting that wide net and start using G2 Buyer Intent data to target the right prospects, at the right time, with the right message. Your sales and marketing teams will thank you for it.
Ready to unlock the power of buyer intent data? Tune your marketing strategies to your buyers’ intent and find your next best customer with G2 Marketing Solutions.
