Intent data points are essentially digital breadcrumbs that indicate a potential customer’s interest in a product or service. While it’s tempting to lump all intent data into one category, doing so can be a mistake. There are different types of intent data, and different providers mean different things when it comes to what comprises intent data.

While many companies leverage intent data to refine their marketing and sales strategies, the effectiveness of this data heavily relies on its relevance, source and the method used to gather and analyze it. For example, what Bombora and ZoomInfo mean by intent data may significantly differ from nuanced and advanced platforms like Plena.

Impact of intent data on the quality of B2B lead generation

Intent data significantly enhances B2B lead generation strategies by providing insights into potential customers' behavior and interests. By leveraging advanced AI tools that can identify and qualify prospects using intent, businesses can generate high-quality leads way more effectively than traditional tools or manual methods. The intent also enables you to build more personalized and targeted marketing efforts.

Companies can integrate intent data into their outreach strategies, maximizing conversion rates and streamlining the sales process. As the landscape of intent data continues to evolve, understanding and investing in high-quality sources becomes crucial to stay competitive. So, let's look at how intent data differs from company to company.

How intent data means different things with different vendors

Companies like Bombora and ZoomInfo are well-known for providing intent data, but their methodologies and the quality of their data can vary. 

Bombora

Bombora specializes in B2B intent data, aggregating data from a network of publishers and analyzing online behavior to identify potential leads. The sources from which Bombora collects intent data is collected includes: 

• Individual publishers and review sites
• Publisher co-op or partnership
• Bidstream

Here’s a deep-dive into how each of these 3 sources work 👇

However, the key point to understand is the nature and reliability of the intent data that you get from these sources.

Let’s say you are a CRM software provider and are looking to build a list of high intent prospects to reach out to, who might be interested (or) in the market to buy a CRM solution.

When you query into a solution like Bombora looking for high intent buyers, you typically get a list of accounts what they call as CompanySurge. 

Bombora Company Surge® measures aggregated account-level intent over a 3-week period relative to a 12-week baseline to determine if a company is showing an increased interest in a specific Intent Topic.

What it effectively means is that you will get a list of companies that were searching for keywords related to CRM software. So, you might get a list of companies—which you assume have shown interest in buying a CRM solution and being your sales outreach.

But do those accounts really have intent? You can never be sure.

Were they researching for an inhouse project or were they really searching with a buying intent? – again it’s speculative.

Do we know who was searching and can we reach out to those specific people? No, because these accounts are part of a network and are IP based. So you cannot map it to individual profiles.

So, as a result you have to manually identify potential prospects in each of these accounts, build a list, and then reach out to them assuming they are interested in your CRM solution. As you can guess—it’s a gamble.

Zoominfo

ZoomInfo is another popular intent data provider that offers a comprehensive database of contact information, including intent data. The intent data of Zoominfo also works very similar to Bombora. ZoomInfo’s database is compiled from various sources, including public records, business websites, and annual reports. 

The platform also uses what’s known as “web scraping,” which is a technology that can gather data from sources not typically available to the public. This information is then organized and made available through the ZoomInfo platform. Users can access the data by searching for specific companies or contacts or using the platform’s advanced search criteria.

But again—the reliability of the intent data for the shortlisted accounts is questionable as you cannot be the intent to specific individuals in those accounts, thus leading to potential inaccuracies.

Other key traditional intent data providers and how they collect data:

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Cons of traditional Intent Data

You cannot do a custom topic / keywords intent search

Traditional intent data providers often limit users to a predefined list of topics and keywords. This constraint can hinder you from tailoring your data collection to meet specific needs or industry nuances, potentially missing out on critical insights that could inform more precise and effective marketing strategies.

Intent research is often stale

Another major drawback of traditional intent data is its lack of real-time updates. Data is often collected and processed periodically, which means the insights you receive might already be outdated. This latency can render the data less effective for making timely prospect outreach, and impactful business decisions.

Competitors have access to the same data

Since traditional intent data is often sourced from widely available databases and networks, your competitors too have access to the same information. By the time you act on the data, potential buyers may have already been approached or even swayed by competitors, diminishing the competitive advantage intent data is supposed to offer.

Less than 40% accurate on an account level

Due to loose IP mapping techniques, the accuracy of traditional intent data at the account level is often less than 40%. This discrepancy can lead to misinformed decisions, targeting the wrong accounts, and ultimately wasting marketing and sales resources on unqualified leads.

No transparency on how data was acquired

Most traditional intent data providers aren’t transparent regarding their data acquisition methods. Without clear insight into how and where the data is collected, businesses are left in the dark about its reliability and relevance, making it challenging to trust and effectively leverage the data for strategic purposes.

How Plena maps Intent Data to Individual prospects

Plena offers a revolutionary approach to intent data, distinguishing itself from traditional providers like Bombora and ZoomInfo. At its core, Plena leverages advanced AI to gather and analyze intent data, providing a more personalized and dynamic solution. 

So, how does Plena handle intent data differently? Let's dive in.

With Plena, all you need to do is—assign the bot a starting point, some high-level filters, and topics for intent signals. Our users most commonly pick from one of these sources as a starting point:

• LinkedIn
• Sales Navigator
• Google Maps

However, Plena doesn’t restrict to the above three sources. You can ask the AI to read any website.  For example you might want to target people who left reviews on G2 or attendees of a specific trade show, or some specific job posting. 

You can even upload a file as a starting point for the bot’s research.

Let’s say, you selected LinkedIn.

First the bot filters people and companies based on the high level filters. Once a starting point is established, the bot begins its comprehensive data crawling process.

It scours the internet, scraping all publicly available information and reading everything from profile summaries and job descriptions to social media activity, current company statistics, and recent PR releases. 

This exhaustive collection of data is then meticulously analyzed to identify potential intent signals based on the provided topics or keywords.

Once all the information is collected, Plena processes it to ascertain if there is any intent based on the topics or keywords you provided. If the answer is yes— a lead will be added to the list. 

The bot builds the list on demand and can take several hours to come back with a result. You’ll have a list of active leads with 50+ customized data points that are thoroughly researched and scored for intent. 

You will be able map why a contact was considered to be a high intent lead—what have they said, on what channel, when, and then use it contextually as part of your outreach to them.

And with Plena, it’s not just about intent data but about the complete outreach workflow. So once you build the high intent prospect list, you can set up a multichannel outreach campaign to reach out to those prospects.

And if you currently use a sales automation tool (like Outreach, Instantly, Salesloft, Marketo, etc.), you can now instruct the Plena robot to perform all the same steps directly from your computer– instead of paying for a software tool.

The future of Intent Data

As technology continues to evolve, the methodology for collecting and analyzing intent data is also advancing. More sophisticated AI algorithms, like those used by Plena, are setting new standards for accuracy and relevance. 

Future innovations may include real-time intent data, more integrated data sources, and even predictive analytics that can forecast customer behavior with remarkable precision.

The shift towards AI-driven intent data collection is not just a technological fad but a necessity for companies aiming for hyper-targeted marketing strategies. As more businesses recognize the importance of high-quality intent data, platforms that offer robust, accurate, and timely data will become indispensable tools in their marketing and sales arsenals.

Summing up…

While intent data remains a powerful tool for understanding potential customers, not all intent data is created equal. The quality and methodology of gathering this data greatly influence its effectiveness. The value of intent data offered by vendors must be scrutinized for the reliability and accuracy of their sources.

Plena represents a new wave of intent data platforms that leverage advanced AI to reliable and trackable intent that can be contextually put to use. As we look to the future, the landscape of intent data will continue to evolve. 

We highly recommend you to sign up for Plena and see the difference in the quality and reliability of intent data for yourself.