The false allure of B2B intent data

What has more allure in martech than a tool that promises to grant remarkable advantage over the competition? And among such tools, what could be more powerful than one that tells you who is ready to buy?

Intent data has become a big category with various sources, all of which promise visibility and focus that can change everything.

These days, a marketing program that isn’t leveraging intent data of some description is seen as flying blind and hoping to hit the target with luck and timing on its side. Of course, neither of these is in great supply in this environment. 

Only about 5% of B2B buyers are in-market at any given time, so focusing marketing efforts on those active is an incredibly alluring idea. However, the trouble with intent data is that even if the signals are fully accurate, knowing who is actively in-market to purchase will not save bad strategy. It may only shine more light on it.

This article is not about demonizing intent data but rather trying to reposition what it can and cannot do for a marketing program. In doing so, trying to prevent some false hope that comes with that incorrect understanding.

The biggest challenge with intent data begins with the journey leading up to the buyer being in-market.

The power of the consideration set

When a buyer comes in-market, they bring a consideration set that has been developing for months or even years. Through exposure to marketing, research into categories, conversations with peers and insights from sources of influence, a shortlist of vendors emerges. 

This list, an average of five vendors, is also where the decision is made in most situations. Put more bluntly, if you’re not in the consideration set by the time they come in-market, you are almost certainly already too late.

The trouble with intent data is that it puts all of the focus on this in-market audience and can lead to ignoring the 95% who are passive but developing consideration sets of their own. The signals and surges become the dopamine metric hit that B2B marketing loves. 

In many ways, intent data is seen as a new way to continue using the same bad practices that are the status quo in our industry. 

Finding needles in haystacks

I’ve already written about the short-sighted approach that B2B marketing takes when it comes to lead generation, and intent data gives new hope to that dying strategy. The math of lead gen success has been on the decline for years now and was never a sustainable growth strategy. Scooping up cheap content leads and hoping that a tiny fraction of them will respond to SDR outreach has declined to the point that it can’t stand up to CAC scrutiny. 

The solution has always been to focus more on brand awareness and recall, taking more of the market share by earning a place in the consideration set. This happens through persistent, consistent, relevant and memorable marketing that is often difficult to measure and attribute. This solution, however, does not appeal to impatient leadership and does not do well on board slides.

And now intent data has been identified as the savior of this failing playbook. Only it won’t be able to save it.

Dig deeper: Redefining ‘leads’ in B2B: Why data enrichment is key for lead gen

False positives and false hope

When discussing the shortcomings of intent data, it’s important to also talk about the fact that its signals are far from a science.

Some false positives come from human error in how we choose which signals to monitor, and some of them come from the sole fact that research isn’t a guaranteed sign of intent. The research that prospects are doing around your brand may very well be the exact information that removes you from the consideration set if you’re not doing marketing to convince them. 

Just because they’re looking at certain topics or even certain vendors doesn’t give any real indication of the timing of their in-market activity. The reasons that buyers come in-market are entirely situational, organizational, environmental and even emotional. The sole act of identifying vendors doesn’t mean they are in-market yet. 

Even if it did, focusing too much on those who have reached a stage where they are evaluating vendors is like trying to enter a tournament after the finalists have been picked.

Where intent data does bring value

If you focus on marketing fundamentals, building awareness with your target audience and leaving them with a strong understanding and recall of your value, then intent data can be a great lever for activating sales. 

While the buyer journey is out of our control, small nudges still have immense power. A well-timed message from a sales rep to a prospect who likes your brand may be enough to get you a demo before the competition. That sales speed alone can truly change the outcomes, as often the first vendor spoken to is the vendor who wins. Even false positives can be forgiven for the wins this kind of data can provide.

But, when it comes to marketing, good timing rarely changes perceptions developed over a much longer time period. Knowing who’s ready to buy will never be as effective as knowing how to convince them that you’re worth buying, and there’s no shortcut to that.

Dig deeper: How to leverage intent and engagement in the buying cycle