IntentData.io will be using its own product to help identify B2B marketers who want to tap into its expertise in developing algorithms find customers ready to make purchases.
Based in Boston, IntentData.io launched last week with what it has trademarked as Contact-Level Intent Data, which it said could reduce the length of sales cycles in some cases by 82 per cent while increasing the number of closed deals by 50 per cent.
Ed Marsh, IntentData.io‘s chief revenue officer, said the company is able to gather a wide range of publicly-available data from the Internet — such as social posts, blog comments and so on — and find the corresponding information such as who they are and how they can be reached. This offers far greater potential than the traditional approach of looking narrowly at the activity on an organization’s own digital properties or activities from a group of publishers, he argued.
“Not only do we have superior data but we’ve got a very strong focus on helping companies make the most of it through activation,” Marsh told B2B News Network. “This algorithm has been under development for a couple of years. It’s not a pilot project. We’ve worked with companies on implementing and optimizing it.”
B2B marketing and sales teams are becoming more focused on intent data not only to generate more leads, but to find more leads that can close in a reasonable amount of time, Marsh added. This requires technology that will give them more insight into particular members of the buying team, such as the “deal champion,” he said.
“You can use third-party intent data that flags somebody’s doing something at the account, but that’s not really good enough,” he said. “You need to know who it is so you can personalize the message and the approach.”
IntentData.io can work with customers to develop an algorithm within a day or two, and may begin generating results shortly thereafter. He suggested organizations prepare to make use of its services for at least a 90-day period given fluctuations in what kind of intent data might be available in a given week. He also said firms should be prepared to invest in business development representatives (BDRs) and other sales team members to act quickly on the leads.
“We know they’re great leads, but they’re not sitting there waiting for someone to be the first to e-mail them,” he said. “It does take good salesmanship, it takes good marketing.”
IntentData.io is launching as firms like Bombora and True Influence trumpet their own intent data offerings, and while others, such as Big Willow, are acquired by firms like Aberdeen Group. Marsh said the company will primarily market itself by offering a range of content intended to better educate B2B marketers, which will not be gated behind forms and landing pages. The hope, he said, is that marketers will begin to develop a deeper appreciation of intent data, as well as an understanding of how to harness it for more specific drip campaigns, among other tactics.
“If the intent data that they’re accustomed to working with has been sourced by the demand gen people and just see signals and ask the BDRs to find contacts and follow up, they’re missing in many cases the nuances that can make it particularly effective,” he said.
