Prospects interested in your solution are like gold but many times they do not even exist within a prospect database. They stay hidden longer, using the Internet for research to uncover options for solving their business problems. Prospects will know you long before you know them.

Finding these hot prospects to communicate with them can be done through acquiring and analyzing intent data.  Intent data is transactional data that is generated through online activity: searches, page visits, ad clicks and form conversions.  Examples of what generates intent data is everywhere on the web: a google search, a view of a YouTube video, a posted tweet, or investigating a display ad in Facebook/Instagram.  “Looking across the Internet we can understand the body language of companies immersed in specific topics that directly align with products and services and interpret these as a collective Buyer’s Journey,” says Charlie Tarzian, CEO of The Big Willow. “With this capability you can now get upstream in the buying process and be the first to engage with companies that inevitably will be looking for you.”

While it can seem overwhelming to see through this noise, the volume and diversity of data empowers marketers to see leads more clearly than ever before.  So how can marketers access this data and leverage it to find the many hidden insights in order to have highly qualified leads?

1. Aggregate the Data: A tool is needed to access this data:  One option is a predictive intelligence solutionlike 6Sense, Lattice Engines or AgilOne.  These solutions will aggregate the data and provide a platform for communication with your target audience.  The other option is a data aggregator like The Big Willow or Bombora.  These companies gather and store billions of transactions daily from across the web and produce data stores. The data stores can be mined for intent and operationalized within your current MarTech stack.
2. Analyze the Information. Build data models and analysis engines that help plow through the big data to the value within.  This includes looking for key words, velocity, and frequency of interaction on a topic (or even subtopic).  These data points should be analyzed for both the individual and the company.
3. Append the Leads. Append the leads within the high propensity organizations you’ve just uncovered that best align with the key decisions makers in your target audience. This is not necessarily the C Level of the organization so add business level leads to your database. They are being the driving force in many team decision making processes for larger enterprise deals. This could be the technical buyer, the business buyer or the financial buyer.
4. Speak the Language. Understanding their interest lets you get personal. Don’t shy away from reaching out.  Concisely segment the leads and send them a series of personalized targeted emails that continues their journey of interest and highlights you as a thought leader.  Or reach out to them on social and start a conversation, sharing your thought leadership via a high quality content piece. Talk to them.  Flow these leads to an inside sales team. Not only can this lead to an early sale, but it can also get your relationship in front of your competitors.

Intent data empowers marketers to be better at what they are already doing and to focus on leads that have a high propensity to become buyers.  Capturing and analyzing intent data enables marketers to connect with buyers in a more relevant and meaningful way. Data is the new digital differentiator and can empower marketing to have great impact on the sales funnel and revenues.