Let’s say your ICP is VP of digital marketing, and she’s looking for a CRM. Her biggest challenges are maximizing ROI and ensuring consistency in leads, she reports to the CMO, and wants a platform that offers one-click integrations with various MarTech she and her team needs. And because this is a B2B purchase, you know she’s not the only decision maker.
So, you gather this persona-specific information about all your target designations and individuals, and, then, create a marketing campaign. You have personalized content and ads, and you’re truly adding value in their buyer journey. Now, imagine a personalized campaign like that will have on their decision.
This is where the importance of intent data in ABM becomes evident. By leveraging intent data, you can identify your "best-fit" accounts and tailor your marketing efforts accordingly. You gain insights into the challenges they face, their preferences, and their buying signals. Understanding their buyer intent allows you to align your messaging, content, and offers to precisely address their needs. This approach significantly increases the likelihood of capturing their attention, building trust, and ultimately influencing their decision-making process.
A campaign with already-qualified ICP, targeted campaigns, and with the understanding they actually need the solution has a more probability of success as compared to the traditional marketing. This method has gained so much popularity in the recent past that approximately 98% of organizations currently use or plan to use ABM as a strategic tactic—and at the core of each successful campaign is understanding the intent of your ideal buyer.
This guide breaks down everything you need to know about using intent data to supercharge your ABM strategy in 2025.
TL;DR
- Precision Targeting: Intent data reveals which accounts are actively searching for your solution, enabling smarter segmentation and prioritization.
- Personalized Campaigns: Tailor messaging to each stakeholder’s unique interest—whether it’s cost, time savings, or operational efficiency.
- Faster Conversions: Companies using buyer intent shorten sales cycles by 30% and see significantly higher conversion rates.
- Future-Ready Tech: By 2025, AI-powered models will automate and enhance the use of intent signals across CRM, ad platforms, and marketing automation tools.
But First, What Is Buyer Intent?
Essentially, it is little clues and actions that help you understand your ‘best fit’ target audience actually needs the solution you’re selling, and it helps you engage with them on their terms.
With buyer intent, your marketing and sales teams proactively engage with all contacts within a target account. By precisely targeting your marketing messages towards your ideal customers and utilizing the channels where your target audience are most likely to be noticed, such as social media, display advertising, video, or mobile, you can generate the continued momentum needed to close sales.
Engagement is a pivotal stage in account-based marketing, which encompasses a wide range of methods to interact with your prospects. Email outreach, webinars, ebooks, targeted advertisements, videos, events, programmatic or automated approaches, there are various methods by which you engage with your buyer. By collecting and leveraging buyer intent data, the entire engagement process becomes more personalized.
For example, consider you’re selling talent acquisition software. And as we all know well, there’s never just one decision maker in B2B, so you need to engage and show value to all of the decision makers. So, for the chief human resources officer, you create campaigns regarding cost optimization; for hiring managers, you talk about time saving; and for talent managers, you mention the quality of candidates and reduction of repetitive tasks. This way, you’re systematically delivering value on each level, and also engaging with them in their terms.
So, by incorporating buyer intent into your account-based marketing strategy, you can enhance your engagement efforts, personalize your messaging, and establish more meaningful connections with your target audience, which, in turn, maximizes your ROI on each campaign.
How Intent Data Has Evolved in B2B Marketing
Since 2020, the role of intent data in B2B marketing has taken a giant leap. It started out as a simple tool for lead scoring but has now become the backbone of sophisticated Account Based Marketing (ABM) strategies. Did you know that 87% of buyers now prefer to navigate their buying journey independently? That's why picking up on intent signals early is incredibly important.
Here's how modern B2B companies are using buyer intent data:
- Spotting which accounts are actively on the hunt for solutions.
- Getting a handle on their specific pain points and challenges.
- Timing their outreach perfectly for the best impact.
- Tailoring content and communications to fit.
- Predicting buying behavior and preferences.
In a nutshell, if you want to stay ahead of the curve in today's marketing world, tapping into buyer intent data isn't just smart—it's essential.
How Buyer Intent Data Is Collected
As the ‘outside-in’ approach is absolutely fundamental to ABM, you need buyer intent data as a prerequisite to create a campaign. So, here’s what you should be collecting and evaluating:
1. Website Tracking
By tracking website behavior, businesses can gather intent signals such as:
- Visitor navigates to specific product pages, indicating interest in those offerings.
- Visitor spends a significant amount of time on the pricing or comparison page, signaling a potential purchase decision.
- Visitor fills out a form to request a demo, suggesting a strong intent to explore the product further.
2. Search Data
Examples of intent signals collected from search data include:
- For example, user searches for "best budget CRM," indicating an intent to purchase a CRM within a specific price range.
- User searches for "how to improve SEO ranking," showing an intent to learn about SEO strategies and techniques.
- User visits software comparison sites, such as G2 and software select, and searches for “best ABM tool”, indicating they are in need of an ABM partner.
3. Content Consumption
Intent signals extracted from content consumption may include:
- User spends five minutes reading an in-depth blog post about email marketing automation, indicating a strong interest in the topic.
- User watches a video tutorial on setting up a smart home system, suggesting an intent to implement the technology.
- User downloads an ebook on social media advertising strategies, indicating an intent to enhance their social media marketing efforts.
4. Social Media Listening
Examples of intent signals gathered through social media listening include:
- User tweets, "Looking for recommendations for a reliable web hosting provider," indicating an intent to find a suitable hosting service.
- User comments on a Facebook post, asking for suggestions on the best CRM software for small businesses, showing an intent to explore CRM options.
- User shares an article about the latest digital marketing trends, signifying an interest in staying informed about industry developments.
5. Form Submissions
Intent signals obtained from form submissions can include:
- User fills out a contact form, providing details about their business and a specific inquiry, demonstrating an intent to engage with the company's offerings.
- User completes a form to register for a webinar on content marketing strategies, indicating an intent to gain knowledge in that area.
- User requests a quote by filling out a form, suggesting a potential intent to make a purchase.
However, not all data is relevant data.
Say, a seemingly fit profile shares an article about CRM types, that doesn’t immediately mean they’re in the market to buy one. Which is why, you need buyer intent data measurement and qualification process, so you don’t end up chasing dead leads. And here’s a great way to start:
- Scoring and Ranking: With buyer intent data, assign scores or rankings based on specific criteria. This will allow you to prioritize leads and prospects based on their level of intent—this essentially means prioritizing high-intent accounts so they’re addressed first, while you continue to nurture the less-intent accounts. Factors such as website engagement, content consumption, and online behavior are assessed to determine the strength of a visitor's intent. For instance, Factors.ai helps you engage with high-intent accounts with behavioral and firmographic (relating to the firm) filters.
- Data Analytics: Advanced data analytics techniques can also be employed to analyze buyer intent data. These techniques involve examining patterns, trends, and correlations within the data to uncover insights about visitor behavior, interests, and potential buying intentions.
Note: For the purpose of qualification, you can follow the BANT mechanism. It is an acronym of qualification questions, Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline, that can help you prioritize accounts.
By now, we’ve talked plenty about how buyer intent can help you delineate your strategic ABM accounts, how you can measure those signals, and what parameters can help you prioritize accounts. But, how are ABM and intent signals related—let’s get into it now!
What Are The Different Types Of Intent Data Available for ABM
Imagine having a pair of super-powered glasses that let you see exactly what your potential customers are up to. Intent data does this for Account-Based Marketing (ABM). There are two main types, each offering its own set of insights.
First-Party Intent Signals
These are the gems you gather straight from your own digital turf. Here’s what they include:
- How people move around your website.
- What content are they downloading and engaging with?
- Their interactions with your emails.
- Signing up for events.
- Requesting demos.
- Filling out forms.
Third-Party Intent Signals
Now, let’s step outside your own bubble. Third-party data gives you a peek into:
- How folks interact with industry publications.
- Visits to review sites.
- Research on competitors.
- Engagement on social media.
- Forum chats.
- Browsing tech review platforms.
The Power of Combining Both First Party & Third Party Intent Signals
The real magic kicks in when you mix these two data sources. Picture this: a company checks out your competitor’s products (third-party) and then heads over to your pricing page (first-party). That’s a pretty strong hint they’re ready to buy.
By 2025, the most successful ABM strategies will not just use one type of data over the other. Instead, they will blend both to get a full picture of buyer behavior. This approach will lead to spot-on targeting and better conversion rates.
📊 Learn how to use buyer intent data for ABM — this video breaks it down step-by-step with real examples.
What’s The Connection Between Buyer Intent And Account Based Marketing?
Essentially, all marketing boils down to intent: whether it is following the traditional funnel or the inverted (ABM) funnel. This is because most buyers turn to online research to identify their problems, find suitable solutions, and choose the right vendors. This behavior provides valuable signals about their stage in the buying process, whether they're at the top, middle, or bottom of the funnel.
Some of the ways buyer intent can directly impact your account based marketing practices are:
1. Identifying High-Intent Accounts
Buyer intent data helps discover accounts that show strong indications of purchase intent. By analyzing intent signals, such as website interactions, content consumption, or form submissions, businesses can pinpoint the accounts that are actively researching or expressing interest in their products or services. These accounts become the primary focus of ABM initiatives.
2. Driving Conversion and Revenue
The ultimate goal of ABM is to drive conversions and generate revenue from target accounts. Buyer intent data plays a critical role in this process by enabling businesses to identify accounts that are in the later stages of the buying journey and more likely to make a purchase. By aligning ABM strategies with buyer intent, companies can effectively nurture and convert high-intent accounts, leading to increased revenue and business growth.
By leveraging intent data, businesses can gain deeper insights into the needs and interests of their target accounts. This allows them to tailor their marketing efforts more effectively and engage with potential customers at the right stage of their purchasing journey. Intent data enhances the precision and relevance of ABM initiatives, ultimately improving the chances of success.
Pro tip: By identifying and delineating the right buyer for each account, you can reduce the margin of error and create an idiot-proof statement of work (SOW) on which products and services will be offered to the account during the nurture stage.
Step-By-Step Guide To Leverage Intent data In Your ABM Strategy
Incorporating intent data into your account-based marketing (ABM) strategy can greatly enhance your targeting and engagement efforts. So, here is a step-by-step guide to help you effectively integrate intent data into your ABM approach:
Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Begin by clearly defining your ideal customer profile, including key attributes, characteristics, and firmographic data. This will serve as the foundation for your ABM strategy and help you align intent data with your target audience.
Step 2: Identify Relevant Intent Signals
Determine the intent signals that are most relevant to your business and align with your ICP. These signals could include website visits, content consumption, search behavior, engagement with specific topics or keywords, or interactions with your marketing assets.
Step 3: Leverage Intent Data Providers
Research and partner with intent data providers that offer reliable and accurate data relevant to your target audience. These providers can help you access and analyze intent data from various sources, such as IP-intelligence, behavioral tracking tools, or social listening platforms.
Factors.ai, for example, helps you collect and analyze campaign, website, and funnel analytics and helps you add predictability in your campaigns. With customizable properties, dashboards, and dimensions, its proven to deliver better ROI on marketing campaigns.
Step 4: Integrate Intent Data with Your CRM and Marketing Automation Tools
Ensure seamless integration between your intent data provider and your CRM and marketing automation tools. This integration enables you to enrich your customer profiles with intent data and create personalized experiences based on individual buyer interests and behaviors.
Step 5: Analyze and Segment Intent Data
Analyze the intent data collected to identify patterns, trends, and commonalities among your target accounts. Segment your audience based on their intent signals, grouping them into specific clusters or categories that align with their buying stage, interests, or pain points.
Step 6: Tailor Content and Messaging
Utilize the insights gained from intent data to create highly personalized and relevant content and messaging for each segment. Customize your marketing assets, such as emails, website content, ads, and social media campaigns, to address the specific needs and interests of different account segments.
Step 7: Implement Targeted Campaigns
Develop targeted marketing campaigns that align with the intent signals exhibited by your identified account segments. Use intent data to determine the most appropriate channels, timing, and messaging to engage with your target accounts effectively.
Step 8: Track and Measure Results
Continuously monitor and measure the impact of your ABM efforts fueled by intent data. Track key ABM metrics, such as engagement rates, conversion rates, and revenue generated, to evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns and make data-driven adjustments as needed.
Step 9: Iterate and Optimize
Use the insights gained from intent data and performance metrics to iterate and optimize your ABM strategy. Refine your targeting, content, and messaging based on the feedback and results obtained, ensuring ongoing improvement and success.
For instance, Factors.ai integrates seamlessly with ad platforms, CRMs, CDPs, and other popular martech platforms through no-code (O-Auth) integrations. We install a lightweight script on websites to automatically track visitor engagement, including page views, scroll depth, button clicks, and form submissions.
Using IP-lookup technology, we can identify and track anonymous companies visiting a website, providing information such as company name, industry, and employee headcount. This helps qualify accounts based on ideal customer profile (ICP) criteria. Further, by consolidating all this data in one place, we can map the entire customer journey, starting from ad clicks and web sessions, to creating or updating contacts in the CRM, and ultimately tracking pipeline and revenue generation.
Our proactive approach enables the identification of anonymous accounts and their intent, allowing for effective targeting of sales-ready buyers. Additionally, retrospective tracking of the entire customer journey helps optimize spending on touchpoints that drive conversions, leading to increased pipeline with reduced expenses and better overall return on investment (ROI).
How Buyer Intent Data Improves Targeting, Personalization, and ROI in ABM
Intent data isn't just another marketing buzzword—it's a game-changer for how B2B companies tackle Account-Based Marketing (ABM). Let's dive into how it's shaking things up:
Sharper Account Targeting
Say goodbye to the old ‘spray-and-pray’ marketing tactics. With intent data, you can pinpoint which accounts are on the hunt for solutions like yours. This means you can zero in on the companies that are most likely to convert, making your efforts way more efficient.
Personalization at Scale
Imagine knowing exactly what potential clients are curious about. Intent data lets you do just that, so you can customize your messaging to hit the nail on the head. A manufacturing firm checking out automation solutions gets a different pitch than a healthcare provider exploring compliance tools. It's all about speaking their language.
Sales and Marketing Alignment
Intent data is like a translator between sales and marketing teams. Marketing can give sales a heads-up when target accounts show strong buying signals. In return, sales can share insights on which signals really mean "we're ready to buy."
Spotting Trends with Predictive Analytics
By digging into intent patterns, you can catch industry trends before they become mainstream. This gives you the upper hand to tweak your strategies ahead of time. For instance, if you notice a bunch of companies in a sector are looking into similar solutions, you can roll out targeted campaigns before your competitors even realize what's happening.
This isn't just theory—it's happening now. Companies using intent-driven ABM strategies are seeing quicker sales cycles and better conversion rates. It's all about being ahead of the curve and making your marketing smarter.
Real-World Use Cases: How Intent Data Drives ABM Success
Let’s skip the jargon and dive into how companies are actually hitting it big with intent data in their Account-Based Marketing (ABM) programs.
Take SugarCRM, for instance. They didn’t just stumble upon success; they harnessed intent signals to zero in on high-potential accounts, racking up a whopping $9.9 million pipeline value. Their secret? Pinpointing accounts that were actively on the hunt to buy.
Over in the tech world, a mid-sized software company saw their conversion rates soar by keeping an eye on who was checking out the competition. The moment they noticed an account researching rival products, they swooped in with targeted content that spoke directly to those prospects' pain points. The result? A 40% jump in qualified opportunities.
And it's not just tech companies seeing these wins. Check out these industry-specific success stories:
- Manufacturing: An industrial equipment provider spotted companies digging into automation solutions and tripled their meaningful sales conversations.
- Financial Services: A fintech firm fast-tracked their deals by 60% by focusing on accounts interested in payment processing.
- Healthcare: A medical device company nailed its timing with intent signals, boosting meeting acceptance rates by 35%.
The numbers tell the story:
- Conversion rates more than doubled.
- Sales cycles shrank by 30%.
- The average deal size grew by 45%.
- Customer acquisition costs dropped by 20%.
These aren’t just stats—they’re proof that when intent data fuels your ABM strategy, you’re not just playing the game; you’re winning it.
The Future of Intent Data in ABM
Intent data in Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is rapidly changing, and it's an exciting time to be in the mix. By end-2025, AI and machine learning will be true differentiators, not just crunching numbers but actually predicting what buyers will do next.
We're seeing a big move toward hyper-personalization. Companies are digging deeper than ever, going beyond just basic intent signals to really get what the whole buying committee is up to online. Multi-channel intent tracking is becoming standard, picking up signals from social media, virtual events, and even voice searches.
Privacy is still a hot topic. With global regulations getting stricter, successful ABM programs are finding ways to balance personalization with privacy. Think of GDPR and similar rules not as hurdles but as chances to build trust through clear and honest data practices.
AI integration is the real differentiator here. Imagine:
- Predictive models that can tell you when someone’s ready to buy with 85% accuracy.
- Real-time processing of intent signals that automatically trigger responses.
- Smart algorithms that can pinpoint who’s on the buying committee and what their roles are.
- Natural language processing that gets the context, not just the keywords.
The future isn’t just about gathering more data—it’s about making that data smarter, more useful, and respectful of privacy concerns. It's an exciting time for ABM, and the possibilities are endless!
Best Practices and Recommendations For Using Intent Data In ABM
Getting the most out of intent data in your ABM strategy isn't just about having the right tools—it's about using them wisely. Here's how the pros are making it work:
Strategic Framework
- Before diving into intent data, nail down your goals and KPIs.
- Set up a scoring system that ranks different intent signals by importance.
- Regularly review and tweak your strategy to keep it sharp.
Tools and Technologies
- Invest in a solid CRM that can pull in data from various sources.
- Use AI-driven platforms for real-time insights into intent data.
- Implement marketing automation tools that can respond to intent signals.
- Opt for tools that offer detailed analytics and reporting features.
Team Training and Adoption
- Offer thorough training for both your sales and marketing teams.
- Develop straightforward playbooks for handling different intent scenarios.
- Hold regular cross-team meetings to share insights and celebrate wins.
- Encourage team feedback on the tools they're using.
Remember, the best tech is only as good as the folks using it. Focus on building a data-driven culture where your team gets the value of intent signals and knows how to act on them. Start small, see what works, and scale up from there.
By integrating these practices, you can ensure that your ABM strategy is not only effective but also adaptable to the ever-changing landscape of B2B marketing. For more insights on how to leverage intent data effectively, check out our Intent Capture and Workflow Automations pages.
Key Takeaways
- Not all buyer intent is your buyer intent: While you may be tempted to look at all the data and figures before selecting your target accounts, messaging, and MarTech, it is best to keep your ICP and all the decision makers in mind.
- ABM without intent data is just traditional marketing: ABM focuses on targeting the "best-fit" accounts rather than casting a wide net. By aligning marketing messages with the needs and challenges expressed by potential buyers, businesses can increase the probability of success compared to traditional marketing approaches.
- With intent data, you know where to start: Intent data helps prioritize and rank leads based on their level of intent, allowing businesses to focus on high-intent accounts and allocate resources effectively. Scoring and ranking, along with data analytics techniques, can help you get to the low hanging fruit first.
How Buyer Intent Data Is Revolutionizing ABM in 2025
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has long promised precision targeting, but without buyer intent data, it’s a shot in the dark. This guide explores how marketing teams can now use intent signals to not only find in-market accounts but also tailor campaigns with sharper precision and higher return. With 98% of B2B organizations adopting ABM, the competitive edge now lies in how effectively intent data is used—across platforms, teams, and the entire buyer journey.
Marketers are no longer guessing who might be interested. Instead, they’re integrating real-time behavioral cues—form fills, content engagement, review site visits—into CRM systems and campaign workflows. From first-party site activity to third-party digital footprints, the combination offers a 360º view of account readiness. By aligning messaging to each decision-maker and customizing content across preferred channels, businesses are closing deals faster, with less wasted spend.
With predictive analytics, segmentation, and automated triggers, intent data isn’t just informing campaigns—it’s shaping them. And when integrated with tools like Factors.ai, marketers can track influence across touchpoints, proving marketing’s role in pipeline creation and revenue.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is Buyer Intent important?
Buyer intent is crucial because it provides valuable insights into the mindset and readiness of potential customers. Understanding this intent allows businesses to create custom marketing campaigns with the specific needs and interests of their target audience. Creating campaigns with buyer intent in mind results in more targeted and effective communication, higher engagement rates, and increased ROI.
2. What is an example of buying intent?
Let's say a business owner searches for "best project management software for remote teams" on a search engine. This search query shows their buying intent as they are actively seeking a solution to address their specific need: managing projects for remote teams. By searching for the "best" software, they are indicating their intention to evaluate and potentially make a decision. This search query provides an opportunity for SaaS companies offering project management solutions to target and engage this potential customer with relevant marketing messages and compelling offers.
3. How do you identify buying intent?
You can identify buying intent by partnering with tools like Factors.ai. This platform helps you discover, qualify, and convert anonymous companies visiting your website, measure engagement trends, and helps you deliver objectively better ROI on marketing campaigns. Factors.ai also offers seamless integrations with 30+ marketing tech stack so all your data can be consolidated in one place.
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