“Intent data is a deep dive into the respective target group.”
Canio Martino is Chief Revenue Officer at the B2B Media Group and reveals in this interview exactly what Intent Data is all about in B2B and why it inspires Data Driven Marketing.
The scattergun approach is becoming increasingly rare in online marketing. Instead, more and more marketers are deploying targeted advertising using intent data. What exactly does this involve?
Well, first of all, let’s define the term “Intent Data” for the B2B sector, as it’s used in various ways and can often be misunderstood. Intent Data makes it possible to generate digital profiles for decision-makers in the B2B sector. By collating this intent-driven data, B2B decision-makers can be identified and addressed on a long-term basis. Intent data thus makes it possible to reach decision-makers – particularly those in the B2B sector – more accurately than ever before, by using their current and personal interests.
In the world of business, strategic decisions are often taken using the traditional purchase decision-making process. It can therefore be useful to identify the various purchasing phases and provide decision-makers with the information they need for the respective phase.
Many companies face the difficult task that their products are highly complex. In sales, classic selling arguments cannot be used. How can Intent Data help?
Intent Data is a deep dive into the respective target group. This is because decision-critical topics are often defined too narrowly in advance or excluded recklessly. Each company and each decision maker moves in its own decision matrix. These need to be researched and operated.
It is obvious that decision-makers have to be addressed differently in the different phases, as they have different information needs here: At the beginning of a process, strategic and general considerations may predominate. In the subsequent evaluation process, technical and economic aspects are added. Effective marketing campaigns and processes of today should be able to serve them. In addition, the campaigns should be aligned with the corresponding content strategy – this is crucial for Intent Data or Data Driven Marketing in general.
Many people surf the Internet. How can you distinguish a B2B decision maker online from a regular user?
This is one of the most difficult questions on the web for B2B marketing. Often this is defined by context or environment. Certain fuzziness is being accepted. Our approach (editor’s note: of the B2B Media Group) extends here: We verify B2B decision makers on the basis of a multi-level criteria catalogue on their web journeys. We use parameters such as content type, touchpoint environment and frequency to ensure that we only address B2B decision-makers.
What should companies pay attention to when choosing Intent Data – and purchasing the required data externally?
Intent is not the same as Intent. It is important that the provider of Intent Data captures and validates this data consistently. We advise our customers on the approach of Intent data with regard to target group and campaign goal. We help to define target groups and their intentions. The success of our customers proves us right: We see an improvement in performance of 10 to 30 times in the display sector in particular.
The protection of personal data is given even greater importance by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). What implications does this have for Intent Data?
When Intent Data is collected, no personal data is recorded. The data obtained from the cookies are anonymous.
Thank you so much for the insightful interview, Canio!
