Intent data has emerged as a game-changer for marketing and sales teams. These insights unlock a clear window into what potential customers are researching and which problems they’re trying to solve.
But here’s the challenge—while gathering intent data is a critical first step, turning it into actionable revenue-driving strategies is where most companies fall short.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re sitting on a goldmine of intent data but don’t know how to activate its value, you’re not alone.
In fact, 71% of companies struggle to operationalise their data effectively, leaving countless opportunities untapped. This blog will show you how to transform intent insights into a measurable impact on your bottom line.
Why Data Activation Matters
Here’s a stat that should make you sit up: Only 29% of businesses successfully activate intent data, yet those that do experience up to a 70% increase in sales conversions. That’s not just an incremental gain—it’s a competitive advantage that sets revenue leaders apart.
But the stakes are high. According to Gartner, poor data activation costs businesses an average of £15 million annually in lost productivity and missed opportunities. Every day you delay turning insights into action, competitors are swooping in to engage prospects who are actively searching for solutions.
For example, Snowflake, a cloud data platform, uses intent data to identify accounts with increasing engagement in topics related to cloud migration. By activating these insights, Snowflake’s sales team prioritizes high-intent leads, which has resulted in a 60% increase in pipeline efficiency and accelerated deal closures.
Takeaway: Intent data activation isn’t just nice to have; it’s the key to staying relevant in a competitive market.
Steps to Activate Intent Data for Real Impact
If you’re ready to unlock the true value of your intent data, here are three steps to implement today:
🚀 Validate Intent Signals
According to Forrester, 68% of sales teams say intent data is too noisy, leading them to chase unqualified leads.
Not all intent signals are created equal. Without validation, your team could waste valuable time pursuing irrelevant leads. By filtering intent signals through advanced tools, you can separate high-value prospects from the rest and focus your resources where it matters most.
Take our platform Zymplify, we’ve built filters called ‘intent spikes’ to validate intent signals, ensuring our sales team only focuses on prospects with a high likelihood to convert. By eliminating irrelevant signals, we’ve experienced a reduction in lead qualification time and boosted our win rates.
Actionable Tip: Validate intent signals based on consistent activity and alignment with your ICP (ideal customer profile). Tools like Zymplify make this process seamless.
🔄 Automate Engagement with Workflows
Businesses that automate lead routing and workflows experience a 30% faster lead response time, which can boost conversion rates by as much as 80%.
Manually sorting through intent data is inefficient and prone to errors. With the right automation tools, you can instantly route high-intent leads to your sales team or trigger nurturing campaigns based on specific signals.
Consider Cisco, which uses automation to route high-intent leads to sales representatives in real time. By setting up these workflows, Cisco reduced lead response times by 75%, leading to higher engagement rates and shorter sales cycles.
Actionable Tip: Align your automation with clear rules, such as routing leads with multiple high-intent signals directly to sales while assigning those with early-stage intent to nurturing workflows.
📈 Scale with Targeted Campaigns
Companies with scalable activation processes are 2.4 times more likely to exceed their revenue goals, according to McKinsey.
Once your data activation strategy is dialed in, it’s time to scale. Intent data allows you to power both broad awareness campaigns and hyper-targeted outreach with precision.
For example, Terminus, an account-based marketing platform, leverages intent data to craft hyper-personalised ABM campaigns. They integrate firmographic data with intent insights, creating targeted ad campaigns that have achieved a 40% increase in engagement with key accounts.
Actionable Tip: Use intent data to inform every layer of your campaigns, from paid ads to ABM strategies. Combine intent insights with firmographic data to tailor messaging and offers to the needs of your audience segments.
The ROI of a Strong Data Activation Strategy
When you activate intent data effectively, the results speak for themselves. Companies that implement strong activation strategies see:
- 70% higher sales conversions.
- 50% shorter lead-to-sale cycles.
- 40% improved pipeline efficiency.
Example: A fintech startup integrated validated intent data with their CRM and automated workflows. Within six months, they saw a 45% increase in demo requests, a 20% decrease in churn, and significantly improved customer lifetime value.
Intent data isn’t just a report—it’s a roadmap to predictable growth.
Ready to Stop Guessing and Start Activating?
Your intent data holds the key to unlocking more revenue. All you need is a clear strategy and the right tools to activate it effectively.
Don’t let your intent data gather dust—turn it into your most powerful growth engine. 🚀
