Intent data is a game-changer for sales and marketing teams. It tells you who’s showing buying signals, what they’re interested in, and when they’re most likely to engage. For years, account-based intent data has been the cornerstone of strategic targeting – identifying which companies are researching your solution or market.
But there’s a new player making waves: Person-based intent data. And while it might sound like it’s here to replace account-level insights, the reality is much more exciting: it enhances and complements them – creating a clearer, sharper picture of your buyer’s journey and empowering go-to-market teams like never before.
Account-Based Intent: A Powerful Starting Point
Account-based intent data reveals which companies are researching topics related to your product or service. This type of data typically aggregates anonymous web behaviour across a range of content sources and surfaces when an account shows a spike in interest.
It’s incredibly useful for:
- Prioritising in-market accounts
- Aligning sales and marketing efforts
- Driving ABM campaigns
- Informing territory planning and outreach timing
But while account-level intent tells you which businesses are active, it doesn’t always tell you who within that business is doing the research or whether they’re a key decision-maker or just a curious passerby.
Enter Person-Based Intent: Precision at the Contact Level
Person-based intent data, on the other hand, focuses on the individual. It identifies which people within a target account are actively engaging with relevant content, right down to their job title, department, and behaviour.
This gives you:
- A direct line to key stakeholders
- Real-time signals of individual interest
- Better personalisation in outreach
- A clearer sense of buying committee dynamics
Now, you can combine broad interest signals from an account with specific, actionable insight about the individuals behind that intent. That’s where the real magic happens.
Better Together: The Power of Combining Both
Think of account-based and person-based intent as zoom levels on a map. Account-based intent is your satellite view, it shows you where the action is happening across a broad landscape. Person-based intent is your street view-giving you clarity on who’s doing what, when, and why.
Together, they help you:
1. Prioritise the Right People in the Right Accounts
Account-level surge? Great-now drill down to identify who’s engaging and whether they’re in your buying persona. This avoids wasting time on low-fit contacts and fast-tracks high-fit leads.
2. Personalise Outreach with Confidence
If you know what topics a contact is engaging with, you can craft highly tailored messaging that speaks to their specific pain points or interests. This means more relevant conversations and fewer ignored emails.
3. Accelerate Pipeline Movement
When sales reps know which individuals are showing high-intent signals, they can align follow-ups to moments of peak interest-helping move deals forward faster.
4. Validate and Strengthen ABM Plays
Account shows intent? Check. Target persona within that account is engaging too? Double check. That’s a green light for marketing to fire up highly focused, multi-channel campaigns.
Final Thought: Person-Based Intent Isn’t a Replacement – It’s an Evolution
The temptation with any new technology or data source is to see it as a silver bullet. But in this case, person-based intent isn’t here to dethrone account-level intent – it’s here to elevate it.
By combining both, you’re not just identifying in-market accounts. You’re uncovering active buyers within those accounts and engaging them with the precision, timing, and relevance that drives results. In an increasingly competitive landscape, that edge makes all the difference.
Welcome to Signal-Based GTM
Zymplify unifies the GTM workflow for modern revenue teams — from first signal to closed won. Predict demand, engage the right accounts, and execute faster than your competitors.
Because the funnel is dead. But growth? That’s just getting started.
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