B2B Marketing and Sales leaders are constantly looking for the next innovative method to give them a competitive edge - particularly in driving revenue for their business. One such method that’s become increasingly popular is intent data. But, like many B2B crazes, many of the very people who could benefit most from intent data don’t understand what it is, how it works, or where it fits in their demand gen strategy.

Intent data can be a powerful tool to help Sales and Marketing understand the context necessary to figure out who’s most ready to buy their product. But, like many MarTech tools, intent data works best in certain specific contexts, and less so in others. Only by understanding both the power and limits of intent data can you be sure you’re getting real value, and not falling victim to “shiny marketing object syndrome.”

Intent data alone is not a solution, but when you understand the topic, the most likely persona interested in that topic and the people within that region who are already engaged, you have the opportunity to create highly-precise campaigns your sales and marketing teams need to close business.

“Context” is all about gaining insight into who the person is that is taking the action in question. For example, if the person reading this white paper is a marketer at a company, it’s highly possible that they are considering intent data as a solution, if not already evaluating a vendor. By contrast, if the reader is a journalist at a publishing company, it’s more likely they’re writing an article and looking for people to speak with on the subject. The former would be a potential customer, and so their interest in this topic becomes relevant, whereas the journalist’s interest is likely not.

We need to understand the context before dedicating our limited sales and marketing resources to pursuing leads that might not pan out. Knowing the context surrounding the leads that show intent is critical to cutting costs and maximizing our close rates. 

Standard third-party intent data tells you which companies are searching globally for the intent topic(s) (keywords or phrases) that you’ve selected within the confines of your intent provider. Metro-level intent data provides further insight into the specific metro area that those searches are coming from.

Having metro-level intent provides more geographical context to a lead, but it also enables you to infer some degree of predictive insights. If your intent is coming from San Francisco, and you know that the company’s marketing team operates from San Francisco while their sales team operates from Dallas, you can deduce that your intent is coming from that company’s marketing team specifically.

Metro-intent refers to the buying intent and behavior of customers within a specific metropolitan area or urban region. It focuses on understanding the preferences, needs, and purchasing signals of individuals or businesses located in densely populated urban centers.

This type of data can include a variety of factors such as online search behavior, social media activity, engagement with advertisements, local economic indicators, and demographic information specific to a metro area.