Intent data

Intent data is any information indicating that a company is researching or preparing to buy a product or service. It ranges from vendor-supplied scores based on web browsing to public events like job postings and permits.

There are two kinds, and they get sold as if they were the same thing.

Third-party intent data is a score. A vendor tracks which companies' employees visited pages about a topic across a network of sites, and sells you a list of companies that "surged" on that topic this week. It's anonymous at the person level, it's probabilistic, and every one of your competitors bought the same list.

Public intent data is an event. A company posted a role, filed a permit, closed a round, signed a lease, or hit a compliance deadline. It's specific to one company, it's on the record, and it comes with a date. We call these buying signals, and they're the only kind we use.

An example

A vendor score says a 200-person logistics company "surged on freight brokerage" last week. That could mean the CFO is shopping for a broker, or it could mean an intern wrote a paper. A public event says the same company just signed a lease on a 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Reno. The second one is a reason to email today, and it's a reason the CFO will recognize.

What to ask a vendor

Where does the data come from, is it tied to a named company or inferred, does it come with a date, and who else is buying it. If the answer to the last one is "everyone in your category," it's not an advantage.

Related terms

Buying signal · Trigger event · Ideal customer profile (ICP) · B2B lead generation

If you want this run for you, see our lead generation agency.