Compare Intent Data Providers: Expert Tips to Avoid Costly Mistakes

84% of B2B buyers choose to purchase from the first company they talk to. Picking the right intent data tools is a vital part of business success today. Intent data providers help companies by gathering signals that reveal when potential customers engage with a brand. This lets businesses reach out to prospects at just the right time. Many providers offer different features - some track prospects on more than 5,000 B2B websites, while others bring exclusive datasets to the table. The challenge lies in picking a platform that fits your needs.

The typical ROI from intent data products takes about 10 months to show results. Making the wrong choice wastes both time and money while good opportunities slip away. Companies need a clear plan to assess and compare these providers.

This piece shares expert tips to help you evaluate intent data providers. You'll learn how to dodge expensive mistakes and pick options that deliver real results.

Understanding Intent Data Providers and Their Core Offerings

A business must understand what intent data means and how it helps their goals before they compare intent data providers.

What exactly is intent data?

Intent data comes from behavioral signals that show when potential buyers might want to purchase a product or service. These signals help you learn about who your potential customers are, what solutions they research, and their likelihood to buy from you.

Intent signals come from many digital activities. Website visits, content downloads, search queries, social media interactions, and review site activity all play a part. Companies can learn about consumer interests, priorities, and purchase intentions by looking at these digital footprints.

Intent data works by setting a normal online browsing baseline for companies. Research and buying interest become clear when activity around specific topics goes above this baseline. Sales and marketing teams use these intent "spikes" to spot accounts that want solutions like theirs.

Different types of intent data sources

Intent data providers gather and sort signals from different sources. These usually fall into three main categories:

• First-party intent data: This comes straight from your digital properties. Website analytics, email campaigns, form submissions, CRM interactions, and content downloads all count. It shows how prospects interact with your brand.
• Second-party intent data: This is someone else's first-party data you get through partnerships. Data from co-branded webinars, publisher partnerships, or review sites like TrustRadius or G2 fits here. It helps you see similar audiences who haven't found your brand yet.
• Third-party intent data: External companies collect this by tracking user activity on multiple platforms and websites. This combined data gives a broader market view, but quality varies based on collection methods.

Intent data collection methods include:

1. Publishing co-ops: Publisher groups share website visitor data with each other and data providers. Bombora's Data Co-operative brings together publishers and websites that contribute research behavior showing B2B consumption patterns.
2. Bidstream data: This comes from websites through ads and ad exchanges. It uses page keywords to figure out intent. While it offers big behavioral information, this data often needs extra filtering.
3. Search intent data: This captures keywords and phrases from online searches, revealing active interests.
4. Engagement data: This tracks how people interact with content through reading, sharing, or commenting.

How intent data fits into your marketing and sales strategy

Intent data brings marketing and sales teams closer by connecting them with customer behavior. Teams convert more leads and close deals faster with this approach.

Marketing teams can create targeted, personal campaigns that address specific pain points for different audiences. About half the organizations using intent data get it from three or more sources. They combine different collection methods to get complete insights.

Sales teams know which leads deserve attention and when to reach out. Sales reps can have better conversations, tackle specific challenges, and show why their solutions fit a prospect's needs perfectly.

Intent data helps organizations:

1. Find in-market accounts before competitors do
2. Focus on qualified leads most likely to convert
3. Create personal content based on showed interests
4. Make account-based marketing (ABM) stronger with targeted intelligence
5. Watch existing customers for renewal chances or churn risks

In spite of that, companies should do more than account targeting and lead generation to get full value from intent data investments. Many miss chances by not utilizing intent data to speed up their pipeline and keep customers.

Creating Your Intent Data Evaluation Framework

You need a solid evaluation framework to assess intent data providers, especially since 67% of marketers report they struggle to make intent data work for them. This framework will help you avoid expensive mistakes and find the right provider that matches your needs.

Defining your specific business needs

The right intent data provider starts with a clear picture of what your organization wants to achieve. Without knowing exactly what you need, you might end up with a solution that misses your main challenges.

List your main goals for intent data first. Do you want to spot ready-to-buy accounts, improve lead scoring, personalize your outreach, or watch what competitors do? You should also figure out which teams will use this data—marketing, sales, customer success, or all three—as this shapes what kind of data you need and how it should be delivered.

Your tech setup matters too. Any intent data platform must work smoothly with your current tools to give you the best results. Take a look at your marketing automation platform, CRM, and other tools to make sure they'll work with potential providers.

"The first step is evaluating if a B2B data provider's coverage is adequate for your needs—do they have enough contacts that meet your target buyer profile and target persona(s)?". Make sure potential providers can deliver signals from your ideal customers and industry segments.

Establishing key evaluation criteria

After you know what your business needs, set clear standards to evaluate intent data providers. Research shows these factors matter the most:

• Data quality and sources: Break down how providers collect their data. The best providers use sophisticated AI to read content for relevance instead of just scanning metadata.
• Coverage breadth: Check if the provider watches enough websites, platforms, and channels in your industry.
• Signal diversity: Look at what signals they track—you want lead magnet downloads, event RSVPs, display ad clicks, search keywords, social engagement, and website visits.
• Data freshness: The data needs frequent updates to be useful, as old signals lose value quickly.
• Customization options: Look for providers who let you customize their taxonomy rather than just offering a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Privacy and compliance: Make sure they follow GDPR and CCPA rules for responsible data use.
• Integration capabilities: Check that they work with your marketing and sales platforms.

Building a provider comparison scorecard

A standardized scorecard helps you compare intent data providers objectively. This method lets you make side-by-side comparisons and back up your decisions with data.

Give each criterion a weight based on how important it is to you. Create a scoring system—maybe 1-5 or 1-10—to rate what each provider can do. Include both numbers you can measure and quality assessments.

Your scorecard should cover data accuracy, coverage scope, integration options, customization choices, pricing, support quality, and setup requirements.

"To assess accuracy, you need to test it at a statistically significant level. Run a proof of concept with 100-300 contacts to get a statistical sample of your target audience". Most providers will let you try their service or test sample data sets.

Whatever your scorecard includes, focus on what matters most to you. Not everything carries the same weight—the best provider might excel in areas that matter most to your needs rather than having the highest overall score.

Keep detailed notes about your evaluation process. This helps build company knowledge and makes it easier to review things later as your needs change and the intent data market grows.

Assessing Data Quality and Coverage

Data quality makes or breaks the effectiveness of intent data platforms. Even the most advanced platforms will give poor results with unreliable information. Companies need to look at three key aspects of data quality to assess potential providers.

Evaluating data collection methodologies

Intent data providers use three different methods to collect information. Each method has its own advantages and limitations:

Data Co-ops work by combining first-party data from multiple publishers into a collective third-party source. This method gives the most detailed view of buyer behavior across touchpoints. To cite an instance, Bombora has built a Data Co-operative that includes 5,000+ B2B websites, and 86% of its data stays exclusive to them.

Standalone Publishers provide strong intent signals from their web properties but offer limited coverage. These signals come from trusted sources, but using just one publisher limits the view of the complete buying process.

Bidstream Data gathers information that publishers share with advertisers during ad inventory bidding. Unlike data co-ops, bidstream data has higher compliance risks and needs extra filtering to spot real intent.

Understanding signal types and their relevance

Intent signals carry different weights - some activities show stronger buying intent than others. Providers should track multiple signal types across channels:

• Weak signals (awareness stage): Blog post reads, general industry research
• Medium signals (consideration stage): Comparison guide engagement, competitor research
• Strong signals (decision stage): Pricing page visits, case study downloads

The best intent data tools track different activities like search queries, content downloads, webinar signups, and social media activity. More advanced providers like Bombora look beyond page visits. They check engagement quality through scroll velocity and dwell time to confirm real content consumption.

Verifying data freshness and update frequency

Intent data loses its value faster - yesterday's signals might not show today's buying intentions. Update frequency becomes a key factor to assess:

Top providers give daily updates that help teams act quick on new opportunities. Others update weekly or bi-weekly. Check your potential vendor's data hygiene processes to see how often they clean their datasets for accuracy.

Market leaders like SalesIntel update their entire database every 90 days to avoid old information. Other providers use continuous updates to keep data relevant.

Your evaluation should focus on transparency. Quality providers openly share their data collection practices, validation methods, and update schedules. This openness lets you check the reliability of intelligence that drives your strategic choices.

Comparing Technical Capabilities of Intent Data Platforms

Technical capabilities become the deciding factor when companies choose between similar intent data platforms. Data quality and system functionality determine how well these platforms deliver value to your organization.

Integration capabilities with your existing tech stack

The ability to work smoothly with your current systems is vital to get the most from your intent data investment. Leading providers connect directly with popular CRMs and marketing platforms. To name just one example, Bombora works well with Salesforce, Marketo, and HubSpot, which helps teams work more efficiently. 6sense also connects with many marketing automation tools to boost workflow efficiency.

Most established platforms support standard flat file data uploads (comma or tab separated) and API-based automation for instant data syncing. Less advanced solutions might need manual work, which creates inefficiencies and possible gaps in data.

Analytics and reporting features

Premium intent data platforms stand out from simple offerings through their advanced analytics capabilities. Top providers use AI algorithms and natural language processing to find meaningful insights in big datasets. Bombora's Company Surge® Analytics shows buyer intent spikes by analyzing how businesses consume content.

Beyond standard reports, you need customizable dashboards that track specific metrics matching your business goals. Attribution models that measure how intent data affects marketing campaigns help calculate ROI and support investment decisions.

Data privacy and compliance standards

Data privacy capabilities are essential with today's strict regulations. Trusted intent data providers follow international standards including ISO 27001 certification and SOC-2 compliance. These frameworks show their steadfast dedication to secure information management.

Platforms must also follow regional privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA. Foundry acts as both data controller and processor to maintain strict control over information handling. Bombora uses consent management platforms to give web visitors a chance to opt out of data collection.

Without doubt, providers who are open about their data collection methods build more trust and reduce their clients' legal risks.

Calculating ROI and Total Cost of Ownership

Smart investment decisions need a look beyond features to measure the true financial effect of an intent data provider. The wrong platform choice can result in major hidden costs and lower returns.

Beyond subscription costs: hidden expenses to think about

Monthly subscription fees make up just one part of the total cost equation. Companies often miss several significant expenses:

• Integration expenses: Connecting intent data with existing CRM and marketing automation platforms may require additional development resources
• Training costs: Team members need time to learn how to effectively interpret and act on intent signals
• Data enrichment: Some platforms charge extra for supplementary data needed to maximize intent data's value
• Technical support: Premium support packages often cost more than basic subscriptions

Developing realistic ROI projections

Marketing leaders must establish clear measurement frameworks to justify intent data investments.

Document baseline performance metrics before implementing intent data. Many organizations skip this step, but it provides the comparison point needed to measure intent data's effect.

A detailed ROI assessment should track metrics like:

• Lead conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Revenue attributed to intent-driven campaigns
• Funnel velocity (how quickly prospects move through sales stages)

Customer lifetime value (LTV) should be matched against customer acquisition cost (CAC) to determine long-term profitability. Higher LTV compared to CAC shows a profitable intent data investment.

Creating a pilot program to test effectiveness

Start with a focused pilot program instead of an immediate enterprise-wide implementation. This approach gives concrete evidence before substantial investment.

Accenture's experience with Bombora showed that a well-structured pilot helps companies verify intent data's effectiveness and refine strategies before scaling. One company saw a 33% increase in conversion rates and 122% jump in email open rates during their pilot phase.

The pilot's success depends on clear goals, specific KPIs that line up with those goals, and a timeline for measurement. Progress tracking should continue even after the pilot ends since leads generated during testing may still advance through the sales cycle.

FAQs

Q1. What is intent data and why is it important for businesses?

Intent data consists of behavioral signals collected from online activities that indicate a potential buyer's interest in purchasing a product or service. It's important because it helps businesses identify and prioritize leads that are actively researching solutions, enabling more targeted and effective marketing and sales efforts.

Q2. How can companies effectively implement intent data in their strategy?

To implement intent data effectively, companies should define their ideal customer profile, choose appropriate data sources, identify relevant intent signals, score and prioritize leads, and conduct targeted outreach. It's crucial to integrate intent data with existing marketing and sales platforms for maximum impact.

Q3. What are the main types of intent data available for B2B companies?

The main types of intent data for B2B companies include first-party data (collected from your own digital properties), second-party data (accessed through partnerships), and third-party data (collected by external companies tracking user activity across multiple platforms). Each type offers unique insights into buyer behavior.

Q4. How can businesses measure the ROI of their intent data investment?

To measure ROI, businesses should establish baseline performance metrics before implementing intent data, then track improvements in lead conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, revenue attributed to intent-driven campaigns, and funnel velocity. Comparing customer lifetime value against acquisition costs can indicate long-term profitability.

Q5. What should companies consider when choosing an intent data provider?

When selecting an intent data provider, companies should evaluate data quality and coverage, collection methodologies, integration capabilities with existing tech stacks, analytics and reporting features, data privacy standards, and total cost of ownership. A pilot program can help test effectiveness before full implementation.