10 Best Ways to Use Intent Data in Your ABM Campaigns

Your target accounts face a barrage of emails daily, countless LinkedIn messages, and endless marketing content.

To break through this noise, you need the trifecta of modern marketing: precision, perfect timing, and laser-relevant messaging. This is where intent data comes into play.

Intent data shows you which accounts are actively searching for solutions like yours right now. 

But many teams struggle to make good use of it. Let’s change that! Scroll 👇 for effective intent data strategies for ABM.

What is intent data and why does it matter for ABM?

Intent data captures the digital footprints left by prospects while researching products, challenges, and solutions online.

These buyer signals reveal who’s in-market now, what they’re interested in, and where they are in their decision-making process.

When layered into your ABM strategy, intent data creates the perfect storm of targeting precision:

• Target the right accounts - Focus solely on businesses that match your ICP (ideal customer profile).
• At the right time - Engage when they’re actively researching relevant solutions like yours.
• With the right message - Address their specific interests and challenges.
• Through the right channels - Reach decision-makers on platforms where they’re most receptive.

⚠️ Read more about using account-based marketing data for generating revenue.

What are the types of intent data?

Before diving into implementation strategies, it’s crucial to understand the different types of intent data available and how each contributes to your ABM campaigns.

First-party intent data

This is data you collect directly from your digital properties.

Examples:

• Website visit patterns (pages viewed, time spent).
• Email engagement (opens, clicks).
• Content downloads (whitepapers, ebooks).
• Form submissions.
• Product usage metrics.
• Customer support interactions.

Second-party intent data

This is first-party data acquired directly from a trusted partner, publisher, or vendor.

Examples:

• Review site engagement data.
• Partner website behaviour.
• Industry publication reading habits.
• Event attendance information.
• Webinar participation.

Third-party intent data

This is collected by external data aggregators across many websites and digital properties. It’s then sold as a service.

Examples:

• Technographic data (technology stack usage).
• Search queries across the web.
• Content consumption across multiple publications.
• Social media post engagement.
• Forum and community participation.

⚠️ Check out the top third-party intent data providers.

Behavioral intent data

This focuses on online activities that signal buying intent.

Examples:

• Pricing page visits.
• Competitor comparison research.
• Multiple product demo views.
• Sales-related content consumption (ROI calculators, buying guides).
• Multiple visits in a short timeframe.

Contextual intent data

This examines the context surrounding engagement to determine intent level.

Examples:

• Content topic relevance.
• Content consumption patterns.
• Device and location patterns.
• Time-of-day engagement patterns.
• Seasonal or event-triggered research.

Declared/zero-party intent data

This is information explicitly shared by the prospect about their intentions.

Examples:

• Survey responses.
• Preference center selections.
• Purchase timeline indications.
• Budget information.
• Decision-maker identification.

What are the best ways to use intent data in ABM?

1. Prioritise accounts based on real-time purchase intent

Real-time purchase intent signals include the following, tracked across thousands of B2B websites and publications:

• Content consumption about your product category.
• Competitor comparisons.
• Problem-specific online searches,

To capitalise on this intelligence effectively, create a weekly “hot accounts” list.

For example, Keboola, a self-service data management company, used Cognism to access Bombora’s intent data, selecting specific intent topics relevant to their data integration solution.

They then identified 20 companies per week showing strong intent signals, using Cognism's verified direct dial mobile numbers to reach decision-makers at these companies. 

This strategy generated $125k in pipeline for Keboola, with Cognism's intent data driving 60% of their demos.

2. Personalise your outreach

Fuel your entire outreach strategy with intent-driven messaging.

For example:

Cold calling becomes significantly more effective when reps can reference the challenges prospects are actively investigating.

Direct mail campaigns show equally impressive results. Cognism customers combining intent data with direct emails consistently achieve up to 60% open rates.

Intent data ensures your message arrives at the perfect moment with the exact context that resonates with decision-makers.

3. Align sales and marketing around intent-driven insights

One of the biggest challenges in ABM is ensuring sales and marketing teams work in lockstep. 

Intent data provides a shared foundation of actionable insights, which helps to bridge this traditional divide.

Where to start? 👇

• Create a unified workflow where both teams can access the same intent signals and coordinate their activities based on account engagement levels.
• Hold regular meetings to review high-intent accounts, ensuring everyone is focused on the same priorities.

4. Time your interventions precisely

Intent data reveals not just what prospects are interested in but when that interest peaks - often signalling active buying committee discussions.

Top tip:

Set up alerts that show you when there are sudden spikes in digital activity from multiple stakeholders at the same account. These moments represent ideal opportunities for timely sales outreach.

According to Gartner, B2B buyers spend only 17% of their time meeting with potential suppliers. Intent data helps you target that critical window when prospects are most receptive.

5. Rescue stalled deals

Intent data provides early warning signals for deals at risk.

When engagement drops suddenly, you’re likely losing ground. When it spikes again months later, they’re back in-market - possibly with your competitors!

Being the first to re-engage when new research begins gives you a significant advantage.

Set up triggers for renewed intent from dormant accounts. Acknowledge the account’s renewed interest with fresh messaging.

6. Intercept competitor evaluations

Third-party data reveals when existing customers are researching alternatives - often before they mention considering a switch.

When signals show a high-risk customer exploring competitor solutions, your CS team can proactively schedule a review addressing concerns and highlighting features that may solve their emerging needs.

For prospects comparing vendors, deploy targeted ads that direct them to purpose-built comparison pages. On these custom landing pages, directly address the advantages you offer vs. the exact competitors they’re evaluating.

7. Prioritise high-intent accounts for ad campaigns

Use intent signals to create highly targeted advertising audiences on platforms like LinkedIn, where you can upload account lists based on intent data. 

This ensures you concentrate your ad marketing budget on businesses that are already showing interest in solutions like yours.

Cognism’s signal data enables this precision targeting by identifying:

• Hiring trends that indicate strategic initiatives related to your solutions.
• Funding rounds that suggest new budget availability.
• Technology adoption patterns that reveal compatibility with your offerings.
• Intent topics showing active research in your solution space.

This ensures that every marketing dollar is spent reaching prospects already primed to engage.

8. Track champions through job changes

Monitor when your internal advocates move to new companies. Cognism’s customer job change alerts notify you immediately when past buyers switch roles.

When internal champions leave a company, quickly establish relationships with their replacements before competitors can get a foothold. These transition periods are critical for retention.

When champions join target accounts, reach out within their first 100 days. You want to create an instant warm introduction. Familiarity with a product or service usually shortens sales cycles.

9. Identify cross-sell and upsell opportunities

Cross-sell and up-sell intent signals point out existing customers who are:

• Researching complementary solutions to what they already use.
• Hiring for roles that suggest new use cases or expanded needs.
• Receiving funding that might enable larger implementations.
• Exploring topics related to your premium offerings.

This intelligence transforms standard account management into strategic expansion; it drives higher customer lifetime value and solves emerging needs before competitors can enter the picture.

10. Measure and refine ABM campaign performance

Intent data creates sophisticated metrics for evaluating campaign impact beyond basic engagement statistics.

Track intent signal patterns throughout your campaign lifecycle:

• Compare intent signal intensity before, during, and after specific campaign actions.
• Monitor how signals spread across multiple stakeholders within your key accounts.
• Identify which early research patterns consistently appeared before closed deals.

This data-driven approach helps you continually optimise your ABM strategy based on actual buying behaviour. No more relying on guesswork and assumptions!

⚠️ Learn the key metrics for ABM.

How do you get started with intent data in ABM?

Define your ideal customer profile (ICP) 

Intent data works best when focused on the right, best-fit accounts.

Use your CRM data to identify your best customers’ common attributes: industry, company size, tech stack, and growth stage.

This precision ensures your intent monitoring targets accounts with genuine conversion potential.

Select the right intent topics 

Choose keywords and phrases that indicate serious buying interest. 

Beyond obvious product-related terms, include problem statements, competitor names, and industry challenges.

Ensure data quality and coverage 

Not all intent data is created equal! Always review data quality when considering providers.

Verify source breadth (how many sites are monitored) and relevance (industry-specific publishers). 

Cognism’s partnership with Bombora ensures monitoring across thousands of B2B websites with localised signal tracking for regional accuracy.

Integrate intent data with your existing stack 

Connect the data to your CRM, sales engagement, and marketing automation tools.

Set up automated workflows that trigger specific actions when intent thresholds are reached. 

Integration with your sales tools enables reps to receive daily alerts about potential buyers.

Create processes for responding to intent signals 

Develop playbooks for different intent scenarios. 

Map specific intent topics to relevant content assets, outreach templates, and conversation guides.

Train your team to interpret signal strength; they must distinguish between early research and active buying phases.

The Cognism advantage for intent-powered ABM

Successful intent-based ABM requires accurate data and reliable insights. Cognism provides:

• Intent data powered by Bombora: Identify companies researching topics relevant to your business.
• Sales Companion (Web App): Access a vast database of contacts, companies, and buying signals.
• Sales Companion (Browser Extension): Access company and contact details on LinkedIn and other platforms.
• Diamond Data®: Verified mobile numbers with 3x higher connect rates.
  
• Cognism AI Search: Find prospects with ChatGPT-style text or voice prompts.
• Cognism Enrich: Instant and scheduled CRM enrichment and on-demand CSV enrichment.
• Seamless integrations with CRMs and sales and marketing tools.
• International coverage: EMEA, NAM, APAC.
• Fully GDPR and CCPA-compliant data.
• Database checked and cleaned against global DNC lists.
• Unrestricted access to person and company-level data (subject to fair use policy).

This combination delivers unmatched accuracy and actionability, ensuring your ABM campaigns reach the right people at exactly the right time.

Discover how our unique combination of intent data and verified contact information can fuel your ABM. Click 👇