Turn ad insights into sales with intent technology

Imagine being able to know which companies on your target account list are engaging with your content and showing buying signals. Or, which pieces of your content influenced the sales you closed last quarter. It’s possible with intent technology.

In a world where traditional marketing strategies often fall short, reaching the wrong audience or failing to deliver on conversion goals, intent technology is changing the game.

By tapping into signals that reveal a prospect’s intent to purchase, intent technology is reshaping how companies connect with potential customers. Analyzing signals like search behaviour, content consumption and engagement with ads enables businesses to serve the right content to the right people at the right time, resulting in high-quality leads and measurable sales growth.

In this guide to intent technology, you’ll learn:

• How intent technology adds precision to marketing strategies

• Three key advantages intent data offers

• Real-world success stories from companies using intent technology

• Expert tips for leveraging intent technology effectively

The shift from broad targeting to intent-driven strategies

At the core of intent technology is a shift in how businesses target and engage prospects. Instead of relying on broad demographic targeting, intent technology leverages behavioural signals to identify potential customers who are actively in-market for a solution.

As Gail Moch, Director of Marketing at ActiveIQ explains, “While you might put a piece of content in a publication or on social media, it's really hard to know that it's actually getting in front of the right eyeballs. With intent technology, we’re not guessing. We know where people are at in their buying journey and can engage them with content that’s relevant and timely.”

These insights are invaluable for B2B marketers, as they allow for more targeted, personalized and efficient marketing efforts. By understanding when prospects are in the decision-making phase, companies are better equipped to craft campaigns that resonate and drive conversions.

“Generally, we're taking ads and content in publications, usually trade publications in the industrial sectors, and combining it with sales intelligence. We're identifying specific contacts and accounts that are showing interest in our customers and what they do,” Moch says.

The upside of intent technology for B2B companies

Intent technology like ActiveIQ uses first and second party data, i.e., data you collect on your own website when a visitor fills out a form, or another company’s first-party data that you purchase. In contrast to third-party data, which is collected across the internet from multiple sources, the data that ActiveIQ uses is always specific to your own company, whereas solutions like ZoomInfo use third-party data. 

“First- and second-party data tend to be higher predictors of purchase intent since the prospect has been showing specific interest in your company as opposed to just interest in a topic related to you,” Moch says.

This intent data provides several key advantages to businesses looking to improve the effectiveness of their marketing and sales campaigns:

• Targeting high-intent prospects: Intent technology identifies individuals who are actively researching solutions, making them more likely to convert. 

• Higher conversion rates: When companies engage prospects showing clear intent, they are more likely to generate higher-quality leads and close more sales.

• Optimized ad spend: By zeroing in on prospects who are already exhibiting signs of intent, businesses can allocate their marketing budgets more effectively.

“Intent technology has been growing a lot over the past three to five years. The beauty of it is that it helps companies stop wasting resources,” Moch says.

“Instead of focusing on people who aren’t ready to buy, we’re focusing on those who’ve already signaled that they’re interested. You can tap your sales team on the shoulder and say, ‘Hey, this person has read our content three times and visited our website twice in the past two months. Maybe it's time to give them a call.’”

Intent technology in action

Imagine this: a tech company spends months crafting a marketing campaign for a new product launch, only to see it fall flat. Ads are shown, emails are sent and yet, conversion rates barely budge. Meanwhile, a service business is struggling to reach decision-makers, watching its ad spend balloon with little to show for it. For many B2B companies, this frustrating cycle is all too familiar.

But what happens when businesses tap into intent technology? Let’s explore two stories that show how intent-driven strategies can transform outcomes in real time.

ABC Tech Company finds the right audience

ABC Tech Company was in a bind. Despite significant marketing investment, it couldn’t identify high-quality leads, and its resources were being drained by non-converting traffic.

By focusing on intent signals, the company filters out irrelevant audiences and traffic, narrowing in on prospects actively researching solutions. In just three months, lead quality improves by 30%, while conversion rates jump 20%. 

The impact is clear: with better-targeted efforts, the company’s campaigns finally are delivering significant sales growth.

Service Provider 123 connects with decision-makers

For Service Provider 123, the challenge was different but equally frustrating: the company’s ads weren’t reaching the right decision-makers. Too many clicks, too little progress.

Using intent technology, Service Provider 123 hones in on high-intent prospects and tailors the company’s content to meet specific needs. The results are striking: a 45% increase in sales-qualified leads and a 25% decrease in ad spend within two months. 

By zeroing in on the right audience, Service Provider 123’s campaigns become both more effective and more efficient.

A smarter way to connect with prospects

Taditional approaches — casting a wide net and hoping for results — no longer cut it. Instead, marketers need to know where their prospects are in the buying journey and engage them with content that resonates.

Platforms like ActiveIQ take intent technology to the next level by providing businesses with deep insights into the behaviour of their prospects. Companies can track real-time data like website visits, content downloads and engagement with digital ads to understand exactly where a prospect is in their buying journey.

“We don’t just capture intent; we predict when people are most likely to convert,” Moch says. “This allows us to provide businesses with the right tools to target and engage prospects at precisely the right time.”

Intent technology also addresses the challenge of attribution.

“Because we have that persistent fingerprint, even if someone read your content six months or a year ago, we can say which pieces of content helped lead them on their journey. When you're talking to your executive team, being able to show that content is specifically connected to sales is really valuable,” says Moch.

Final tips for leveraging intent technology

Successfully implementing intent technology requires more than just relying on the software itself. You’ve got to take a thoughtful approach to data, collaboration and personalization. Here are two key strategies to get the most out of intent-based marketing.

1. Don’t rely on surface-level metrics

While metrics like impressions, clicks and likes can provide a snapshot of content performance, they don’t always tell the full story. 

“I’ve had pieces of content that I thought were awesome and did get loads of viewership, but looking back a year later, none of it ever turned into anything,” Moch says. “This is why long-term data is really important.”

Focusing on the broader buyer journey is crucial, particularly in industries with long sales cycles. Companies often miss key insights when they fail to connect interactions across different touchpoints. For example, a prospect might engage with an article in an industry publication months before visiting your website. Without cross-domain tracking over the long term, these valuable signals could be lost.

“If you’re not looking at the data over that full journey, you’re just missing so much,” says Moch. “Tracking long-term attribution allows businesses to understand how initial engagement leads to eventual conversions, which helps you refine strategies for greater impact.”

2. Pair automation with the human touch

While intent technology and automation can handle many aspects of lead tracking and nurturing, the software is only as effective as the people managing it. 

Ensure your teams are diligent about inputting accurate data and tracking key events like sales meetings. Without this manual input, even the most advanced systems can’t provide a complete picture.

“AI is great for automating initial outreach, but as you move further down the funnel, there’s a lot to be said for the human touch,” Moch adds. 

While automated nurture campaigns are essential for managing large volumes of leads, those showing clear intent should receive tailored follow-ups, such as personalized emails or phone calls.

“That personal interaction can make all the difference when a lead is signaling readiness for a buying conversation,” says Moch.

Combine intent technology with high-quality content

Intent technology is more than a buzzword — it’s a transformative tool reshaping how businesses connect with their audiences. By harnessing behavioural signals, companies can go beyond traditional marketing strategies, focusing their efforts on high-intent prospects who are already on the path to purchase.

Intent-driven strategies can deliver better lead quality, improved conversion rates and optimized ad spend. But achieving these results requires more than just adopting the technology. It demands a thoughtful approach that combines data-driven insights with human expertise, long-term tracking and personalized follow-ups.

It’s time to stop guessing and start delivering the right messages to the right people at the right time. With a combination of intent technology and high-quality content, you’ll be unstoppable.

Is 2025 the year your B2B company wants to start creating more targeted, high-value content that moves your audience to action? Get in touch with us to find out how Scribe National can help.