Buyer Intent

What is Buyer Intent?

Buyer intent (also called purchase intent or buying intent) refers to signals that indicate a prospect is actively researching solutions and has a higher likelihood of making a purchase.

These signals reveal where prospects are in their buying journey and how urgently they're evaluating solutions.

Buyer Intent Signals:

• Visiting pricing pages multiple times
• Attending webinars about specific solutions
• Downloading comparison guides or ROI calculators
• Searching for competitor alternatives
• Requesting demos or trials
• Reading case studies of similar companies

Why Buyer Intent Matters

Prioritization

Intent signals identify who to focus on.

Priority Shift:

• Without intent data: Treat all leads equally
• With intent data: Focus on high-intent prospects
• Result: 2-3x higher conversion rates on prioritized leads

Timing

Intent reveals urgency.

Prospects showing strong buying intent are closer to purchase decisions. Engaging them at the right moment dramatically increases close rates.

Personalization

Intent informs messaging.

Knowing what prospects are researching allows tailored outreach:

• "Saw you were comparing [your product] vs. [competitor]"
• " Noticed you've been researching [specific topic]"
• "Based on your recent research, you might be interested in..."

Types of Buyer Intent

First-Party Intent

Signals from your own channels.

First-Party Sources:

• Website page visits (especially pricing, features)
• Content downloads (whitepapers, case studies)
• Webinar attendance
• Free trial signups
• Demo requests
• Email engagement (opens, clicks)

Third-Party Intent

Signals from external platforms.

Third-Party Sources:

• Review site activity (G2, Capterra, TrustRadius)
• Competitor site visits
• Industry research consumption
• LinkedIn engagement
• Search behavior data
• Intent data providers (6sense, Bombora, Demandbase)

Buyer Intent Signals

High-Intent Signals

Prospects close to purchasing.

Low-Intent Signals

Early-stage research.

Using Buyer Intent

Lead Scoring

Incorporate intent into lead scoring.

Intent-Based Scoring:

• High-intent actions: +20-50 points
• Medium-intent actions: +5-20 points
• Low-intent actions: +1-5 points
• Threshold for sales contact: 50+ points

Outreach Timing

Engage when intent spikes.

Response Best Practices:

• Contact within hours of high-intent signal
• Reference the specific activity in outreach
• Provide content relevant to their research stage
• Focus on next steps, not initial education

Content Strategy

Create content for each intent stage.

Intent-Based Content:

• Low intent: Educational blog posts, industry overviews
• Medium intent: Comparison guides, how-to content
• High intent: Pricing pages, demos, trials, case studies

Buyer Intent Tools

Intent Data Providers

Third-party intent platforms.

First-Party Analytics

Your own data sources.

Tools to Track Intent:

• Google Analytics (page visits, behavior)
• Marketing automation (email engagement)
• CRM (activity history)
• Marketing automation platforms (HubSpot, Marketo)

Key Takeaways

• Buyer intent = signals indicating active research and purchase readiness
• Intent signals: pricing visits, demo requests, trials, competitor research
• High intent = close to purchase; low intent = early research
• Sources: first-party (your channels), third-party (intent data providers)
• Use for: lead prioritization, outreach timing, personalized messaging
• Intent-based outreach sees 2-3x higher conversion rates
• Contact within hours of high-intent signals for best results
• Incorporate intent into lead scoring and sales prioritization

Sources:

• RB2B - Buyer Intent Signals: Meaning, Types & Ways to Identify
• Crono - Buying Signals in Sales
• Gong - Identify Account Champions with AI