Growth at all costs demand generation is now dead. It’s being replaced by intent generation that optimizes spend on in-market buyers with demonstrated intent.

Heavy demand generation investments have killed profitability for many B2B companies, with Salesloft’s data showing Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) doubling in the last 5 years.

This post is the second in a series on the transition from intent-based demand generation.  The first post focused on a well-crafted ICP. This post focuses on measuring in-market behavior.

In most industries, only 10% of buyers are actively in-market at any given time. You want to educate all buyers but concentrate marketing investments on in-market buyers

There are three critical steps to effectively measure in-market activity.

Step 1: Establish a Central Data Hub

A central data hub is the foundation for tracking and integrating data across multiple touchpoints. A solid data strategy ensures everyone—marketing, sales, and leadership—is working from the same source of truth. T

This starts with your CRM, such as Salesforce or HubSpot, collecting website and content engagement data as well as sales interactions from emails, meetings, and events.

Over time, companies should integrate other platforms, including marketing automation, ABM tools, 3rd party intent platforms like 6Sense, Rollworks, Bombora, and enrichment services like Apollo, ZoomInfo, and Clearbit, creating a 360-degree view.

Step 2: Measure Frequency and Breadth, It Matters Most

Once the data hub is in place, the focus is on tracking intent data from both third-party and first-party sources to predict where demand is growing.

Third-party data including keyword searches, competitive research, and engagement with industry publications.  First-party data is unique to your company and provides deeper insight into buyer intent by tracking website visits, downloads, event participation, trials, etc.

Third-party comes at a cost from an intent platform. First-party data is unique and ‘free’ once your content and data strategy is set up.  

In either case, you are looking for concentrated bursts of activity with multiple types of engagement from multiple contacts at an account over days or weeks.

Step 3: Focus on Champions and Sponsors

Not all buyer intent holds the same weight. Most early signals will come from end users or technical evaluators. These individuals are focused on product features and how the solution fits into daily workflows.

You want to see intent data from champions and executive sponsors,  typically directors or VPs who might move your purchase forward because of the way your product or service impacts revenue, efficiency, or team performance. 

To succeed with intent-based demand generation, companies need a central hub to measure engagement, a strategy to score bursts of intent activity, and a focus on champions and sponsors over end users.