The business-to-business (B2B) marketplace post-pandemic is different.
With virtual interactions now the new normal, B2B decision makers expect personalized online experiences, and so do their clients. In fact, McKinsey reports that “[O]nly about 20 percent of B2B buyers say they hope to return to in-person sales, even in sectors where field-sales models have traditionally dominated, such as pharma and medical products.” Today’s firms must respond with customized omni-channel digital experiences. It’s no longer enough to talk to a prospect at an in-person event or send a personalized email.
B2B advertising and outreach need to happen concurrently and reach the right person at the right time, with perfectly coordinated sales and marketing efforts. Real-time behavioral data representing current intent can help them do that—and more.
What Is Real-Time Online Behavior Data and What Does It Do?
Real-time online behavior data is the data we generate every day when we click, view, search and share content online. This information represents interest in brands, topics and products.
When combined with proprietary and other third-party data, online behavioral data helps teams gain actionable insights with greater speed, accuracy and confidence. It is data that provides context and insights around key business objectives, such as:
- demand forecasting
- market trends
- churn reduction
- rapid personalization
- competitive analysis
Real-Time Behavioral Data Helps B2B Companies Accelerate Growth
Thanks to the scale of today’s digital interactions and the power of artificial intelligence, B2B businesses can gain access to stakeholders and speed up the deal process without relying on in-person interactions.
Behavioral and interest data includes tens of billions of online events each month generated by over a billion web users on millions of global websites. It’s full of information that can be used to gain marketing intelligence, enhance competitive strategies, improve revenue optimization, prioritize product enhancements, and personalize experiences.
B2B business services providers can use it to improve their ability to attract the right audience, engage and convert prospects, and expand offerings, opportunities and relationships.
Let’s look at three specific examples.
1. Generate New Leads and Prospects Who Are More Likely to Engage
By enhancing existing business data with cross-interest data, companies can identify the right prospects more quickly and accurately, based on campaign criteria.
These factors improve campaign performance and deepen customer satisfaction and loyalty in a fast-moving and competitive environment.
For example, a SaaS or B2B tech company wanted to improve campaign results. It used cross-interest data to target business finance prospects in specific industries and geographic locations. The analysis revealed other interests that the tech company used to personalize offers and content options, and saw an improvement in campaign performance.
Cross-Interest Data That Drives Personalization for Lead Generation
2. Enhance Product Development to Maintain or Gain Market Share by Exploring User Engagement
Staying ahead of the competition can be tough, and while customers are among the best sources of input to staying there—surveys and focus groups have their own challenges and inefficiencies.
By adding behavioral data to the market intelligence analysis, companies can discover new factors of influence without taking up customers’ valuable time, and at a larger scale.
For example, a business productivity software company has found itself rapidly losing market share. Campaigns and product enhancements didn’t deliver the desired results. By adding behavioral data to the analysis, the company discovers that a key competitor is offering free options directly aligned with the company’s differentiating features. They also found critical areas attributing to customer dissatisfaction that weren’t visible before.
While not necessarily good news, it is critically valuable. These insights can immediately inform strategy, help address customer concerns and tackle market challenges.
Behavioral Data That Provides Market Intelligence to Inform Product Enhancements
3. Gain a Competitive Edge by Staying on Top of Timely Industry Trends
Trends are always changing. To keep up, competitive analysis alone isn’t always enough. By adding real-time behavioral data, companies can better identify potential threats and offer effective ways to avoid or address them.
For example, a market intelligence company wants to expand into a new market. Current campaigns aren’t producing the results the firm needs. By adding cross-interest data to the analysis, the company discovers that account-based marketing is among the highest trending topics in key urban centers throughout the new market, with search engine optimization and human resources closely behind.
The firm quickly modifies their campaign structures to re-focus content and special offers to align with the new insights. As a result, campaign performance hits the desired benchmarks.
Timely Industry Trends That Offer a Competitive Edge
Even the Best Business Data Can Be Profitably Augmented With Online Behavioral and Interest Data
Business data can vary widely, but in general it always includes customer, transaction, product and relevant industry or geography elements.
What’s relatively new is the ability to harness real-time behavior and interest data. These insights expand context and reveal actions that drive personalization, customer acquisition, marketing intelligence, product enhancements, and data analysis efficiencies.
The surge in B2B activity and interest offers businesses an opportunity to strengthen or expand market presence efficiently and effectively—and to help clients do the same.
