Summary
Most B2B intent data fails because it tracks accounts, not people—leading to wasted spend and missed opportunities. The fix? Person-based intent. By analyzing individual decision-makers’ digital behavior (not just company IPs), teams gain precision targeting, shorter sales cycles, and 2X higher conversions. This blog reveals why traditional intent signals disappoint, how person-based intent works, and a proven framework to implement it—backed by real-world results like 37% faster deal velocity.
The Intent Data Crisis: Why most B2B marketers are flying blind
You’re a B2B marketer staring at a dashboard flooded with intent data—IP pings, keyword spikes, account signals—all promising opportunity. You’ve invested heavily in these tools, launched targeted campaigns, rallied your sales team… and waited. But the leads fizzle. The pipeline stalls. The ROI never materializes.
You’re not alone in this frustration.
Over the past decade, we’ve partnered with global enterprises watching them chase intent signals that ultimately led nowhere. The harsh reality? Traditional intent data has become the definition of diminishing returns—overwhelming teams with noise while delivering precious little clarity.
Why traditional intent signals consistently disappoint
Traditional intent data operates like trying to predict customer behavior by watching shadows on a wall—you see movement, but miss crucial context. Here’s why it consistently underdelivers:
- Account-level aggregation masks individual decision-makers. A surge in website traffic from Company X tells you nothing about who’s actually interested—is it the CFO evaluating solutions or an intern conducting research for a never-to-be-implemented project?
- Signal interpretation lacks buying context. Not all engagement indicates purchase intent. Without distinguishing research from buying behavior, teams waste resources on prospects who are months (or years) from purchase.
- Fragmented digital footprints create blind spots. B2B buyers research across dozens of platforms—your website represents just a fraction of their journey, making most intent signals dangerously incomplete.
These fundamental flaws explain why, despite sophisticated tools, many marketing teams still struggle to accurately predict which prospects deserve immediate attention. For one global technology client, their investment in premium intent data delivered a dismal 12% accuracy rate in identifying genuine opportunities—hardly better than educated guessing.
Person-based intent: The missing piece in the B2B puzzle
The breakthrough comes when we shift focus from nebulous account signals to the digital body language of individual decision-makers. Person-based intent doesn’t just track anonymous behaviors—it connects actions to specific stakeholders within the buying committee:
- A CTO’s deep engagement with your technical documentation
- A CFO downloading ROI calculators and pricing guides
- A VP of Operations comparing implementation methodologies
These precision signals reveal not just general interest, but specific buying motivations of actual decision-makers.
When implementing this approach for an enterprise software provider, we transformed their targeting strategy to focus exclusively on C-suite leaders demonstrating active research through specific content engagement patterns. The results were immediate and measurable: conversion rates doubled, and sales cycles shortened by 37% compared to their previous account-level approach.
Mapping individual journeys through the B2B labyrinth
The modern B2B purchase involves 6-10 decision-makers, each with distinct priorities and timelines. Person-based intent illuminates these individual journeys, revealing crucial insights:
- Where each stakeholder is in their evaluation process
- Which specific concerns are blocking progress
- When collective momentum indicates readiness to purchase
For a global engineering firm struggling with elongated sales cycles, we deployed advanced behavioral analytics to track individual stakeholder engagement across digital touchpoints. By creating dynamic profiles of each committee member’s specific interests and concerns, we enabled precision-targeted interventions when decision momentum stalled.
This granular visibility allowed the sales team to anticipate objections before they emerged and address specific stakeholder concerns with tailored messaging. The outcome: qualified opportunities increased 40% while average deal velocity improved by 28%.
The practical implementation framework
Implementing person-based intent isn’t about abandoning your current martech stack—it’s about enhancing it with a critical new dimension. Here’s the blueprint our most successful clients follow:
- Connect anonymous signals to specific individuals through advanced identity resolution techniques that link digital breadcrumbs across platforms
- Map individual content consumption to specific buying stages to distinguish early research from active evaluation
- Identify patterns of multi-stakeholder engagement that indicate genuine buying momentum versus isolated interest
- Develop stakeholder-specific messaging strategies that address the unique concerns revealed through behavioral analysis
- Create dynamic scoring models that prioritize genuine buying behaviors over general research activities
The most effective implementations integrate seamlessly with existing platforms like HubSpot, Marketo, or Rollworks, enriching your current data rather than replacing it.
The transformational business impact
When you understand the individuals behind the signals, everything changes:
- Content strategy evolves from generic thought leadership to precision-targeted resources addressing specific stakeholder concerns
- Sales conversations transform from generic value propositions to consultative discussions focused on the exact issues each decision-maker is actively researching
- Marketing investments shift from broad awareness campaigns to strategic interventions at critical points in individual stakeholder journeys
- Revenue forecasting improves dramatically as pipeline quality reflects genuine buying intent rather than superficial engagement
The competitive imperative
In today’s hyper-competitive B2B landscape, the margin between winning and losing deals often comes down to which vendor best understands the buyer’s journey. While your competitors continue relying on outdated account-level signals, person-based intent offers the clarity needed to engage the right stakeholders with the right messages at precisely the right moments.
The emotional payoff extends beyond metrics—imagine the confidence of running campaigns you know will resonate, the satisfaction of seeing genuine opportunities fill your pipeline, and the recognition that comes from leading your organization to measurable growth.
Your next steps
The B2B marketplace grows more complex and competitive each quarter. As decision processes become increasingly distributed across stakeholders and digital channels, the limitations of traditional intent data will only become more pronounced.
Ask yourself: Is your current approach delivering the clarity your team needs, or just adding to the noise?
If you’re ready to move beyond the limitations of traditional intent data, person-based intent offers a path forward that doesn’t just incrementally improve results—it fundamentally transforms how you identify, prioritize, and convert your most valuable opportunities.
