For most people, shopping is a process. A significant purchase requires researching products, comparing prices, and weighing pros and cons.
When you conduct online research about products and services, your search queries, link clicks, and page visits leave a trail of intent marketing data. This data provides marketing and sales teams with a trove of insights into your buying journey.
As a business owner, you can use this information too. With data-informed audience segments, you can deliver tailored messages designed to move users further down the sales funnel—an approach known as intent-based marketing. Learn how intent-based marketing works, how to craft an intent-based strategy, and where to collect the data to support it.
What is intent-based marketing?
Intent-based marketing is about distinguishing between prospective customers just browsing and those ready to make a purchase. So, instead of treating all traffic the same, you look at signals of online behavior, a.k.a. intent data, to tailor your messaging. Someone searching for a specific product or returning to the same product page multiple times, for example, has a much higher purchase intent than someone doing general category research. With that information in hand, you can segment that group. Then, you send them highly targeted ads with discount codes or other incentives designed to push them over the purchasing finish line.
Other behaviors, like scrolling through reviews or downloading case studies, suggest a customer is still in evaluation mode. For that segment, you’re better off sending educational content over hard conversion messaging. Intent-based marketing isn’t about pushing everyone to buy so much as it is about meeting people where they are in the purchase decision process.
Active vs. passive intent data
Customer intent is either active or passive. Active intent refers to immediate interest in purchasing, while passive intent indicates that someone is still in the research phase. Active intent signals include searching for an item by name, repeatedly making website visits, and adding products to a cart. Passive intent signals include searching related keywords, reading informational blog articles, and browsing reviews.
Differentiating between active and passive intent helps you reach the right customer with the right type of message. Someone demonstrating active intent, for example, may only need a gentle reminder that your product or service exists and how it can meet their needs before becoming a paying customer. Conversion-focused messaging is less likely to affect passive intent users. You’ll most likely need to further nurture these individuals before they move to the next stage.
How to create an intent-based marketing strategy
- Identify intent signals
- Select data sources and start collecting
- Segment your audience
- Develop targeted messages
- Monitor performance
Implementing intent-based marketing involves deciding which behaviors to track, collecting data, and developing targeted messages. Use these steps to create a successful intent-based marketing strategy that nurtures leads and drives conversions:
1. Identify intent signals
Intent signals are the customer behaviors that indicate interest in your product or service. Start by identifying your business’s target audience and thinking about your user experience. Walk through your website as if you were a potential customer and list the actions that indicate growing interest. Depending on your offerings, that could look like viewing the same product multiple times, signing up for a demo, clicking through pricing or shipping information, or returning to the site within a short time window.
Next, consider third-party signals. What motivates people to consider a product or service like yours? List high-intent keywords—such as product-specific searches, comparison terms, or “best of” queries—that someone interested in your brand would search for. These signals can inform ad targeting and messaging, even if you can’t tie them to individual users.
Focus on a small number of intent signals that clearly map to different stages of your customer journey map. A few strong signals tied to clear actions will be easier to build and test messaging around.
2. Select data sources and start collecting
There are traditionally two ways to collect customer data for intent-based data analysis:
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First-party data. This is the data you collect through your own platforms, such as your company websites and email campaigns. Proprietary or first-party data points include time on page, number of sessions, and website form submissions or downloads.
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Third-party data. This is data you can purchase from publishers, such as B2B media companies and trade publications, advertisers, and specialized intent-based marketing tools. Third-party data sources typically offer broad insights into consumer groups and ready-made buyer segments.
If you’re running a small business, start with the data you collect from your own web visitors. Most ecommerce platforms and website builders offer built-in analytics dashboards. You can also integrate tools like Google Analytics for more robust reporting.
3. Segment your audience
In the context of intent-based marketing, audience segmentation involves splitting up your audience based on readiness to make a purchase. Start by creating low-, medium-, and high-intent user groups that align with the signals you’ve identified. For example:
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High-intent: repeat product views, abandoned carts
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Mid-intent: email sign-ups, blog views
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Low-intent: first-time visits
Segmenting web visitors who have yet to purchase from your site is trickier than segmenting customers, but it can be done. With Shopify, for example, you can segment users who’ve provided their email address but have yet to complete a purchase. You can create a mid-intent segment for those who’ve signed up for your newsletter and a high-intent segment for those who abandoned their carts at the last stage of checkout.
Install apps like Klaviyo to track and target first-time visitors who haven’t provided their emails. These apps work by using cookies to recognize returning users, whom you can then serve with pop-ups encouraging email sign-up.
4. Develop targeted messages
Create marketing messages tailored to your different audience segments. Think about what individual users in each segment might need to move to the next stage, and how you can provide it with your marketing efforts. For example, your messaging and delivery strategy could look like:
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High-intent. Remind this segment about their filled cart with an abandoned cart email. Include a limited-time bonus item or a free shipping offer to help seal the deal.
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Mid-intent. To make their decision easier, send this segment testimonials, case studies, or upgrade information tied to products they’ve already browsed. Send this information via targeted email marketing campaigns, SMS marketing messages, website pop-ups, or search retargeting ads.
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Low-intent. Serve those first-time visitors a welcome pop-up that offers free shipping or a first-purchase discount in exchange for their email address.
Ecommerce platforms like Shopify have built-in tools to help you serve targeted content. You can also install plug-ins to automatically deliver the right content to each segment.
5. Monitor performance
Keep an eye on segment performance and look for opportunities to refine your approach. Evaluate your intent signals individually by tracking the success rate associated with each specified behavior. This can help your team identify the strongest and weakest indicators.
For example, if 63% of consumers who downloaded a case study converted within 30 days, but only 4% of users who signed up for a newsletter did the same, you could decide to reclassify email sign-ups as low- or medium-intent signals.
Consider testing new signals or removing low-performing cues as your product evolves. Tweaking your targeted marketing strategy can help improve results.
Intent-based marketing FAQ
What is intent-based marketing?
Intent-based marketing is a strategy where you segment your audience based on how likely they are to purchase your product. You then target those segments with relevant content designed to move them through the sales funnel. This strategy uses behavioral data, collected from company-owned and third-party sources, to assess intent and understand consumer readiness to buy.
What does intent-based mean?
In marketing, intent-based refers to audience segmentation and outreach strategies that use behavioral data to gain valuable insights about consumer desires. An intent-based marketing approach involves defining intent signals. These specific actions reveal what the user is interested in doing, like researching their options, considering a purchase, or adding a product to their cart.
What is the difference between interest and intent marketing?
Interest and intent-driven marketing both use consumer behavioral data, audience segmentation, and content personalization. Interest marketing analyzes online behavior to identify consumers with specific hobbies or a general interest in relevant topics. You can segment potential customers based on interest and target them with appealing messages. Intent-based marketing, on the other hand, groups customers based on their readiness to buy.
Why is intent-based marketing important?
Individuals’ needs vary depending on where they are in the buying process. The right message can help move someone through to the next phase of their buying journey—all the way from the initial awareness stage to conversion (i.e., purchase). Understanding buyer intent helps marketing teams determine an individual’s stage in the sales funnel. To leverage intent data, businesses segment customers based on their interest level and target each group with tailored messaging, which can boost conversion rates.
