Magnetic Study Reveals Uses and Challenges of Intent Data
Study finds intent is highly valued by marketers, yet challenging to utilize
Magnetic today released a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting that reveals the benefits and challenges of utilizing data and intent-driven advertising solutions for customer prospecting and retention. The study, which analyzed survey results from 130 brand marketers across France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, found that while marketers recognize the value of using intent at multiple buying stages, they are using the same data sources for prospecting and retention strategies, indicating that they are either over or underutilizing data.
Applying intent to advertising strategies offers marketers an effective way to reach and engage consumers. For instance, 78 percent of survey respondents believe that using intent data improves the relevancy of ads, and 67 percent agree that capturing search query information and using it for retargeting is valuable.
Forrester’s research revealed that although digital targeting strategies are well adopted, many marketers face challenges with effectively using intent data and struggle with knowing what sources of data are best used for prospecting and retention.
Key findings from the study include:
64 percent of respondents believe that they need better data for prospecting
67 percent agree that using intent for prospecting and retention would give them an advantage over their competition
64 percent believe that by combining site-level data and search behaviors, marketers have a greater ability to reach audiences across the consumer funnel
54 percent are unable to integrate intent data into targeting technology
67 percent of marketers surveyed agreed/strongly agreed that reaching new prospects is more challenging than retaining customers
“If you have more insight into what people are looking to buy before they make their purchase, you can strengthen your prospecting strategy,” said James Green, CEO of Magnetic. “With the right set of data, there is huge potential to use intent to inform business decisions and customer relationships, but these findings emphasize that intent is not always being used properly and in a way that can give marketers the best results.”
Forrester cites that digital already accounts for more than one-fourth of all advertising spend, and predicts that digital spending will amount to more than $100 billion by 2016. To learn more about the state of intent in digital marketing, download the full study, “Intent Data Can Sharpen Your Competitive Edge.”