Since most brand interactions happen online before prospects reveal their interest, many companies are using buyer intent data tools to spot behaviors that signal when a prospect is ready to buy.
Take a look at the top buyer intent data tools to find a solution that helps you gather prospective clients and drive sales growth.
What Is Buyer Intent Data?
Buyer intent data is information about a prospect's online behavior that indicates their readiness to purchase a product or service. This data captures and interprets buying signals from various online interactions, providing valuable insights into the buyer's journey and purchase intent.
Intent data goes beyond traditional demographics and firmographics to reveal behavioral patterns that signal purchase propensity. Key components include:
Behavioral signals: Actions like comparing competitors, visiting pricing pages, reading articles, and downloading whitepapers
Content consumption patterns: Topics researched, time spent on specific pages, and engagement depth
In-market account identification: Companies showing elevated research activity above their baseline
Purchase propensity scoring: Algorithms that predict likelihood to buy based on activity patterns
Why Buyer Intent Data Matters for B2B Sales and Marketing
B2B markets are saturated with competing providers, and buyers complete most of their research before engaging with sellers. Intent data solves this challenge by revealing which accounts are actively researching solutions, enabling teams to:
Accelerate pipeline velocity: Focus efforts on accounts showing active buying behavior rather than cold prospects
Improve win rates: Engage prospects when they're actively evaluating solutions, not months later
Prioritize high-value accounts: Route sales resources to accounts with demonstrated purchase intent
Personalize engagement: Tailor messaging based on specific topics and pain points prospects are researching
Optimize marketing spend: Allocate budget toward accounts showing genuine buying signals
How Buyer Intent Data Is Collected
Understanding data collection methods helps you evaluate provider quality and coverage. Intent data comes from three primary sources:
First-party data: Actions taken directly on your website, including page views, content downloads, form submissions, and time spent on specific sections. This provides the highest quality signals but limited scale.
Third-party data: Aggregated activity from publisher networks, review sites, and B2B research platforms. Data co-ops like Bombora's network of 5,000+ B2B sites track content consumption across millions of companies.
Second-party data: Shared data from partner organizations or industry networks, providing additional context on account behavior and research patterns.
Modern intent platforms use IP-to-company matching to identify which organizations are consuming content, then apply algorithms to detect when research activity spikes above baseline levels. Privacy regulations and cookie deprecation are pushing providers toward consent-based data collection and contextual targeting methods.
Buyer Intent Data Tools Compared
Selecting the right intent data provider requires evaluating multiple factors. Consider these key differentiators when comparing platforms:
We've evaluated the top buyer intent data providers below to help you make the best choice for your business.
Best Buyer Intent Data Tools
1. ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo's intent data empowers businesses to identify and engage with prospects who exhibit active buying behaviors. The platform leverages a vast database of contact and company information to provide real-time B2B intent data signals. This precise targeting helps prioritize high-potential leads and personalize engagement, significantly enhancing sales strategies and increasing conversion rates.
ZoomInfo's intent data integrates with various CRM and marketing automation tools, enriching existing customer records with detailed firmographic and intent data. The platform offers automated workflows and filters for segmentation, which streamline the identification and engagement process. By focusing efforts on prospects demonstrating specific buying behaviors, businesses can shorten sales cycles and improve overall efficiency and productivity.
ZoomInfo's extensive data set includes over 12,000 intent data topics sourced from a cooperative of 5,000 B2B sites, ensuring insights are both comprehensive and actionable. The platform's user-friendly interface and robust reporting capabilities make it valuable for any organization looking to optimize marketing and sales efforts.
Main Features:
Real-time B2B intent data signals
CRM and marketing automation integration
Automated workflows and segmentation
More than 12,000 intent topics sourced from 5,000 B2B sites
Ideal For: Mid-market to enterprise B2B companies looking for comprehensive intent data integrated with contact database and sales intelligence.
Pricing: Custom pricing based on company size and feature requirements. Start with a free trial to experience ZoomInfo firsthand.
2. Demandbase
Demandbase One is a comprehensive account-based marketing platform that uses account intelligence to provide rich, reliable account-level insights. The platform creates highly accurate audience segments using account intelligence, CRM and MAP data, intent signals, and technographics, enabling businesses to orchestrate unified sales and marketing strategies.
The platform combines intent data with B2B advertising capabilities, website personalization features, and measurement tools that track pipeline and revenue impact. This integrated approach allows marketing teams to activate intent insights across multiple channels while maintaining consistent account-level messaging.
Main Features:
Comprehensive account intelligence for precise audience targeting
B2B-optimized advertising platform
Website personalization capabilities
Advanced measurement tools for tracking marketing and sales impact
Ideal For: Enterprise B2B companies focused on account-based marketing with integrated advertising and personalization needs.
Pricing: Custom enterprise pricing based on company size and platform modules.
3. Bombora
Bombora is the category creator for B2B intent data, offering insights to align marketing and sales teams around accounts actively researching specific topics. Bombora identifies businesses researching specific topics and their level of activity, enabling organizations to prioritize target accounts, tailor outreach, and optimize marketing strategies with precision.
The product's extensive data cooperative comprises more than 5,000 websites and publishing partners such as Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. This allows Bombora to aggregate content consumption and behavioral data from a vast array of sources, providing a comprehensive view of buyer intent across the buying journey.
Main Features:
Content consumption activity tracking from millions of B2B organizations
ABM strategy execution through audience integration with media activation partners
Audience composition insights leveraging data from millions of organizations
Company Surge data showing topic research spikes
Ideal For: B2B companies seeking pure-play intent data to integrate with existing marketing and sales technology stacks.
Pricing: Subscription-based pricing varies by data volume and integration requirements.
4. 6sense
6sense uses AI and machine learning to identify accounts in-market for solutions, predict buying stages, and recommend optimal engagement strategies. The platform analyzes millions of data points to create predictive models that help revenue teams identify which accounts to prioritize and when to engage them.
The platform combines intent data with predictive analytics to provide account-level insights about where prospects are in their buying journey. 6sense's AI algorithms continuously learn from engagement patterns to improve prediction accuracy and recommend next-best actions for sales and marketing teams.
Main Features:
AI-powered predictive analytics for account identification
Buying stage prediction and progression tracking
Multi-channel orchestration across email, advertising, and sales outreach
Revenue AI recommendations for optimal engagement timing
Ideal For: Enterprise B2B companies wanting AI-driven predictions combined with intent data for revenue team alignment.
Pricing: Custom enterprise pricing based on company size and feature requirements.
5. Terminus
Terminus focuses on account-based marketing execution, combining intent data with advertising, email, and sales development capabilities. The platform helps marketing teams identify target accounts showing buying signals, then activate those insights across multiple channels to drive engagement and pipeline.
Terminus integrates intent data into account-based advertising campaigns, allowing marketers to target decision-makers at companies showing purchase intent. The platform also provides sales teams with account insights and engagement history to improve outreach effectiveness and deal progression.
Main Features:
Account-based advertising with intent targeting
Multi-channel campaign orchestration
Sales and marketing alignment tools
Account engagement scoring and progression tracking
Ideal For: Mid-market B2B companies focused on account-based marketing with integrated advertising and sales development needs.
Pricing: Tiered subscription pricing based on account volume and feature access.
6. HubSpot
HubSpot incorporates intent data capabilities within its comprehensive CRM and marketing automation platform. The system tracks website visitor behavior, email engagement, and content consumption to identify prospects showing buying signals, then automatically triggers follow-up sequences and sales notifications.
HubSpot's approach focuses on first-party intent data collection through website tracking, form submissions, and email interactions. This data integrates directly with contact records and deal pipelines, providing sales teams with context about prospect interests and engagement history during outreach.
Main Features:
Website visitor tracking and identification
Behavioral scoring based on content engagement
Automated workflow triggers based on intent signals
Integrated CRM and marketing automation platform
Ideal For: Small to mid-market B2B companies seeking integrated CRM, marketing automation, and basic intent capabilities in one platform.
Pricing: Tiered subscription pricing starting with free tier, professional plans begin around $800/month.
7. Cognism
Cognism combines intent data with international B2B contact database capabilities, providing global coverage for companies targeting prospects across multiple regions. The platform tracks buying signals from prospects worldwide while maintaining compliance with regional privacy regulations like GDPR.
Cognism's intent data focuses on identifying companies researching specific solutions, then provides verified contact information for key decision-makers at those accounts. This combination helps sales teams quickly move from intent signal identification to direct prospect engagement with accurate contact details.
Main Features:
Global intent data coverage with GDPR compliance
Verified contact database integration
Real-time buying signal notifications
International data coverage across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific
Ideal For: B2B companies with international sales operations needing intent data combined with global contact information.
Pricing: Custom pricing based on geographic coverage and data volume requirements.
How to Use Buyer Intent Data in Marketing
Marketing teams can activate intent data across multiple channels to improve campaign performance and pipeline quality. Key use cases include:
Audience segmentation: Create targeted campaigns for accounts showing intent around specific topics or solutions
Programmatic advertising: Target display and social ads to decision-makers at companies demonstrating buying signals
Email personalization: Customize messaging based on specific topics prospects are researching
Content syndication: Distribute relevant content to accounts actively consuming related information
Campaign triggers: Automatically launch nurture sequences when accounts cross intent thresholds
Account-based marketing orchestration: Coordinate multi-channel campaigns around high-intent target accounts
How to Use Buyer Intent Data in Sales
Sales teams can leverage intent data to prioritize outreach, improve timing, and personalize conversations. Effective sales plays include:
Account prioritization: Focus prospecting efforts on accounts showing elevated research activity above baseline levels
Lead routing: Automatically assign high-intent leads to appropriate sales reps based on territory and expertise
Sequence triggers: Launch targeted outreach campaigns when accounts begin researching relevant topics
Talk track personalization: Reference specific topics prospects are researching during cold calls and emails
Deal intelligence: Monitor existing customers for competitive research signals that indicate churn risk
Territory planning: Identify which accounts in your territory are showing buying signals for upcoming quarters
Multithreading: Find additional contacts at target accounts who are engaging with relevant content
Get Started with Buyer Intent Data Today
Buyer intent data gives sales and marketing teams the insights needed to reach prospects during that narrow window when they're actively evaluating solutions. The right platform helps you identify in-market accounts, prioritize outreach efforts, and personalize engagement based on demonstrated buying signals.
Consider your specific data coverage needs, integration requirements, and team workflows when evaluating providers. Start with a platform that aligns with your existing technology stack and can scale as your intent data maturity grows.
Ready to see how intent data can accelerate your pipeline? Start your free ZoomInfo trial and experience the power of comprehensive B2B intent data firsthand.