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July 2022

ThinkAdvisor Marketing Blog:
Using intent-based research to succeed
in a more complex B2B market

With fear of inflation and economic uncertainty potentially complicating B2B selling this summer, experts are suggesting that finance marketers focus more on understanding their clients and prospects better and targeting the ones most potentially interested in what they have to sell.

This is why even more businesses are turning to intent data research as a key part of their marketing strategy today. Listed by Forbes as a top tech trend to leverage in B2B marketing this year, increasing the role of intent data in your marketing strategy allows you to better understand which companies are actively researching topics related to your solution and to target the companies most likely to buy your products and services.

Implementing intent-based research has been proven to increase close rates and sales. Gartner reports that respondents using first-party, second-party and third-party intent data are 2.9x as likely to have a conversion rate of 10% or higher. This higher conversion rate has also allowed “99% of businesses who have invested in intent data to see a sales/ROI increase.

ThinkAdvisor’s ABM/Activate capability uses an AI-based purchase engine that analyzes how customers interact with content on more than 7,000 topics. Then compiling this information, the program ranks possible leads with an easy-to-understand surge score indicating buyer intent.

We use a multi-channel strategy to message and drive key account leads, including display advertising, guaranteed key account lead generation, and co-branded emails. If you’d like more information about our AI-driven intent capabilities, please contact me at [email protected].

Adam Dunn,
Vice President, Financial Markets Leader

Trends Financial Marketers Need To Know

Now’s the time for financial advisors to really hold retirees’ hands and to watch the 4% withdrawal rule. The creator of the 4% maxim, Bill Bengen, insists that nest eggs are very vulnerable right now due to inflation and market volatility. “Manage the risk portion of a retirement nest egg actively. Unless you’re willing to vary — reduce — your clients’ allocations to reduce risk, it could be damaging,” he insists. Plus, Bengen sees high inflation [as] a huge threat to retirees.”

The industry’s diversity efforts are in the spotlight and should be taken very seriously. There has been an allegation of “fake interviews” of job candidates who are women and/or people of color at Wells Fargo, with one advisor claiming he was fired over drawing attention to this behavior. The news prompted compensation consultant Andrew Tasnady to remind firms that might be “half heartedly interviewing candidates” to do more. Instead, they should “establish [diversity] goals and also rewards for achieving actual representation improvements in the ranks of each position.”

There are risks to the markets and economy that are flying under Wall Street’s radar. “There’s the very real prospect of a profits recession,” economist Stephanie Pomboy told ThinkAdvisor. “The relationship between [corporate] input costs and consumer prices is so integral to the outlook for the stock market. And right now, the input costs have been far outpacing the ability of [corporations] to pass them on.” In addition, people are starting to see “their 401(k)s going in the wrong direction and have the impulse to cut back their spending.”

Getting the right office look on Zoom and for face-to-face meeting rooms can put clients at ease. Advisors say that designing meeting rooms in a simple way for both online and in-person meetings has helped their businesses during the pandemic. As more face-to-face gatherings occur, advisors are getting bolder about how they decorate and arrange their professional spaces to help highlight their own unique personalities and stand out for the competition.