July 2022: 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 legal marketers need to focus more on understanding their customers and prospects better and targeting the ones most potentially interested in what you have to sell.

That’s why even more businesses are turning to intent data research as a key part of their marketing strategy. 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 will allow you to understand which companies are actively researching topics related to your solution and allow you to target the companies that are most likely to buy your products.

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.”

Law.com’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].

Trends Legal Industry Marketers Need to Know

• Growing Classes: Summer associate classes appear to be bigger than ever this year. At Kirkland, that means over 500 lawyers, for example. Dan Roe wrote a couple of very well received stories about the trend toward bigger classes and what it means that firms are betting big on the future like this.
• Recession Concerns: There has been anxiety growing within law firms for a while now about the future of the economy. That concern seems to be hitting a fever pitch lately. In response, we wrote about whether Big Law is ready for a recession. We also looked at the potential for profits to plunge this year, as well as the investment firms are making in countercyclical practices.
• CLOC’s a Big Deal: As noted above, not only were CLOC dispatches well-read, but a whole ton of legal tech companies held news to release this week. I was curious whether CLOC would be able to keep momentum in person and post-Mary O’Carroll, but they’re stronger than ever.
• Firms Ready to Be Adventurous: For a while under the pandemic, there was an intense focus on hunkering down, on “blocking and tackling.” But I do find it interesting that among our top 10 stories of the month were Mayer Brown’s design thinking workshop, 4 emerging tech trends to know, and law firms engaging with predictive analytics. To me it’s an indication that firms are ready to start being adventurous with tech once again and are looking for the next big thing.
• Risks/Rewards Around Remote Work. This is still a top concern from my discussions with GCs. We addressed the issue that although remote work has been a boon to both employee productivity and morale at many companies, it’s also exposed employers to a new range of risks.
• The Rise of ESG. In a widely anticipated rule published March 21, the SEC is proposing to require listed companies to disclose climate-related financial risks and metrics to investors.