B2B Intent Data Benchmarks 2024
Analysis of 2024 B2B intent data benchmarks, citing Bombora's reports on conversion lift, Company Surge® scores, and platform integrations.
According to Bombora's data and analysis, only 15% of companies are actively in-market for a given product at any time. Their Company Surge® methodology identifies these active buyers by tracking when a company's research on specific topics spikes significantly above its historical baseline. A Company Surge® score of 60 or greater indicates a business is consuming significantly more content on a topic compared to its usual behavior. Marketing teams using intent data can see up to 70% higher conversion rates.
TL;DR
- Only 15% of companies are in-market for a specific product at any given time, making intent data crucial for efficiency.
- A Bombora Company Surge® score of 60 or higher signifies a statistically significant increase in a company's research on a topic.
- Teams using intent data in their digital advertising strategies can achieve up to 70% higher conversion rates.
- Platforms like 6sense integrate Bombora data, and their users have seen a 14% increase in lead-to-win rates.
- Bombora's Data Co-op is sourced from over 5,000 B2B publisher websites, capturing 17.6 billion interactions per month.
What Is B2B Intent Data and How Is It Collected?
B2B intent data identifies which businesses are actively researching products or services based on the web content they consume, leaving a trail of digital signals across the internet. [1, 6] This data provides a crucial window into the 70% of the B2B buyer's journey that often happens before a potential customer ever contacts a sales representative. [1] Instead of relying on static firmographic data like company size or industry, intent data offers dynamic insights into a company's current needs and priorities. For example, when multiple employees from a single company begin consuming content, downloading whitepapers, or attending webinars related to a specific topic like "cloud security," it generates a signal of potential purchasing intent. [22] Solutions like Bombora's Company Surge® analyze these patterns to detect when an organization's research on a topic spikes significantly above its historical baseline, indicating it has moved from passive interest to active evaluation. [17, 25] By monitoring this content consumption, marketing and sales teams can prioritize outreach to accounts that are demonstrating active demand, tailoring their messaging to the specific solutions the company is already investigating. [17]
Bombora's core data asset is its proprietary Data Cooperative, a consent-based network of over 5,000 B2B publisher websites, brands, and premium data providers. [10, 21] This co-op is foundational to its data collection methodology, capturing buying signals from approximately 4.8 million unique business domains through billions of monthly interactions. [10] A critical differentiator for the Bombora Q3 2024 offering is that 86% of the websites within this Data Co-op are exclusive, meaning no other intent data provider has access to these specific, highly relevant research signals. [9, 10] This exclusivity provides a unique vantage point on B2B buyer behavior that cannot be replicated by scraping or non-consensual methods. [10] The data is collected directly through a proprietary JavaScript tag on member sites, which allows Bombora to analyze the depth of engagement with content, not just a surface-level page view, ensuring a higher quality of insight into the user's research journey and adherence to privacy standards like GDPR and CCPA. [9, 11]
Raw behavioral signals are transformed into actionable company-level insights through Bombora's proprietary B2B identity graph, which maps over 3 billion digital identifiers to specific business attributes. [15, 19] This complex process, known as identity resolution, is what connects seemingly anonymous activities, like IP addresses and cookie data, to a unified profile of a professional and, crucially, their employer. [3] Unlike consumer-focused graphs that map to households, a B2B identity graph links data points to company domains, job functions, and seniority levels, providing the context needed for strategic account-based marketing. [3] This technology allows Bombora to resolve disparate signals from an individual using multiple devices or locations, such as a home computer and an office network, into a single professional profile tied to their parent account. [3] The result is the ability to move beyond a collection of anonymous data points to a clear view of which companies are researching specific topics, forming the basis of the Company Surge® reports that drive modern B2B go-to-market strategies. [12]
Benchmark Analysis: Conversion Lift for Teams Using Intent Data
Marketing teams that effectively use intent data for digital advertising report significantly higher conversion rates, with some studies indicating uplifts of up to 70% compared to non-intent-driven campaigns. This performance boost is rooted in the ability to engage prospects while they are actively researching solutions, a critical window that often closes before a company formally reaches out to vendors. According to the '2024 B2B Buying Disconnect' report from TrustRadius and Pavilion, this early engagement is paramount, as 78% of B2B buyers create shortlists with products they have already heard of before their formal research process begins; for enterprise buyers, this figure climbs to 86%. The study, which surveyed 2,164 technology buyers, highlights a fundamental shift: the buying process is now one of confirmation, not selection. By leveraging intent signals, such as those from Bombora's Company Surge®, marketers can identify accounts showing increased content consumption on relevant topics and target them with precise, timely advertising, ensuring their brand is part of that initial consideration set. This preemptive strategy is essential in a market where, according to the same TrustRadius report, 71% of buyers ultimately purchase their top-choice product from their initial shortlist.
The impact of intent data extends beyond initial conversion, driving substantial pipeline growth and accelerating sales cycles. Some organizations report up to 4x pipeline growth and a 30% to 40% reduction in sales cycle length after implementation. These gains are achieved by focusing sales and marketing resources on accounts with a verified, active interest, thereby increasing efficiency and velocity. A well-documented case study from a partnership between 6sense and Bombora provides concrete evidence of this acceleration. By integrating Bombora Company Surge® data into the 6sense platform, the technology company Kazoo saw a 20% increase in accounts converting from the 'purchase' stage to a tangible pipeline opportunity. This lift was part of a broader success that included a 15% increase in the total number of identified in-market accounts and a 14% increase in the lead-to-win rate. The methodology, detailed in a 2021 press release, involves using Bombora's cooperative data to enrich 6sense's predictive models, allowing teams to more accurately identify and prioritize accounts that are moving from passive research into an active buying cycle.
Even traditional outbound sales motions like cold calling see dramatic performance improvements when guided by intent data. Industry benchmarks for cold calling success, defined as a call that leads to a booked meeting, typically hover in the low single digits; Cognism's 2026 'State of Cold Calling' report, analyzing over 200,000 calls, places the average success rate at just 2.7%. However, top-performing teams that leverage intent data to prioritize their call lists achieve success rates of 10% to 14% or even higher. For instance, Cognism's own sales development team reported an 11.3% success rate, attributing this four-fold increase over the industry average to using verified mobile data and, crucially, intent-based prioritization. This strategic filtering allows sales development representatives (SDRs) to focus their efforts on prospects who are already researching relevant solutions, transforming a 'cold' call into a timely, relevant conversation. This approach not only boosts meeting conversion rates but also significantly improves the efficiency of the entire outbound function by reducing time wasted on uninterested prospects.
| Function | Traditional Benchmark | Intent-Driven Benchmark | Reported Uplift | Source / Vendor Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Ad Conversion | 2.3% median session conversion rate (B2B) | Up to 18-70% higher conversion rates | ~2.5x higher ad efficiency | Bombora, Foundry |
| Pipeline Growth | Varies by industry, often single-digit growth | Up to 4x pipeline growth | 300% increase | MarketsandMarkets |
| Sales Cycle Length | 87% of deals take up to 6 months | 30-40% shorter sales cycles | ~30% reduction in time | TrustRadius, MarketsandMarkets |
| Cold Call Success Rate | 2.7% (call-to-booked-meeting) | 10-14% or higher | ~4x improvement over baseline | Cognism |
| ABM Pipeline Conversion | Dependent on MQL quality | 20% increase in 'Purchase' stage to pipeline opportunity | 20% lift | 6sense & Bombora (Kazoo Case Study) |
| Lead-to-Win Rate | Varies, often a key area for improvement | 14% increase in lead-to-win rate | 14% lift | 6sense & Bombora (Kazoo Case Study) |
Understanding Bombora's Company Surge® vs. Baseline Activity
Bombora's Company Surge® scoring model identifies accounts with active buying intent by comparing their recent content consumption against their own historical average. The methodology specifically measures a company's research activity over the most recent three-week period against a longer 12-week baseline to detect statistically significant increases. [6, 4] This comparison generates a score from 0 to 100 that quantifies the intensity of research on a specific topic. A business that receives a Company Surge® score of 60 or higher is officially categorized as 'surging' or 'spiking', which indicates its consumption of content related to that topic is significantly elevated above its established norm. [2, 7] As detailed in the Bombora Company Surge® User Guide from January 2023, this score is a composite metric influenced by factors like the number of topic interactions, the count of unique users researching from that company, and the depth of content engagement. [15] This system is designed to separate the signal from the noise, moving beyond simple page views to identify a genuine shift in research behavior that points to an active buying journey.
The numerical score assigned by the Company Surge® system provides a clear framework for segmenting accounts based on their level of research activity. Scores of 60 and above signify a statistically significant spike in interest, flagging an account as actively in-market. [15] In contrast, scores within the 40 to 60 range represent normal or baseline activity; these companies are consuming content on a topic at a rate consistent with their historical behavior, indicating passive interest rather than urgent need. [3] Scores that fall below 40 suggest a decrease in research consumption compared to their established baseline. [2] This tiered scoring allows marketing and sales teams to prioritize their efforts effectively. For instance, the integration of Bombora data into platforms like the 6sense Platform for Revenue Teams often uses a default threshold of 70 or higher to isolate only the highest-intent accounts for immediate engagement. [4] This stratification is critical because while many companies may show some level of baseline research, Bombora's analysis confirms only a small fraction, approximately 15%, are truly 'in-market' and demonstrating this surge behavior at any given time.
To further refine targeting and ensure the strongest possible intent signal, users can implement a topic threshold in addition to the score threshold. This feature allows a user to specify the minimum number of distinct topics a business must be surging on to be included in a report or audience. [1] For example, a user tracking 12 different topics related to their product suite can set a threshold of three, meaning only companies with a score of 60 or higher on at least three of those topics will be flagged. [5] Bombora's official documentation from May 2023 recommends setting this threshold to at least 25% of the total topics being monitored to ensure a robust signal of broad interest within an account. [1, 14] This combination of a high score on multiple related topics provides powerful evidence that a company is not just casually browsing but is involved in a comprehensive research process, often involving multiple stakeholders across different departments. This level of qualification helps teams focus resources on accounts that are demonstrating holistic and urgent buying intent, as seen in a 2024 case study with a payment solutions provider that achieved a 4x higher conversion rate by focusing on these multi-threaded signals. [18]
How B2B Platforms Like 6sense and ZoomInfo Use Intent Data
Account-based marketing platforms like 6sense directly integrate third-party intent data to power their predictive models and audience segmentation tools. As a Bombora-powered partner, 6sense provides its customers with access to a package of 12 Bombora intent topics to build dynamic audiences and inform its AI-driven predictions. [2, 9] Within the 6sense Revenue AI for Marketing platform, an account is flagged as showing intent when it receives a Bombora Company Surge® Score of 70 or higher for a specific topic, indicating a significant spike in research activity compared to its historical baseline. [4] This integration allows marketers to combine Bombora's topic-based surge data with 6sense's own first-party data signals, such as website visits and email engagement, to create a more holistic view of an account's buying journey. [8] For example, a user could build a segment of accounts that are in the "Purchase" buying stage within 6sense and are also surging on three or more specific Bombora topics, signaling a strong likelihood of being in-market. This score threshold is not customizable by the user; a score of 70 or more is the definitive marker of a surging account within the 6sense platform, with data updated on a weekly basis. [2, 13]
In contrast to platforms that rely on third-party partnerships, ZoomInfo has developed its own proprietary intent data solution called 'Streaming Intent'. This system was built following its 2020 acquisition of Clickagy and is designed to provide real-time behavioral data. [11] ZoomInfo's methodology aggregates signals from multiple sources, including its own IP-based website visitor tracking (WebSights), bidstream advertising data, and partnerships with B2B review sites. [28] The engine processes a massive volume of data, reportedly capturing over 58 million intent signals weekly, and uses Natural Language Processing to understand the context of the content being consumed, rather than just matching keywords. [18] This approach allows ZoomInfo to offer real-time alerts when an account's content consumption spikes, a feature designed to improve a sales team's "speed to lead". While this provides a constant flow of data, some users have noted challenges with false positives, as not all signals, such as ad clicks, represent a genuine intent to purchase. [14, 28] ZoomInfo's strategy is to bundle this proprietary intent data directly with its extensive contact database inside products like ZoomInfo SalesOS, creating a single platform for both identification and activation.
The integration of Bombora's Company Surge® data is a common strategy across a variety of B2B platforms, extending beyond just top-tier account-based marketing suites. RollWorks, the ABM division of NextRoll, announced its partnership with Bombora in 2020 to incorporate Account Intent directly into its platform, making intent data accessible even in its starter packages as of 2021. [7, 15] This allows marketers to combine firmographic fit and engagement data with Bombora's intent scores to prioritize accounts for advertising spend. [17] Similarly, other GTM platforms like HockeyStack integrate third-party intent signals, including data from sources like G2, alongside first-party behavioral data to create a holistic intent score. [5, 23] HockeyStack's model focuses on explaining why an account has a high intent score by connecting third-party research signals to first-party actions, like website visits or goal completions, and syncing these insights directly into a user's CRM. [6] This pattern highlights a broader industry trend: specialized platforms use data from providers like Bombora or G2 as a foundational layer, building their unique analytics and activation features on top of it.
A fundamental distinction exists between intent data providers, who supply the raw research signals, and activation platforms, which provide the tools to act on those signals. Forrester Research classifies providers into categories: traditional data providers like Bombora that sell a data feed, and ABM platform providers like 6sense or Demandbase that bundle data with analytics and orchestration tools. [26] Bombora operates a data cooperative, aggregating anonymized content consumption from over 5,000 B2B publisher websites to produce its Company Surge® data feed, which it sells to other platforms and enterprises. [8, 19] It is the data utility layer, not the activation layer. [19] In contrast, platforms such as 6sense, Demandbase, and RollWorks are primarily activation layers. They ingest data from sources like Bombora, combine it with their own proprietary signals (first-party web traffic, CRM data), and provide a user interface for building audiences, launching multi-channel campaigns, and alerting sales teams. [10, 22] A 90-day evaluation comparing the platforms found that while Bombora had a slightly higher account match rate (71% vs. 67% for 6sense), 6sense had a shorter signal-to-meeting time, suggesting its predictive models identified accounts later in the buying cycle. [12] This highlights the core difference: one provides the foundational ingredient, while the others provide the entire recipe and kitchen to cook with.
| Platform | Primary Intent Source | Integration Model | Key Feature | Typical Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bombora | Proprietary Data Cooperative (Company Surge®) | Data Feed / API | Provides topic-level surge scores based on content consumption. | Supplying raw intent data to other platforms and enterprise data warehouses. |
| 6sense | Aggregated (Bombora, G2, proprietary network, first-party) | Integrated ABM Platform | AI-powered predictive modeling for buying stage identification. | Enterprise teams orchestrating multi-channel ABM campaigns. |
| ZoomInfo | Proprietary (Streaming Intent, WebSights, bidstream) | Integrated Sales Intelligence Platform | Real-time intent signals combined with a large contact database. | Sales teams needing contact data enriched with real-time buying signals. |
| Demandbase | Aggregated (Proprietary network, Bombora) | Integrated ABM Platform | Strong focus on account-based advertising and display orchestration. | Marketing-led ABM programs focused on targeted advertising. |
| RollWorks | Bombora (Company Surge®) | Integrated ABM Platform | Accessible intent data for SMB and mid-market display advertising. | Smaller teams starting with account-based advertising. |
| HockeyStack | Aggregated (G2, first-party engagement) | GTM AI Platform | Connects third-party signals to first-party behavior to explain intent. | Teams wanting to sync actionable intent insights directly into their CRM. |
Activating Intent Signals for Measurable Pipeline Growth
Activating intent signals begins with a focused selection of topics that mirror your core value proposition. The first step is to define between 5 and 15 core topics that accurately reflect your product features, the specific pain points your services solve, or the central themes of your ongoing marketing campaigns. For instance, a user of Bombora Company Surge® can select from over 21,600 topics to monitor. [24] This initial selection is critical; choosing topics that are too broad, like 'Cloud Computing', may generate excessive noise, while topics that are too narrow might miss early-stage buying signals. The goal is to create a cluster of interrelated terms that provide a holistic view of an account's interest. [5] According to a 2026 guide on predictive sales intelligence, this process should be directly tied to a clearly articulated ideal customer profile (ICP), ensuring that the intent signals captured are from companies that fit your target market criteria, such as industry, company size, and technology stack. [2] This strategic alignment ensures that subsequent activation efforts are concentrated on accounts demonstrating relevant research behavior, preventing wasted resources on organizations that are not a good fit, regardless of their surging interest.
Successful activation hinges on leveraging a surge signal as a deterministic 'why now' justification for immediate and personalized outreach. A spike in an account's research activity on a specific topic, such as 'enterprise marketing automation implementation' versus a more general topic like 'email marketing best practices', provides a clear and compelling reason to engage. [3] This allows sales teams to move beyond generic templates and tailor their messaging directly to the observed pain points or interests. However, a significant challenge is that third-party intent data is primarily account-level, not person-level. [6] It reveals that a specific company is showing heightened interest but does not identify the individual stakeholders driving that research. [9] This distinction is critical; knowing an account is in-market is only half the battle. Sales and marketing teams must then employ further research or integrate additional tools to pinpoint the members of the buying committee, a process that is vital for connecting with the right decision-makers and influencers within the surging organization. [16]
A primary metric for gauging the success of an intent-driven strategy is a measurable reduction in the time from first engagement to the creation of a qualified opportunity. By concentrating sales efforts on accounts that are already demonstrating active buying signals, organizations can significantly shorten the sales cycle. [2] Some analyses from 2026 indicate that intent data can reduce the sales cycle length by 30-40% and increase conversion rates by up to three times compared to traditional prospecting methods. [2] This acceleration is a direct result of prioritizing engagement with prospects at the optimal moment in their buying journey. [13] However, the potential for pipeline acceleration is entirely dependent on the ability to effectively reach the buying committee at these surging accounts. This makes access to accurate, high-quality contact data an non-negotiable prerequisite for activation. Without reliable contact details and high email deliverability, even the most powerful intent signals are rendered useless, as the window of opportunity to engage an active buyer is often brief. [6, 22] Therefore, a successful program requires a dual investment in both identifying intent and ensuring the operational capacity to act on it swiftly and accurately.
Related reading
- see our anatomy of a buying signal analysis
- see our annual cost b2b data decay analysis
- see our apollo vs zoominfo vs hunter vs snov analysis
- see our b2b buyer intent signal benchmarks analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good Bombora Surge score?
A Bombora Company Surge® score of 60 or greater is considered a strong indicator of buying intent. [4] This score signifies that a company's research on a specific topic is statistically significant compared to its historical baseline activity over the previous 12 weeks. [7, 23] A score of 60 or higher is the recommended minimum for identifying accounts that are actively in-market, allowing sales and marketing teams to prioritize their outreach efforts effectively. [4] Some platforms that integrate Bombora's data, like 6sense, set their default threshold even higher at 70 to ensure a very strong intent signal. [23]
How accurate is B2B intent data?
The accuracy of B2B intent data depends heavily on its source and how it is interpreted. First-party data, collected from your own website, is highly accurate because it reflects direct engagement, while third-party data from providers like Bombora is directionally useful but can be noisy. [18] Factors like data decay, which can render 22.5% of contact data inaccurate annually, and misinterpreting research activity for purchase readiness can reduce effectiveness. [39, 43] Some reports claim third-party data accuracy ranges from 65-85%, and combining it with first-party signals is a common strategy to improve overall reliability and predict buying behavior. [17, 19]
What is the difference between first-party and third-party intent data?
First-party intent data is information you collect directly from your own digital properties, while third-party data is aggregated by external companies from numerous sources. [35] First-party data, such as website visits or content downloads, is highly accurate and reveals how known accounts interact with your brand, but its scope is limited to your existing audience. [17, 18] In contrast, third-party data, like that from Bombora's co-op of over 5,000 B2B websites, provides a broader view of the market by identifying anonymous companies researching topics across the web, helping you find prospects who have not yet visited your site. [1, 10, 25]
How much does Bombora intent data cost?
Bombora does not list public pricing, but reported contract values show that a basic Company Surge® subscription starts around $25,000 to $30,000 per year. [1, 3] The final cost is customized and depends on factors like the number of intent topics tracked, data refresh frequency, and the number of integrations, with mid-market deals often ranging from $35,000 to $60,000 annually. [1, 26] Enterprise-level packages with extensive topics and real-time activation can exceed $100,000, and this price does not include the separate tools needed for contact enrichment or campaign execution. [2, 22]
Which companies provide B2B intent data?
The B2B intent data market includes a variety of providers, with Bombora, 6sense, Demandbase, and ZoomInfo being some of the most prominent names. [5] Bombora is known for operating the largest data cooperative, which tracks content consumption across thousands of publisher websites. [16] Other major players include TechTarget, which leverages its network of technology-focused sites, and G2, which provides signals based on software review and comparison activity on its marketplace. [5, 16] Many companies operate as all-in-one platforms, bundling their own intent signals with contact data and execution tools. [5]
How does Bombora compare to 6sense or ZoomInfo?
Bombora is primarily a specialized data provider that sells raw, account-level intent signals, while 6sense and ZoomInfo are comprehensive sales and marketing platforms that use intent data as one component of a larger solution. [9, 33] Companies use Bombora's Company Surge® data to fuel their existing marketing stack, whereas 6sense is an end-to-end ABM platform for orchestrating entire campaigns. [9, 27] ZoomInfo, historically a partner that licensed Bombora's data, now competes by offering its own intent signals integrated within its massive B2B contact database, positioning itself as an all-in-one tool for outreach. [6, 32]
Last updated: July 2026