If someone visits my website pages or views anything in my funnels, I do not automatically see that as a buyer signal.
Why would you?
Somebody viewing a page tells you that something happened.
It does not automatically tell you that somebody wants to buy.
However, it all depends on what happens next.
How long are they staying on the website?
What are they looking at?
Do they return?
This is where I think businesses can get carried away with buyer intent signals.
A pricing page gets traffic.
A product page gets views.
A funnel suddenly gets more activity.
And straight away somebody wants to call it buying intent.
I think you have to be much more careful than that.
You need to look at the data, understand where the activity is coming from, research what is happening around it and give patterns enough time to actually show themselves.
Then you make your move.
If somebody visits your pricing page, what do you actually know?
You know somebody visited your pricing page.
That is it.
You do not necessarily know who they are.
You do not necessarily know which company they work for.
You do not necessarily know whether they are comparing you with somebody else.
And you certainly do not know that they are ready to buy.
It is difficult to know who the visitor actually is.
You normally do not see their contact details unless you have set up a funnel that captures those details or the visitor makes some kind of movement that identifies themselves.
Until that happens, you have to be careful about what you assume.
The activity can still be useful.
I would look at how long people are staying on the website.
I would look at what they are viewing.
I would look at whether they return.
I would also look at where the traffic is coming from.
If one country suddenly starts showing more activity, I want to know why.
THE VISIT
Somebody viewed something. That is the starting point, not the conclusion.
THE BEHAVIOUR
How long did they stay, what did they look at and did they come back?
THE LOCATION
Where is the activity coming from and are certain countries, regions or cities appearing more often?
THE PATTERN
Is this a one-off event or is the same behaviour beginning to repeat over time?
That is why I see buyer intent data as something that tells me where to look.
It does not make the decision for me.
Because you often do not know exactly who is behind anonymous website activity, you have to go by the data you do have.
What is the product?
Where are people coming from?
Where demographic data is available, what age groups are appearing?
What does the gender split look like?
What is happening in that area?
How many competitors are there?
What products are those competitors selling?
And how much are they selling those products for?
Take a simple example.
Imagine I was selling cosmetics online and I started getting a lot of purchasing signals from a particular state in the US.
I would research the area.
Does it have many cosmetics shops?
What are they selling?
How much are they selling for?
What sort of products appear to be popular?
What does the competition look like?
That gives me something useful to work with.
Look at the country, region, city or area creating the activity. If New York, London or another location keeps appearing, go deeper into which parts are showing the strongest activity.
Look at the products, pages, funnels and offers attracting attention instead of treating all website traffic as one thing.
Research the market in that area. Look at competitors, local businesses, pricing, products and anything else that helps explain the activity.
Once somebody enters a correctly designed funnel and gives you more information, you can begin diagnosing the prospect rather than working only from anonymous traffic.
If your funnel is set up correctly, this becomes even more useful.
You can capture information through a diagnostic.
Once you have that information, you can start to diagnose what is happening properly.
For example, if you are getting a lot of people from New York or London, which parts are they actually coming from?
Are certain areas appearing more than others?
That gives you another level of information to research.
Then I would start comparing those areas with income levels, competitors, the types of businesses operating there, what products are already being sold and what people are paying.
You are trying to understand whether the interest you are seeing makes commercial sense.
Competition would not automatically put me off.
I would look at it.
I would look at their pricing structures.
I would look at their websites.
I would look at how they are presenting their products.
And I would look for flaws.
That is important because the question is not simply whether somebody else is already selling in the market.
The question is why people might be attracted to you instead.
What are you doing differently?
What are competitors missing?
Is there something in your pricing?
Your positioning?
Your product?
Your service?
Your website?
Your message?
If you start seeing that people are being attracted to something you do differently, I would lean harder into it.
LOOK AT THEIR PRICING
Understand how competitors structure their offers and what customers are being asked to pay.
LOOK AT THEIR WEBSITES
See how competitors position themselves, what they emphasise and where their message appears weak.
LOOK FOR THE FLAWS
Work out where customers may be underserved, confused or being offered something you can improve on.
COMPARE IT WITH WHAT YOU DO
If your offer counters those weaknesses, that may help explain why people are beginning to show interest in you.
Once I knew what appeared to be attracting them, I would reinforce it.
If those people had committed to email marketing, for example, I would make that difference known in the email marketing as well.
If something is attracting the right people, make sure the message carries through.
Do not discover a reason people are choosing you and then hide it.
This is where patience becomes important.
You should always look for patterns.
But patterns do not always show themselves straight away.
Sometimes you have to have the patience to keep doing the same thing long enough to actually see the pattern.
I always look at time.
But I do not believe in waiting forever either.
If the pattern becomes clear enough, you act.
Obviously, if something happens and the signal is strong enough, you act as soon as possible.
But most genuine patterns need enough time and enough data to become visible.
This can be difficult.
As humans, many of us are not patient.
We want everything now.
Sadly, life does not work that way.
And neither does marketing.
One good day is not always a strategy.
One bad week does not always mean something has failed.
Sometimes you need to leave something alone long enough to see what it is actually doing.
The other mistake businesses make is that when they do change something, the movement is too heavy.
That is how I prefer to work.
Make a small movement.
See what happens.
Look at the data.
Then make the next movement.
If you make a huge change every time you see something in the data, you can end up changing the whole direction before you have even understood what was working.
Start with what the data actually shows rather than immediately deciding what you think it means.
Allow enough activity to build so you can tell the difference between a one-off event and a genuine pattern.
Look at location, products, pricing, competition and the wider market around the activity you are seeing.
Once you have enough information, diagnose what may be creating the interest and what appears to be attracting people.
Do not completely change direction. Make a controlled movement that allows you to understand what happens next.
Keep collecting information and use the next pattern to decide whether to continue, adjust or lean harder into what is working.
That is why data is so important.
Not because every number gives you an answer.
But because over time those numbers can begin to show you where to look.
A pricing page visit is not a buyer.
A website visitor is not automatically a prospect.
And a sudden increase in activity is not automatically a pattern.
It is information.
That information gives you somewhere to start.
Look at where the activity is coming from.
Look at what people are looking at.
Look at how long they stay.
Look at whether they return.
Then go deeper.
Research the location.
Research the market.
Research the competition.
Look at their pricing structures.
Look for their flaws.
Then compare all of that with what you do.
DO NOT ASSUME
A visit tells you somebody visited. Do not turn that into a buyer before you have the evidence.
LOOK AT THE DATA
Use the information available to understand where activity is coming from and what people appear to be interested in.
RESEARCH THE PATTERN
Look at location, competition, products, pricing and anything else that helps explain what you are seeing.
GIVE IT TIME
Patterns do not always show themselves straight away. Sometimes you need the patience to let them develop.
MOVE IN BABY STEPS
Do not keep throwing the strategy in a completely different direction. Make small movements, measure them and learn.
If the pattern becomes clear, act.
If you discover something that is attracting people to you, lean harder into it.
But do not confuse speed with good decision-making.
Prospexto Qualification helps you research and assess prospects before moving them into outreach. Use the information available, build a clearer picture, diagnose the opportunity and make better decisions about what deserves your attention.
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