Buyer intent topics
Buyer Intent Topics from Bombora: what they tell you, and what they don't
Buyer intent measures whether a company is currently reading markedly more about a subject than it usually does. A topic is one of those subjects, taken from a predefined list: CRM software or cloud migration, for example. Buyer intent is therefore a temperature reading, not an expression of interest: it shows that something is moving inside a company, not which person is reading or whether anyone will buy.
At a glance
- Buyer intent compares how much a company reads about a subject with that company's own usual level. A signal appears only when it reads markedly more than usual.
- A topic comes from a predefined English-language list and describes what the content being read was about. It is not a keyword.
- In HeySali, buyer intent shows you a company, never a person, and never a buying decision.
- In our experience, many Swiss SMEs produce no buyer intent signal at all. For them, what is missing is data, not necessarily interest.
- The strongest case is a company where a topic and a verifiable Swiss company event coincide.
What HeySali does with buyer intent
HeySali does not measure buyer intent itself; it licenses the scores through a data partner. From them, HeySali selects what fits your offer, combines it with Swiss sources and shows you which companies to approach first and what to talk about.
Topics based on your website
When you set up HeySali, it reads your website and proposes matching topics.
Check coverage for free
"Check coverage" shows you whether there are enough companies for your topics in your market, before you spend a single credit.
Charged only for what fits
HeySali neither shows you nor charges you for companies that are not researching your topics.
Every week, with evidence
In the weekly list, buyer intent sits beside dated events from Zefix, SHAB and simap where there are any, with a person to contact where HeySali finds one.
What buyer intent measures
Before a company buys something, people inside it read: how others solve the problem, which providers exist, what to look out for. That reading is measured on the websites of B2B publications and vendors that belong to a data co-op, and assigned to the company the readers work for.
What counts is not how much a company reads, but whether it is more than usual for that company. The provider of the topics compares the most recent three weeks with the twelve weeks before them. HeySali shows the result as a score from 0 to 100 per topic; at 60 or above, the provider counts the increase as statistically significant.
That is why buyer intent is a temperature reading and not an expression of interest. A company that always reads about cloud security does not trigger a signal. The same company reading markedly more about it in recent weeks than in the months before does.
Company A always reads a lot
No signal: a lot, but no more than usual.
Company B reads more than usual
Signal: markedly above its own level.
- Previous twelve weeks
- Last three weeks
- Dashed: the company's usual level
What a topic is
A topic is a named subject from a predefined list that is extended every quarter. It describes what the content being read was about, even when the topic's name never appears in the text. So a topic is not a keyword that has to occur in a text.
The list is in English. In HeySali every topic appears with its category in front, as in these examples:
- crm: crm software
- cloud: cloud migration
- cloud: cloud security
- security: iso/iec 27001:2013
- payroll & comp: payroll software
A subject only makes it onto the list when enough is read about it. That is why subjects specific to Switzerland, such as the QR-bill or the AHV old-age pension, often have no topic of their own.
When a signal appears
Four things go into the score. A signal appears when together they are markedly above what the company usually shows.
On the subject
The content is genuinely about the subject, not just touching on it.
Enough reading
The company reads more content on the subject than usual.
By several people
What counts is how many people at the same company read about it.
Read properly
Dwell time and scroll depth show whether something was read or only clicked.
Signal or not? Four examples
A company has been reading the same amount about cloud security for months.
No signal. It reads a lot, but no more than usual. What counts is the deviation from its own level, not the amount.
A company reads markedly more about cloud migration in the last three weeks than in the twelve weeks before, and several people are reading.
Likely a signal. More than usual, by several people and on the subject: this is exactly what the score is built from, and at 60 or above the provider of the topics counts the increase as significant.
A Swiss SME is choosing new payroll software right now.
Quite possibly no signal. A signal only appears when enough reading activity from the company is recorded on the data co-op's websites, and in our experience that is often not enough for smaller companies. Then what is missing is data, not necessarily interest.
A company shows the topic "crm: crm software" and got a new head of sales last week.
The strongest case: a subject people at the company are reading markedly more about right now, and a verifiable reason with a date and a source.
What buyer intent does not tell you, and what HeySali adds
Read correctly, buyer intent is useful; overrated, it costs time. There are four things it does not tell you.
Who is reading
- What it does not tell you
- Buyer intent is measured for a company. In HeySali you never see it for a person.
- What HeySali adds
- The right person to contact comes from a separate source, licensed contact data providers. In the weekly list HeySali proposes one when it finds one; otherwise you look them up yourself in HeySali.
Whether they will buy
- What it does not tell you
- Interest is not budget, not authority and not a decision. A company can research for months and never buy.
- What HeySali adds
- HeySali shows the score per topic as the strength of the research and does not turn it into a likelihood of buying. In the weekly list, dated Swiss company events sit beside it where there are any.
Whether every company is covered
- What it does not tell you
- In our experience many Swiss SMEs produce no signal at all, because too little reading activity is recorded from them.
- What HeySali adds
- Before you spend a single credit, HeySali shows you whether there are enough companies for your topics in your market. HeySali also reads Zefix, SHAB and simap itself.
What just happened
- What it does not tell you
- In HeySali the scores are updated once a week, in the weekly list each with the date of the measurement. A signal shows what has built up over recent weeks, not what happened yesterday.
- What HeySali adds
- Swiss company events carry an exact date, a source and a fixed window.
Swiss company events and topics: what each is good for
A Swiss company event and a topic answer different questions. The event is a documented reason to get in touch; the topic shows which subject is live inside the company right now.
What it is
- Swiss company events
- Something verifiable has happened: a new head of sales, a new location, a job ad, a tender.
- Buyer intent topics
- People at the company are reading markedly more about a subject: a strength per topic, measured over recent weeks.
Proof
- Swiss company events
- A source, a date and a link, for example from Zefix, SHAB or simap.
- Buyer intent topics
- A source and the date of the measurement, but no public link.
What it is for
- Swiss company events
- Gives you the reason to get in touch.
- Buyer intent topics
- Tells you what to talk about and which company to call first.
A company where both coincide tells you the most. A topic on its own is rarely reason enough to approach a company.
In HeySali's weekly list both appear among the evidence on the same company, each with its source and date; the event also with its link.
Check buyer intent against your own market
Sign up free, let HeySali read your website, and test the proposed topics against your market with "Check coverage" under "Signals" → "Search". Credits are only spent once you run the search.
14 days free, no payment details.
Choosing the right topics
In HeySali you choose topics under "Signals" → "Search", in the "Research topics" field: you type a subject, and HeySali suggests matching topics from the list. For the weekly list you set them in the target profile. Five rules help.
Choose the problem you solve, not your product name
If you sell payroll software, look for topics around payroll and HR, such as "payroll & comp: payroll management", not "software".
Add related topics
Interest across several related subjects says more than interest in any one of them. The provider of the topics recommends looking only at companies that show a clear increase on at least a quarter of the topics you choose: with twelve topics, at least three.
Stay within one product area
In HeySali you choose at least three and at most twelve topics. Broad or only loosely related topics bring no better matches, only more noise.
Use filters to decide which companies are in scope
Market, size and industry decide which companies are in scope; by default, companies headquartered in Switzerland. Topics do not define that group; they show you which companies in it are researching right now.
Check the results before you change anything
Look at the companies a search returns before you swap topics. Then change one thing at a time.
Talk about the subject, not about the signal
Use the topic to decide what you talk about, not to claim you know what someone has been reading. And you don't know it: the signal tells you neither which person read nor on which website. Mentioning it comes across as unsettling, is often wrong, and makes a reasonable first contact awkward.
"I noticed your team has been looking into CRM software recently."
"Companies that have just brought in a new head of sales usually face the same question early on: keep the current CRM or switch."
The same insight, without claiming to have watched anyone.
Privacy
For buyer intent, HeySali shows you only companies and topics with a score: no people, no individual page views.
The provider of the topics aggregates the reading data per company and states in its privacy policy that it does not use it to identify individuals by name.
Once you make contact, the usual data protection rules apply to the contact details you use.
HeySali in brief
HeySali is signal-based sales intelligence from Switzerland. B2B sales teams see every week which companies have a reason to talk right now, where the signal comes from and whom to contact.
Buyer intent topics are included in Pro and in HeySali Team, with no separate licence.
Try it free for 14 days, no payment details, up to 5 users and not tied to a plan.
Frequently asked questions
What are buyer intent topics?
Buyer intent topics are subjects from a predefined list for which it is measured whether a company is currently reading markedly more than in the weeks before. A topic describes what the content being read was about, such as "crm: crm software". When a company's reading on a topic rises markedly above its own usual level, a signal appears.
What kinds of buyer intent data are there?
Broadly, there is data from your own website, such as which companies visit it, and data from many other websites, supplied by a data co-op of B2B publications and vendors. HeySali uses only the second kind and does not identify visitors to your own website.
What is the difference between intent data and buying signals from events?
Intent data is a measurement; an event is something that actually happened. Intent data shows that a company is reading more about a subject than usual, without a single event and without a public link. An event such as a new head of sales, a commercial register entry or a tender on simap can be proven with a date, a source and a link. HeySali uses both and shows the source of every signal.
Where does buyer intent data come from?
From a data co-op of B2B publications and vendors whose websites run a measurement script. The reading is assigned to the company the readers work for and aggregated per company. In HeySali you see only the result: company, topic and score.
Does buyer intent show which person is researching?
No. In HeySali you only see buyer intent for a company, never for a person. The right person to contact comes from a separate source, licensed contact data providers. In the weekly list HeySali proposes one when it finds one; otherwise you look them up yourself.
Does an intent signal mean the company wants to buy?
No. It means that people there are currently reading markedly more about a subject than usual. Interest is not budget, not authority and not a decision, and a company can research for months without buying.
Does buyer intent work for Swiss SMEs?
Often not. A signal only appears when enough reading activity from a company is recorded on the data co-op's websites, and in our experience that is not enough for many Swiss SMEs. Then what is missing is data, not necessarily interest. That is why HeySali also reads Zefix, SHAB and simap itself.
How many buyer intent topics should I choose?
In HeySali at least three and at most twelve, closely related and from one product area. Broad topics bring no better matches, only more noise. The provider of the topics recommends looking only at companies that show a clear increase on at least a quarter of the topics you choose.
Should I mention the intent signal in my outreach?
Better not. Use the topic to decide what you talk about, not to claim you know what someone has been reading. The signal does not say which person read, and mentioning it quickly comes across as unsettling.
How current is buyer intent data?
In HeySali the scores are updated once a week; the provider of the topics compares the most recent three weeks with the twelve weeks before them. So a signal shows what has built up over recent weeks, not what happened yesterday.
What does buyer intent cost in HeySali?
Buyer intent topics are included in Pro and in HeySali Team, with no separate licence. Checking whether there are enough companies in your market costs nothing. Credits are only charged for companies HeySali actually delivers: in a search for each company it returns, in the weekly list for each company the first time the list is opened.