Definition
Signal based marketing is a way of choosing who to contact, and when, from observable changes at a company: a new hire, a product launch, a new tool, an expansion or a public complaint. Each signal is tied to a message about that change, so outreach starts from something real that happened to them.
Why it matters when you sell B2B
Buyers ignore messages about your product. They read messages about their own business. Signals give you something true and recent to say.
It differs from intent based marketing in timing. A signal can show a need before the company starts looking, which is earlier and usually less crowded. Many signals are trigger events.
A worked example
Say you sell sales training. Here are four signals, each with the message it earns.
Signal, then messageExample
- 01A new head of sales starts. Message: what new sales leaders tend to change first, and where training fits.Change
- 02The company posts for three new reps. Message: how long new reps take to ramp, and how to shorten it.Growth
- 03A rival training tool disappears from their site. Message: what teams usually need after dropping it.Gap
- 04They raise a funding round. Too generic on its own. Wait for a second sign.Weak alone
A signal is only as good as its link to a buying decision. Test it against past deals before you build on it. Our approach to research does that test first: it starts from real purchases and looks at what came before them.
Common mistakes
- 1Using the signals everyone uses. Funding news reaches every seller on the same day. Look for signals your rivals are not watching.
- 2A signal without a message. If you cannot say why the change matters to them, do not send.
- 3Too many signals. Ten weak signals are worse than two tested ones. Each needs its own message and freshness rule.
- 4No freshness rule. Decide how old a signal can be before it stops counting.
- 5Not testing against past deals. If the signal did not come before your real purchases, it is a guess.
Turn a signal into a play
- Name the signal in one line.
- Write what it proves about the company.
- Write the message it earns.
- Decide how recent it must be.
- Check it against ten past deals before you scale it.