Did you know? 57% of B2B buying decisions are made before the first contact with a salesperson*. Which is exactly why it pays to be present far earlier! You need to be on the lookout for every stirring that may point to a need at your prospects, so you are on their path at the right moment. So rather than putting on your camouflage gear and hiding in a bush, use the Mixdata tool to detect the famous weak signals and keep watch on your market all year round!
What are weak signals?
This concept is well known to economists and data specialists. According to Wikipedia, weak signals are the elements of perception of the environment, opportunities and threats, that should be monitored, and that will help you build your strategy in a more predictive way.
While the era of cold calling seems to be in question, you have to find a way to be present at the moment when your prospects are looking for information or when a new development concerning the company occurs. Rely on the official events in the company’s life, in particular those listed by the Bodacc (Bulletin Officiel des Annonces Civiles et Commerciales). Depending on your business, it is up to you to monitor the business signals that matter most to you:
- Creation of a new establishment
- Change of activity
- Change of legal form
- Capital restructuring: merger – acquisition – sale or disposal – receivership
- Capital increase, relocation, change of director…
How do you detect weak signals?
But how can you be alerted to these events and, above all, how can you be responsive and contact the right person at the right moment? Do you want to identify the companies in a context favourable to buying without spending a huge amount of time monitoring? The best way not to miss any useful information is to use Mixdata: by logging in to the platform, you can cross-reference the data to identify companies of a given headcount, in a given region, with a recent weak signal such as the launch of a recruitment drive for one function or another, or the opening of a new establishment.
By combining the 900 criteria the tool offers, all this information is available together with the matching points of contact. So you can, for example, look for companies that have raised funds and are in the process of recruiting an e-commerce manager or a customer relationship director. Handy, isn’t it?
Which weak signals for my business?
The patents filed with the INPI are a strong indicator of a company’s inventiveness and industrial dynamism. These companies want to protect their innovations and build value in their assets, and they are very often experts in their technological field or their trade.
If this type of company is among your prospects, note that Mixdata lists more than 15,000 French companies matching this criterion, which can be segmented by their technological field of specialism.
Another very interesting signal is fundraising. Companies that have just secured new financing are, in principle, more inclined than others to recruit, to expand internationally and, quite simply, to call on all sorts of service providers: it is up to you to position yourself!
Mixdata, a search tool but also an alerting tool
Mixdata also lets you set alerts on these searches. Be warned as early as possible of the arrival of a new company within your prospecting scope and be the first to contact it! Mixdata provides continuous refresh flows and surfaces new developments almost in real time through a daily push email.
Are weak signals essential to your B2B prospecting? Try the Mixdata tool now: contact us for an online demonstration!
*Source EBG, 2015
