Corporate News
— Innovative "High-Potential Enterprise" Visualization Solution Supporting B2B Sales and Marketing —
uSonar Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Nami Fukutomi; President: Katsuhito Nagatake; hereinafter "uSonar") has officially released "Interest Signal"*1, which identifies corporate purchasing intent in real-time using free keywords to generate target company lists, and "Interest Sign"*2, Japan's first AI-augmented intent data generation service that utilizes AI to create even more precise target lists.
This service is a next-generation solution that integrates Japan's largest corporate database, "LBC"*3, with corporate behavioral data to dramatically improve the efficiency and results of sales and marketing activities.
Furthermore, these services are implemented within uSonar's management strategy platform, "PLANSonar"*4.
Background of Development
In B2B marketing, the following challenges hinder the efficiency of sales and marketing activities:
- Lack of Visualization of Potential Customer Behavior: Limited means to grasp behavioral data in the early stages of the purchasing process (the so-called "Dark Funnel").
- Lack of Prediction for Churn Risk: Inability to detect early signs of existing customer churn, leading to missed opportunities to prevent transitions to competitors.
- Lack of Real-Time Lead Detection: Absence of methods to identify target prospects at the appropriate timing.
Furthermore, in an era where high-precision, cookie-less targeting is required, the importance of technology that visualizes corporate needs while ensuring personal information protection is increasing.
To address these challenges, uSonar evolved the corporate list (intent data) generation service*5, which was announced in 2019 and utilizes fixed corporate IP addresses, to develop "Interest Signals" and "Interest Sign".
By implementing these services into the management strategy platform "PLANSonar", we support the optimization of sales activities and the improvement of business outcomes.
Generally, intent data has faced the following challenges:
1. Over-reliance on fixed IP addresses
Data utilizing fixed IP addresses tends to be skewed toward large enterprises, covering only about 200,000 companies.
→ "Interest Sign" has overcome this challenge by utilizing data from approximately 1 million companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises.
2. Difficulty in identifying access sources
It is difficult to identify which department, such as headquarters, branch offices, or factories, the access originated from.
→ We plan to address this challenge with "IDoid", which is currently under development.
Service Overview
1. Interest Signal
An intent data generation service that creates lists of companies interested in user-specified keywords.
- Keyword-Based List Generation: Based on specified keywords, we analyze web behavioral data to visualize potential customers.
- Integration with LBC: We integrate corporate attribute data (industry, revenue scale, location, etc.) to generate highly accurate lists.
- Real-Time Support: By leveraging the latest behavioral data, you can identify the optimal timing for business negotiations.
2. Interest Sign (First in Japan)
A high-precision target list generation service that expands the data obtained from Interest Signals by utilizing regional IP and AI.
- AI-Powered Filtering by Region and Corporate Attributes: By utilizing AI, we combine web behavioral history with corporate attributes to estimate companies with relevant interests.
- Adoption of Patent-Pending Technology: We provide high-precision corporate insights through an innovative, first-in-Japan method that does not rely on fixed corporate IP addresses or Cookie data.
3. IDoid
The new service currently under development, IDoid, is a solution that further enhances Interest Signals and Interest Signs to identify specific access origins, such as headquarters, branches, factories, and departments. Details will be announced upon the official release.
How to Utilize the Management Strategy Platform PLANSonar
Interest Signals and Interest Signs can be used in conjunction with Live Access*6, which identifies companies browsing your website, and are integrated into the management strategy platform PLANSonar to deliver the following benefits.
- Clarification of Targets
Dynamically list target companies with high purchasing intent detected by Interest Signals and Interest Signs within PLANSonar. By instantly sharing high-priority companies with sales representatives, you can streamline sales activities.
- Approaching Potential Customers
Leverage Interest Signal and Interest Sign data to visualize the behavior and needs of target companies in real time. This information is provided on the PLANSonar dashboard in a format that facilitates easy management of outreach to potential customers.
- Registration, Attribute Assignment, and Analysis of Acquired Leads
Assign needs detected by Interest Signals and Interest Signs to lead information acquired through trade shows or document requests, and analyze them alongside attribute data. This allows you to determine the optimal timing for priority outreach.
- Nurturing Promising Prospects
Leverage various corporate attribute data, including "Interest Signals" and "Interest Sign," within PLANSonar to achieve seamless data integration with Marketing Automation (MA) tools and CRM systems. We provide an environment that enables efficient and smooth identification of promising leads, campaign design, and lead nurturing activities.
- Efficient Sales Activities
By linking corporate needs identified through "Interest Signals" and "Interest Sign" with business card information, sales representatives can formulate concrete approach strategies. This enables streamlined sales activities and increases the probability of converting leads into business opportunities.
- Early Detection of Churning Customers
By utilizing "Interest Signals" and "Interest Sign," you can identify potential churners who show interest in competitor products or services—behavior often overlooked by CS activities or internal Web site visit history alone. This allows for the identification of hidden needs and supports proactive risk management.
*1: "Interest Signal" is an intent data service that collects and analyzes data from approximately 8,000 websites, including advertising delivery results and 3rd Party data from partner companies, to identify companies interested in specific keywords.
*2: "Interest Sign" is Japan's first intent data service that uses AI to expand "Interest Signal," which identifies companies interested in free-form keywords, by incorporating regional and corporate attribute data. (Japan's First: Based on our internal research of domestic intent data services as of 2024/12/15)
*3: "LBC" is uSonar's corporate data, which assigns an 11-digit management code to business locations across Japan. It centrally manages abundant corporate attribute information such as industry, sales, profit, number of employees, and fixed IP addresses. By matching client data with "LBC," precise targeting excluding existing clients is possible. (Largest in Japan: Based on our internal research of the number of headquarters and business location data held for Japanese companies as of 2024/12/15)
https://usonar.co.jp/service/usonar/index.php#serviceLbc
*4: "PLANSonar" is an innovative platform that allows for the centralized management of corporate strategy from formulation to execution. In today's business environment where rapid decision-making is required, PLANSonar strongly supports strategy and marketing professionals as a next-generation strategic tool.
https://usonar.co.jp/content/plansonar/
*5: Please check the following URL for the corporate list generation (intent data) service announced in 2019.
https://usonar.co.jp/en/news/20190222_4801.html
*6: "Live Access" identifies companies visiting your website based on their IP addresses and displays them in PLANSonar or adds them to Google Analytics. Since it can identify industry, number of employees, and other details beyond just the company name, it can be used for verifying the effectiveness of LPs and advertisements, or for utilizing visiting companies as a sales list.
