Act on category and comparison research
Someone reading comparison pages has moved past whether to buy and on to which one.
The conversation
Sample accounts and numbers, for illustrationYouFind accounts researching our category or comparing vendors in the last 30 days. Separate broad learning from a possible vendor shortlist.
Unify3 research steps · category intent from 6sense, Demandbase and G2, and account data
- Grouped recent category and comparison activity by account.
- Separated introductory content from repeat vendor comparisons.
- Kept the observed page type and recency alongside the stage interpretation.
The activity suggests different starting points. These are account-level research patterns, not confirmation of a buying project or the identity of the researcher.
| Account | Observed research | Recency | Possible stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwind Labs | Repeated vendor comparisons | Two days ago | Comparing options |
| Merridian Systems | Category overview and guides | This week | Learning the category |
| Calderon Health IT | Security and integration content | Four days ago | Investigating requirements |
The stage is a reading of the page types seen. The observation stays in the table beside it.
YouSort them: who looks like a shortlist, who is still learning, and corroborate the shortlist before we act.
UnifyOne account reads as a shortlist. Northwind has an open support operations role focused on improving routing, and no matched open opportunity or active sequence. Together those signals justify research, but they still do not confirm a replacement decision.
Repeated vendor comparisons in the last two days, and a live operations role that names routing and workflow improvement.
Category overviews and guides this week. Nothing that compares vendors.
Security and integration content, four days ago. Requirements, not vendors.
YouWrite a note around the trade-off they may be weighing, without mentioning that we tracked their research.
UnifyThis draft makes the trade-off concrete and leaves room for the buyer to correct the assumption.
ToDana Holt
SubjectImproving routing without rebuilding everything
Dana, your support operations role mentions improving routing. Is the team looking to tune the current workflow, or evaluate a different setup? I can send a short comparison of those two approaches if that decision is on your plate.
Next step: verify the contact and route the draft to the account owner. If the reply says there is no project, update the account context and stop the follow-up.
Reading the research, with and without Unify
Someone on a comparison page has a shortlist. Someone on an explainer is still learning.
| Without Unify | With Unify |
|---|---|
| Intent arrives as a score, with no way to tell learning apart from shortlisting | Comparison pages are separated from explainers, so the stage of the evaluation is visible |
| An account that read one explainer gets the same call as one comparing three vendors | Accounts are ordered by what they actually read in the last 30 days |
| A single research signal is acted on alone, so reps call students rather than buyers | Research is paired with hiring or tooling before it is worth acting on |
| The opener explains what you do, to someone who already knows the category | The message names the trade-off they are weighing instead of introducing the category |
Start from this prompt
Make it your own in Unify, then review the results.
Find accounts researching our category or comparing vendors in the last 30 days, and tell me which stage of the evaluation each one looks to be in.
How it changes by who you sell to
- Software
- Comparison and alternatives pages are the strongest tell, and G2 category views name the shortlist. Ask for accounts on comparison pages specifically, and pair each with tech detection so you know what they run today.
- Financial services
- Research runs through analyst reports and vendor due-diligence pages rather than comparison sites, and it moves slowly. Widen the window to 90 days and ask for the compliance or risk owner, not the general buyer.
- Professional services
- Buyers research firms and referrals more than software categories, so the signal is thinner. Ask for firms reading integration and practice-management pages, and let a partner hire or new office confirm the timing.
- Retail and e-commerce
- Platform and checkout comparisons spike in the months before peak season, then stop. Ask for brands comparing storefront, checkout or reviews tools, and run it in late summer when the shortlist is being made.
- Healthcare
- Category research often comes from a system office on behalf of many facilities. Ask Unify to roll research up to the health system and to name the system-level owner, otherwise you will chase one clinic at a time.
- Media
- Comparison research is fast and the shortlist is a week old by the time it surfaces. Shorten the window to 14 days, ask for publishers and agencies separately, and route the same day.
Next in signals and intent
Hiring audiencesBuild an audience from hiring signalsFind accounts investing in the team you sell to and keep the job evidence with the audience.
+5Daily prioritizationBuild today's prospecting listOpen the day with ten accounts ranked on fit, this week's intent and your own history with them, each with a verified contact, instead of a judgment call about where to start.
+2Leadership changesCatch a new executive earlyNew leaders review what they inherited. That window closes fast.
Connect what this workflow uses
Each guide covers the connection, what Unify reads and writes, and what to check before the first run.
Questions about this workflow
How does Unify know an account is researching my category?
Research intent is included with Unify and reads category and comparison-page activity, with 6sense and Demandbase among its sources. If you connect G2, its intent data is added to the same view.
Can it tell early research from a live evaluation?
Yes. The prompt asks for the stage of each evaluation, and the answer separates accounts reading explainers from accounts on comparison and alternatives pages.
Will it contact accounts we already have open?
Not if you connect your CRM. Salesforce or HubSpot lets Unify suppress customers and open opportunities before anything is created.
How far back does the research signal go?
The starting prompt uses 30 days. Widen it to 90 for slower markets like financial services, or narrow it to 14 for media.