Demand generation marketing is the strategic process of creating and nurturing interest in a product or service with the goal of developing a pipeline of qualified leads that can be converted into customers.
Poor demand gen strategies can hurt your business and cause it to crumble.
This is because demand generation is the pipeline between a company’s marketing and sales teams. It makes people aware of a company’s brand, increases traffic to a company’s website, and secures new leads.
When it comes to the best practices of demand generation marketing, you first need a solid foundation understanding of the basics of attracting more customers. You need stellar demand gen strategies and campaigns to raise awareness of your company.
Key Takeaways
- Demand generation marketing is essential for business visibility and growth. It creates awareness and interest through strategic marketing and sales collaboration to attract potential customers and keep the brand in the forefront of their minds.
- B2B demand generation involves an integrated marketing approach aimed at raising product or service awareness in the business sector, providing sales teams with a scalable and predictable conversion funnel to improve conversion rates and guide potential clients toward purchasing.
- Effective demand generation strategies encompass a broad range of activities including content creation, social media engagement, SEO, and various campaigns to educate and engage potential customers, thereby facilitating the journey from brand awareness to customer retention.
What Is B2B Demand Generation Marketing?
B2B demand generation marketing refers to the systematic approach to creating interest among business clients in a brand’s offerings through different marketing and communication strategies.
The function of business-to-business demand generation is to have a B2B integrated marketing approach to raise awareness and demand for a product or service in the B2B sector.
Demand generation gives the sales team a workable, scalable, and predictable conversion funnel through marketing increasing conversion rates.
You start with marketing campaigns for existing demand to get your prospective customers to initiate contact with your company. Perhaps you want them to sign up for your email list or fill out a questionnaire.
Either way, demand gen leads potential clients toward your conversion goals. It also guides through the entire buyer’s journey and keeps them engaged, so they are more likely to buy from you in the end.
Where Does Demand Gen Sit in the Sales Funnel?
Demand generation marketing is at the very top of the customer journey because demand gen is where it all starts. However, it hovers just above the funnel, helping attract your target market to become aware of your brand and business.
Importance of Demand Generation Marketing
Without demand generation efforts, you won’t get awareness or generate demand (interest) in your company or your product, meaning you’re invisible to the general public. Without good sales and marketing, your business will not succeed.
Demand generation marketing will help your business prioritize the following things:
- Increasing brand awareness: It gets more people interested in your brand and product
- Generating more leads: It allows more people to convert into prospective customers
- Increasing revenue and profits: It helps turn those potential customers into paying ones through increased conversion rates.
The Differences Between Demand Generation vs. Lead Generation
The differences are subtle. In fact, many out there use them interchangeably, but they aren’t the same. Demand generation and lead generation both have distinct functions. To effectively use a buyer’s journey, you must notice these nuances and capitalize on them.
Demand generation is a holistic approach aimed at building long-term brand awareness and interest across a broad audience, with the goal of creating a sustainable pipeline of business.
It encompasses all stages of the marketing funnel, from awareness to loyalty, and focuses on educating the market and nurturing relationships over time.
Lead generation, on the other hand, is more narrowly focused on capturing information from potential customers, such as names and email addresses, to create a database of leads that can be directly targeted with sales efforts.
While demand generation sets the stage for these leads by building awareness and interest, lead generation is the tactical process of converting that interest into actionable prospects ready for direct sales engagement.
How Demand Gen and Lead Gen Work Together
Demand generation and lead generation work together to form a cohesive marketing funnel that maximizes a company’s potential to attract and convert customers.
At the outset, demand generation lays the foundation by raising awareness and generating interest in the brand through strategic content marketing, targeted advertising, and thought leadership, which broadens the audience base.
As this interest is cultivated, the focus shifts to lead generation tactics, such as gated content, webinars, and email sign-ups, which capture details of engaged individuals.
This transition from creating a market for a product or service (demand gen) to actively collecting potential customer data (lead gen) ensures a steady flow of qualified leads into the sales pipeline, which are then nurtured toward conversion.
Blending both strategies seamlessly drives revenue growth.
What Makes a Successful Demand Generation Strategy?
A successful demand gen strategy contains a plan that is both easy-to-follow and multifaceted. It is the five-year business plan for your marketing and high-quality leads nurturing. The best demand generation strategies consist of many moving part so take the time with your marketing and your sales team to get it right the first time.
As such, you need to start with the broadest of terms and slowly condense it into either a monthly or weekly action plan to follow. As you break down your strategy into working parts, you’ll notice that you end up with a content calendar of sorts.
Demand GeneCore Strategies for Effective Demand Generationration Fundamentals
Since demand generation is at the top of the marketing funnel, it’s no wonder that you need to get it right and that it touches every part of that funnel, from gaining awareness to retaining that awareness and turning your target audience into a prospective customer.
Effective demand generation involves a series of interconnected strategies designed to build and nurture interest in a product or service.
Content Marketing and SEO
Let’s talk about content marketing and SEO. These are key to getting more people interested in what you offer and reaching your target audience.
First, find out what keywords your audience is searching for. This way, your content will match what they’re looking for. Got your keywords? Great! Use them naturally in your blog posts, articles, and web pages. This will help boost your position in search engines, making it easier for new customers to discover you.
But don’t stop there. Keep creating top-notch content that’s useful and interesting. This not only keeps your audience engaged but also builds your reputation as an expert in your field.
Make sure to optimize your meta tags, headlines, and images for search engines too. These little tweaks can make a big difference.
To know how you’re doing, use analytics tools. They can tell you what’s working and what’s not. Use this data to tweak your strategy. Engaging content combined with good SEO practices is a recipe for success.
Also, remember the power of storytelling. Share stories that connect with your audience emotionally. It will make your content more memorable.
And think about the different types of content. Blogs and articles are great, but don’t forget about videos, podcasts, and infographics. They can reach different parts of your audience in unique ways.
Lastly, always stay updated with the latest SEO trends. The digital world changes fast, and keeping up will give you an edge.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
Account-Based Marketing, or ABM, is a special way to do marketing. Instead of trying to reach everyone, you focus on a few big accounts. You work closely with your sales team to create campaigns that really connect with these accounts. This method lets you build better relationships and get more people to say “yes.”
How do you do ABM right? Here are some tips:
- Find the Right Accounts: Look at data to find which accounts have the most potential. Think of it like fishing in the right pond.
- Make It Personal: Tailor your marketing messages. Talk directly to what each account needs or struggles with. Think about their goals. This way, you’re not just another ad. You’re a helper.
- Watch and Learn: Keep an eye on how your campaigns are doing. Check what’s working and what’s not. This helps you get better results and a higher return on investment (ROI).
ABM is like a puzzle. You need all the pieces, like data, creativity, and strategy. When they fit together, you see the whole picture. It’s about making connections, not just transactions.
Inbound vs. Outbound Tactics
Inbound marketing is like being a magnet. You draw customers in with good stuff, like helpful articles, SEO, and fun social media posts. It’s all about the pull. People come to you because they find what you share useful. Over time, this builds trust and credibility.
Think of it as planting seeds and watching them grow.
Now, outbound marketing is a bit different. It’s more about making the first move. You reach out to people directly with things like cold calls, direct mail, or lots of emails. This method can grab attention quickly.
But, it might cost more and sometimes feels pushy. Imagine knocking on a door instead of waiting for someone to visit.
Mixing both styles can really boost your marketing efforts. A little patience with inbound and some bold moves with outbound can go a long way.
Paid Advertising and Retargeting
These strategies? They’re like magic wands for your brand’s visibility and engagement.
Paid ads let you zero in on the right folks. It’s like sending your message directly to the right people at just the right moment.
And retargeting? It’s a nifty trick to bring back those who checked you out but didn’t take the plunge. With a gentle nudge, they might just become your next loyal customers.
So, why should you care? Let’s break it down:
- Broader Reach: Think of it as giving your brand a megaphone, way beyond what you could do organically.
- Sharp Targeting: Nail down to whom exactly you want to talk. Age, interests, habits—you name it.
- Better Engagement: It’s like catching up with an old friend. Reconnect with those already interested in what you offer.
Paid ads and retargeting can be game-changers. They help you craft your story and tell it to the world.
Plus, you can measure results and tweak them as needed. So, why not give it a whirl?
Data-Driven Personalization
Data-driven personalization is about making every interaction feel just right for your audience. By using data, you can get to know what your audience likes, how they behave, and what they need. This way, you can create messages that really speak to them.
Think about sending emails that tackle specific problems or offering products based on what they’ve looked at before. It’s not only smart; people expect it.
There are tools like CRM systems and AI analytics to help you gather and understand data. With these insights, you can break down your audience into useful groups. This makes sure your messages are spot-on and timely.
Keep tweaking and improving your strategies. The more you learn about your audience, the better your personalization becomes, boosting engagement and sales.
In this digital age, knowing your audience is power. Companies like Amazon and Netflix use data-driven personalization to predict what you’ll want next. They look at past purchases or the shows you’ve watched to suggest new ones.
This is part of a growing trend called predictive analytics, which is a type of artificial intelligence.
Remember, personalization isn’t just about selling. It’s about building relationships. When customers feel understood, they’re more likely to stick around.
Sales Enablement
You need to give your sales team the best chance to get a customer to buy your product or service. Sales enablement is giving your team the information and tools needed to do their job more effectively. Sales support includes:
- Testimonials: These are social proof that other people like what you have to offer. It’s an endorsement from others in the B2B sector that you’re worth it.
- Case studies: Case studies are a great way to present your research and let your customers know that you know what you’re doing and they have nothing to worry about.
- Frequently asked questions: This often helps your sales rep give well-thought-out answers to questions that often get brought up in sales conversations. They help your sales team be more efficient.
- Fact sheets: This is a list of specs about your product or service that might arise during a sales call. It’s a handy sheet for your team to glance at, including comparisons between you and your competition.
Demand Generation Campaigns You Can Do
A successful demand generation campaign is an organized course of action to get closer to the company’s goal of X number of sales or X amount and generate how much revenue in X amount of time.
Generating demand includes a few of the most well-known demand generation tactics to increase B2B digital marketing efforts and help generate leads, exactly what every business wants. You can even use user-generated content like comments to boost engagement.
Social Media Campaigns
4.2 billion people use social media, making social media marketing a somewhat effective demand generation campaign. In addition, as the online world becomes more available to users, more people will join, creating an even larger pool of people who could become prospective customers.
A successful social media strategy displays your content and invites engagement, whether that’s retweeting on Twitter or re-sharing on Instagram. You can even get people to go to your website or blog on social media. Take the time to see if any emerging trends in keywords work with your target market’s pain points or solutions, and hop on with helpful advice and relevant content.
PR Campaigns
Keeping up with the media and presenting yourself in a good light is always a solid demand gen campaign. You can get on television if your company is well suited for the solutions people are looking for.
If that’s not your thing, then go indie and give interviews on blog posts, podcasts, or webinars to promote your business.
Or, even better, build a link-building kit you can send to industry insiders to use as a reference point inside their content while linking back to your site, creating another way for new visitors to find your brand.
Live/Virtual Events
If you want to get your name out there to other businesses and networks, live events are the way to go. However, if you can’t go to live events for whatever reason, then virtual events with specific meet and greet time slots are an excellent substitute.
Whether it’s a live conference where people can play air hockey or win prizes via a giant gumball machine or a virtual event with lots of videos and interactive online games, something is going on in your industry. It will help you meet other like-minded individuals. If there isn’t, then plan something yourself.
Free Tools
A free tool is a Freebie that has been used for ages to get people to give up their personal information. Nowadays, it’s to get people to sign up for mailing lists. The great thing is that it still works today. Who doesn’t like a free tool?
Headline analyzers, calculators, and performance checkers all give you one thing that whitepapers, email series, and downloadables don’t do. They get your audience to engage with your brand keeping your business name in the back of their minds.
CoSchedule’s Free Headline Analyzer is a great interactive free tool that feeds directly into their newsletter and system.
Webinars
Similar to virtual events, webinars are a way to build thought leadership in your industry and keep people engaged in your brand. The great thing about a webinar is that you can record it and use it again should you wish as sort of a marketing automation.
Bring out the big guns by interviewing complementary solution providers and then presenting all of your solutions together to make a more significant impact.
Podcasts
Podcasts are a fun way to reach out to an audience that’s already in motion. There’s no need to have them sit and watch a computer screen for 30 minutes, but it still allows you to take that time and show off your brand and your solutions. They can take a walk, commute, or even do chores while listening to what you have to say.
Podcasts have only been around since 2004. So, they’re a fairly new phenomenon, unlike blogs, videos, and direct mail. This means that podcasts haven’t reached saturation points yet. People want more, and more is precisely what you should give them.
If you tend or plan to use video, then you can do double duty with podcasts and increase your marketing automation. Simply shoot the video like you typically would and then take the audio and upload that onto popular podcast sites.
Video
The average length of a single video watched is 2.7 minutes. This is significantly longer than the eight-second attention span we have in 2021. However, you can use this information to your advantage and use that first 2.5 minutes to make a huge impact that will keep them watching the rest of it.
Also, people tend to recall what they watch better than what they read. They help your target market remember your brand. It’s a great way to engage both visual and auditory senses at the same time.
Contests/Sweepstakes
Contests or sweepstakes are not only amazing marketing activities to get your audience to opt-in for your newsletter; you can also use this to gather valuable data about them and their pain points as well.
Just keep your questionnaire to under seven minutes because after seven minutes, most people just give up and exit. So quick, snappy questions that don’t take long to answer with some variety like multiple-choice, and you’re good to go.
For subscription-based services, you can give out your service free for a set amount of time, and for product-based companies, you can easily send sample products for people to try.
Direct Mail/Email Marketing
Direct mail can be hit or miss, but it is pure gold when you get it right. It’s a great way to pull people in and make them want to see more of your brand. If it’s a miss, it goes straight into the recycling bin after the personal info gets ripped off and shredded.
A plain envelope is best since most people can spot a sales letter a mile away from the bright, shiny packaging. If you can either hand-write or make it look hand-written, then more kudos to you as this will pique the interest of the person receiving the mail.
Or consider doing something inside the box like a package. For example, when haven’t you opened a package delivered to your door with your name on it? OR even better go for email marketing to send virtual mail to someone’s inbox.
Conclusion
The best practices for attracting more customers through demand generation marketing are content and making sure that what you put out there is helpful for your target market.
If you can nail who you’re selling to and keep them engaged through what you put out, then you are well on your way to having an outstanding sales funnel that will keep the money rolling in.
FAQs
These FAQs provide a foundation for understanding the strategic and operational aspects of demand generation marketing.
What Is a Demand Generation Strategy?
Demand generation strategies are the long-term plan in place to gain new visitors to your website and generate demand for your service or product. It’s all about setting goals for your brand to expand your business.
What Is Demand Generation vs. Lead Generation?
Demand generation is getting new eyes on your site, product, or service. Lead generation is turning those new visitors into qualified leads through lead scoring and helps them through your sales process.
What Is B2B Demand Generation?
When it comes to the B2B sector, demand generation is all about giving your sales and marketing teams an integrated, scalable, predictable way of creating demand so sales reps can bring in the most profit possible. This starts with bringing awareness and demand for your product in the B2B sector.
What Is Included in Demand Generation?
The main things that get included in demand generation are brand recognition, inbound marketing, sales teams enablement, and customer retention. It also consists of every bit of online content that a new visitor might stumble across and become aware of your brand.
