Demand Generation Guide

Creating demand for products and services is a big challenge for B2B and B2C companies. Every one does it, making marketing a very competitive place. Demand generation or “demand gen” spans over multiple touchpoints, campaigns, and offers and includes just about anything your brand does to generate buzz, awareness, and recognition. Demand generation is about providing the right information to the right people at the right time with the confidence that what you’re offering is the perfect fit for your customers’ needs.

To do this, demand generation marketers aim to identify potential prospects based on behavioral data and guide them through a nurturing process so that the sales team receives high-quality, highly-qualified leads.

Demand generation covers all your marketing and sales initiatives at every touchpoint in the customer’s journey — whether you’re generating interest among potential buyers or upselling to existing customers.

What is Demand Generation

Demand generation is the process of creating and nurturing interest in a product or service with the goal of generating demand and ultimately driving sales. It involves a range of marketing tactics aimed at attracting and engaging potential customers, educating them about the benefits of a product or service, and convincing them to take action.

Effective demand generation campaigns typically involve a combination of tactics, including content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and paid advertising. The goal is to create a steady stream of qualified leads that can be passed on to the sales team for follow-up and conversion.

Ultimately, the success of a demand generation campaign is measured by the number of leads generated, the quality of those leads, and the resulting revenue generated for the business.

Demand generation is an essential component of any business strategy, and there are several important factors to consider when developing an effective demand generation program:

• Understanding your target audience: Before you can effectively generate demand for your products or services, it is crucial to have a deep understanding of your target audience. This includes understanding their:
  • Pain points
  • Interests
  • Behavior patterns
  • Where they are in the buyer’s journey
• Creating valuable content: Content marketing is a key component of demand generation, and creating high-quality, valuable content can help attract and engage potential customers:
  • Blog posts
  • Whitepapers
  • E-books
  • Video
  • Other resources to provide value
• Leveraging multiple channels: Effective demand generation requires leveraging multiple channels to reach and engage your target audience across multiple touchpoints:
  • Social media,
  • Email marketing
  • Paid advertising
  • Search engine optimization
• Lead scoring and nurturing: A critical component of demand generation, and involves identifying and prioritizing high-quality leads, and nurturing those leads through the sales funnel with targeted content and personalized messaging.
• Aligning sales and marketing: Effective demand generation requires alignment between sales and marketing teams to ensure that lead generation efforts are effectively translated into sales. This includes developing shared goals, establishing clear communication channels, and ensuring that sales and marketing teams are working together to optimize the customer journey.

By focusing on these key factors, businesses can develop an effective demand generation program that attracts and engages potential customers, nurtures leads through the sales funnel, and ultimately drives revenue growth.

Demand Generation Strategies

There are a variety of demand generation strategies that businesses can use to attract and engage potential customers. Here are a few examples:

• Content Marketing: Creating and sharing valuable and relevant content such as blog posts, whitepapers, and ebooks that educate and inform potential customers about your product or service.
• Social Media Marketing: Using social media platforms to build brand awareness, engage with potential customers, and share content.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), making it easier for potential customers to find you.
• Email Marketing: Sending targeted email campaigns to prospects and customers, delivering relevant content and special offers.
  Webinars: Hosting webinars on topics related to your product or service, providing valuable information and demonstrating thought leadership.
• Influencer Marketing: Partnering with influencers in your industry or niche to promote your product or service to their audience.
• Paid Advertising: Using paid advertising channels such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or LinkedIn Ads to target potential customers and drive traffic to your website or landing page.

These are just a few examples of the many demand generation strategies available to businesses. The key is to find the right mix of tactics that work best for your business and target audience.

Generating Awareness

Generating awareness is a crucial first step in demand generation. Without awareness, potential customers may not know that your product or service exists, which can limit your ability to generate demand. Here are a few strategies for generating awareness:

• Content Marketing: Creating and sharing valuable and relevant content such as blog posts, videos, and social media posts that address the pain points and challenges of your target audience. This can help position your brand as a thought leader in your industry and increase your visibility.
• Social Media Marketing: Leveraging social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to promote your brand and engage with potential customers. This can include sharing relevant content, participating in industry conversations, and running targeted ad campaigns.
• Public Relations: Developing relationships with journalists and media outlets to secure coverage for your brand. This can include pitching stories or press releases, responding to media inquiries, and participating in interviews or thought leadership pieces.
• Event Marketing: Participating in industry events such as trade shows, conferences, and webinars to showcase your products or services and connect with potential customers.
• Influencer Marketing: Partnering with influencers or industry experts to promote your brand and increase your visibility. This can include collaborating on content, participating in interviews or podcasts, and leveraging their social media channels to reach a wider audience.

These are just a few examples of the many strategies businesses can use to generate awareness. The key is to identify the tactics that are most effective for your target audience and industry, and to consistently execute on them to build momentum and increase your visibility.

Converting & Monetizing

Once awareness has been generated, the next step in demand generation is to convert interested prospects into paying customers and monetize those conversions. Here are a few strategies for converting and monetizing:

• Lead Nurturing: Developing a lead nurturing program that delivers relevant content and touchpoints to prospects at different stages of the sales funnel. This can include targeted email campaigns, personalized content recommendations, and retargeting ads to keep your brand top-of-mind.
• Sales Enablement: Equipping your sales team with the tools and resources they need to effectively convert leads into customers. This can include sales training, customer case studies, and marketing collateral such as product demos and whitepapers.
• Pricing and Packaging: Developing pricing and packaging strategies that are aligned with the needs and budgets of your target customers. This can include offering different tiers or bundles of your product or service, and conducting pricing experiments to find the optimal price point.
• Upselling and Cross-Selling: Identifying opportunities to upsell or cross-sell existing customers on additional products or services. This can include offering complementary products or services, loyalty rewards programs, and targeted email or retargeting campaigns.
• Referral Marketing: Encouraging satisfied customers to refer their friends and colleagues to your product or service. This can include offering incentives such as discounts or exclusive content to customers who refer new business.

By implementing these strategies, businesses can effectively convert interested prospects into paying customers and monetize those conversions to drive revenue growth. The key is to continually optimize and refine your demand generation strategies to ensure that they are aligned with the needs and behaviors of your target audience.

Aligning Sales and Marketing Teams

Aligning sales and marketing teams is critical for effective demand generation. When sales and marketing teams work together towards a common goal, they can create a more cohesive and effective demand generation strategy. Here are a few strategies for aligning sales and marketing teams in demand generation:

• Communication: Encouraging open communication between sales and marketing teams is essential for effective collaboration. Regular meetings, joint planning sessions, and shared goal-setting can help foster collaboration and improve the flow of information between teams.
• Shared Metrics: Establishing shared metrics and KPIs can help align sales and marketing teams around common goals. This can include metrics such as lead quality, lead volume, conversion rates, and revenue generated.
• Lead Qualification: Developing a shared lead qualification process can help ensure that leads are effectively prioritized and handed off from marketing to sales teams. This can include establishing clear criteria for lead scoring, lead nurturing, and sales follow-up.
• Joint Content Creation: Collaborating on content creation can help ensure that marketing content is aligned with the needs and preferences of sales teams. This can include developing buyer personas, conducting joint customer research, and co-creating content such as case studies and whitepapers.
• Sales Enablement: Providing sales teams with the tools and resources they need to effectively convert leads into customers is a critical aspect of demand generation. This can include providing sales training, customer case studies, and marketing collateral such as product demos and whitepapers.

By aligning sales and marketing teams around common goals and metrics, businesses can create a more effective demand generation strategy that is focused on driving revenue growth. The key is to foster collaboration and communication between teams, and to continually optimize and refine demand generation strategies to ensure they are aligned with the needs and behaviors of your target audience.

Demand Generation vs. Lead Generation

Demand generation and lead generation are closely related concepts, but they are not the same thing. Here’s how they differ:

Demand generation is the process of creating awareness and interest in your brand, products or services among your target audience. The ultimate goal of demand generation is to create demand and interest in your offerings, which can lead to new business opportunities. Demand generation tactics may include activities such as content marketing, social media marketing, event marketing, influencer marketing, and public relations.

Lead generation, on the other hand, is the process of identifying and capturing contact information (such as name, email, phone number) of potential customers who have shown interest in your brand or offerings. The ultimate goal of lead generation is to identify qualified prospects who are likely to become customers. Lead generation tactics may include activities such as targeted advertising, landing pages, webinars, gated content, and email marketing.

So, while demand generation aims to create interest and awareness in your brand, lead generation aims to identify and capture contact information from potential customers who have shown interest in your offerings. Demand generation is typically a longer-term strategy focused on building brand awareness and credibility, while lead generation is more focused on generating immediate business opportunities.

Ultimately, both demand generation and lead generation are important aspects of a successful marketing strategy. By focusing on both, businesses can generate interest and awareness in their brand while also identifying and nurturing potential customers to drive revenue growth.

Demand Generation Metrics

Measuring the success of demand generation efforts is essential for optimizing and refining your strategy over time. Here are some key metrics to consider when evaluating the effectiveness of your demand generation efforts:

• Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs): Leads that have engaged with your marketing efforts and have been identified as potential customers. These are typically prospects that have expressed interest in your brand, engaged with your content, or otherwise demonstrated a likelihood to buy.
• Cost per Lead (CPL): Is the total amount spent on demand generation activities divided by the number of leads generated. This metric can help you evaluate the cost-effectiveness of your demand generation efforts.
• Conversion Rates: Measure the percentage of leads that have taken a desired action, such as filling out a form, downloading a whitepaper, or attending a webinar. By tracking conversion rates at each stage of the sales funnel, you can identify areas where leads are dropping off and optimize your strategy to improve conversion rates.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Is the total cost of acquiring a new customer, including all sales and marketing expenses. This metric can help you evaluate the effectiveness of your demand generation efforts in generating revenue and driving growth.
• Return on Investment (ROI): Measures the overall return on investment for your demand generation efforts. By comparing the revenue generated from your demand generation activities to the cost of those activities, you can determine whether your efforts are producing a positive ROI.

By tracking these and other key metrics, businesses can evaluate the effectiveness of their demand generation efforts and optimize their strategy over time to drive revenue growth. The key is to continually monitor and refine your demand generation metrics to ensure that they are aligned with your business goals and objectives.

Demand Generation Benchmarks

Benchmarking data can be useful for businesses looking to evaluate the effectiveness of their demand generation efforts and compare their performance to industry standards. Here are some examples of benchmarking data for demand generation:

• Lead Conversion Rates: According to a recent study by HubSpot 2022, the average conversion rate for website visitors to leads is around 3%, while the average conversion rate for leads to customers is around 1%.
• Marketing Budget Allocation: According to a recent survey by Gartner 2022, businesses on average allocate around 9.5% of their total revenue to marketing activities, with a majority of that budget going towards demand generation activities such as content marketing and digital advertising.
• Cost per Lead (CPL): According to a recent study by HubSpot 2022, the average CPL for B2B companies is around $150, while the average CPL for B2C companies is around $50.
• Website Traffic: According to a recent study by HubSpot 2022, 39,1% of B2C websites get between 1-10K unique monthly visitors and 23,8% gets 10.000-40K, while 41,2% of B2B websites get between 1-10K unique monthly visitors and 25,5% gets 10.000-40K.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): According to a recent study by Forrester, the average CAC for B2B companies is around $1,214, while the average CAC for B2C companies is around $55.

Top Demand Generation Pitfalls

Demand generation is a critical component of any business strategy, but there are several common pitfalls that can undermine the effectiveness of demand generation efforts. Here are some of the top demand generation pitfalls to avoid:

• Focusing on quantity over quality: One of the most common demand generation pitfalls is focusing on generating as many leads as possible, without considering the quality of those leads. This can result in a high volume of low-quality leads that do not convert into customers.
• Neglecting lead nurturing: Another common pitfall is neglecting lead nurturing, which involves engaging with leads over time with targeted content and personalized messaging. Without effective lead nurturing, leads may lose interest and drop out of the sales funnel.
• Lack of alignment between sales and marketing: Effective demand generation requires alignment between sales and marketing teams, but a lack of alignment can result in miscommunication, conflicting goals, and missed opportunities.
• Ignoring data and analytics: Demand generation efforts should be data-driven, but many businesses fail to effectively collect and analyze data on their demand generation activities. This can result in a lack of insight into what is working and what is not, making it difficult to optimize demand generation efforts.
• Failure to adapt to changing market conditions: Finally, a common pitfall is failing to adapt to changing market conditions. The business landscape is constantly evolving, and demand generation strategies that were effective in the past may no longer be effective today. Businesses that fail to adapt to changing market conditions risk falling behind the competition.

By avoiding these common pitfalls and focusing on effective demand generation strategies that prioritize quality over quantity, emphasize lead nurturing, align sales and marketing teams, leverage data and analytics, and adapt to changing market conditions, businesses can drive growth and achieve long-term success.

More Information

Adobe: Demand Generation Marketing: A Five-Minute Guide

Gartner: 5 Essential Steps to Build a Demand Generation Strategy

HubSpot: The Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics for 2022