Demand generation is a crucial stage for capturing client interest and driving growth and revenue. However, success in this field belongs to those who continually seek fresh perspectives and data-driven insights. Let's dive into the factors you need to understand and consider when creating demand-generation campaigns for your business.
What is B2B Demand Generation?
Demand generation is a strategy at the top of your funnel or flywheel to boost awareness and interest in your business. It focuses on creating a need or desire for your product or service. Demand generation is not a one-time event but an ongoing process involving multiple stages, from initial awareness to final conversion.
A successful demand-generation strategy can attract new customers, boost sales, and drive business growth. By consistently providing value at each touchpoint, businesses can effectively sway potential customers towards making a purchase decision.
What is the Difference Between Demand Generation and Lead Generation?
People are often confused about demand generation and lead generation. Demand generation and lead generation are both critical methods deployed at the top of the funnel, but they serve distinct purposes and functions.
Demand generation is a holistic approach focused on creating broad awareness and interest in a company’s products or services. It involves various marketing activities aimed at educating prospects about their pain points, needs, and available solutions. This includes content marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), social media marketing, events, webinars, and more. The goal of demand generation is to build brand awareness and establish thought leadership, making potential customers aware that solutions to their problems exist.
Lead generation, while also operating at the top of the funnel, has a more targeted focus. It aims to convert the interest generated by demand generation into actionable contacts by capturing information about potential customers, whether by using landing pages and lead magnets or scraping business contact details and proactive outreach to them. The primary objective of lead generation is to gather leads that can be nurtured through the process.
Both strategies provide value to prospects, helping them understand their pain points and needs while making them aware of potential solutions. However, while demand generation casts a wide net to attract and educate a broad audience, lead generation narrows the focus to capture specific contact information for further engagement and conversion.
Elements of a Successful Demand Generation Strategy
- Know Your Audience: Understanding your audience's needs, interests, and pain points is crucial. This insight helps you create relevant and compelling content that resonates with them, ultimately building stronger connections and trust.
- Create Valuable Content: Utilise a variety of content types to engage your audience. From blog posts, thought leadership articles, and webinars, your content should provide value and position your company as a trusted expert in your field. High-quality content is your key to attracting and retaining the interest of your target audience.
- Leverage Multiple Channels: Don't confine your efforts to a single platform or medium. Utilise a mix of marketing channels to reach your desired audience. This multi-channel approach ensures a broader reach and more opportunities to engage potential customers.
- Track and Measure Your Results: Utilise analytics tools to monitor your progress, and efforts and adjust your strategy as needed. This helps you maximise your ROI and make informed decisions about your future marketing efforts. Regular tracking and measurement are essential for understanding what works and where improvements are needed.
How Can B2B Boost Demand?
To effectively boost demand, it's essential to understand Eugene Schwartz's five stages of customer awareness from his classic book, Breakthrough Advertising. There is no need to buy the book which in fact is difficult to read (clearly a copy writer and not an author). According to this model, customers move through five stages along their buyer's journey: unaware, problem-aware, solution-aware, product-aware, and most-aware.
This framework is valuable for B2B demand generation strategies because it emphasises the psychology of your audience at each stage of their journey. While other models exist, Schwartz's framework excels at summarising how customers think and feel throughout the buying process without assuming a linear path.
Here's how to approach each phase:
Unaware Phase
In the "unaware” phase, the goal is to create awareness and attract the attention of potential customers who may not know yet about your product or service. Focus on getting your content in front of the right audience through social media and SEO strategies. These channels are crucial for reaching new prospects and generating initial interest.
Problem Aware Phase
During the "problem aware" phase, target individuals who are not yet aware they have a problem. Create content that highlights potential pain points your product addresses. Educating your audience about these issues makes them aware of problems they didn't realise they had.
Solution Aware Phase
In the “solution-aware" phase, potential customers recognise that a solution to their problem exists but are not yet aware of your specific product. Provide content that discusses common pain points and suggests that solutions are available. This helps guide them towards considering different options, including yours.
Product Aware Phase
In the "product aware" phase, potential buyers know there are solutions to their problems and are evaluating their options. Your goal is to position your product as a leading choice. Use detailed content like case studies, white papers, blog posts, webinars, and long-form videos to showcase your expertise and the unique benefits of your solution. Targeted emails and account-based marketing (ABM) are effective in converting interested prospects into leads for your sales team.
Most Aware Phase
In the "most aware" phase, prospects are ready to buy. They know they have a problem, are aware of solutions, and know that your product is one of them. Your task is to convince them that your product is the best choice. Offer free trials to encourage them to make a purchase. Retargeting ads can also help keep your products top-of-mind even after they leave your website.
Unlock Your Potential with gigCMO's Free Consultation
With gigCMO's Fractional CMO Service, you gain access to playbook-driven marketing tailored to meet your company's unique needs. Our team collaborates closely with your existing team to develop a strategy for next-level growth. We will thoroughly examine your company's current performance and the market landscape to identify potential growth opportunities. Based on this assessment, we will develop a demand-generation strategy designed to produce measurable outcomes within a set timeframe.
If you are looking to implement an effective demand generation strategy, contact gigCMO for a free consultation and start driving leads and unlocking new revenue opportunities.
