It is often said that without any sales, there can be no business. No matter how fanciful or sophisticated a company gets, it must still ensure it sells some product or service. Of course, it is impossible to make enough sales to keep the company afloat if no one is aware of the product in the first place, which is why many B2B businesses have found it a good idea to invest in a good demand generation strategy.
What is demand generation?
The basics of demand generation are simply the series of steps, tactics, or strategies your company can use to build or generate demand for the product you're pushing into the market. An effective demand-generation process will usually involve similar but separate aspects. They are demand generation and demand creation.
Demand and lead generation focuses more on the marketing and sales activities that aim to create demand for the product or service.
Demand generation is a long-term process by which your company can increase the consumer's interest and need for the product or service you're putting out to market.
Although they are similar and tend to work hand-in-glove on several occasions, their efficacy may differ under unique circumstances. For example, your company can use Demand Creation tactics like storytelling and persuasion to help customers discover products. In contrast, that company could use a Demand Generation campaign to push those products into new markets, build buzz, and generate PR in some cases.
For further insights, consider checking this guide on the differences between demand generation vs lead generation. You can also learn how demand generation contributes to revenue growth from here.
Why invest in the demand generation funnel?
Demand generation tactic is a crucial part of inbound marketing strategy and is often the first line of action in establishing general awareness of your program. However, the benefits of demand generation extend beyond helping prospective clients see your product or service.
Effective demand generation efforts would usually accomplish these three things:
- Impact an air of trustworthiness and value around your brand, making the prospective clients more inclined to patronize you.
- Provide the first crucial foundations for qualified lead generation, which can lead to sales. And that is the essence of driving demand for your product.
- Encourage more prolific use of your product or service.
Once your demand generation program can accomplish these three goals, you will experience several benefits in your business, such as:
Reduced retention cost
One of the craziest sinkholes in most companies is the cost of customer retention. There is consensus that retaining a customer is usually far cheaper than acquiring new ones. However, a significant challenge to retaining customers is competition. If your customers lose trust in your brand, there are often opportunities for competing sales and marketing teams to swoop in and snap them up.
However, a successful demand generation strategy helps you establish trustworthiness and value in your brand, which increases customer loyalty and satisfaction, making them less likely to jump boats. This would help you cut down on costs and promotions designed to create awareness for your brand.
Good organizational reputation
As your customers continue to trust your company more and use their products, your business can slowly acquire a reputation for excellence. An effective demand generation plan introduces your products with thought leadership content to new markets. Still, by playing the long game, establishing your reputation over time, and being part of their journey, you can earn a name for yourself as a thought leader and the go-to source when situations (for which your company is offering solutions) arise.
These are some of the main reasons you should start focusing on creating demand for your products and services.
The best B2B demand generation strategies
You can apply numerous effective strategies to improve your business and the sale of your product. Here are some of the most important parts of a well-executed demand generation strategy you can integrate into your long-term marketing strategy. Depending on the person in charge, you can leverage them as part of your lead generation efforts.
Content marketing
Content marketing is a strategy that disseminates valuable content in your field to push brand awareness and create credibility and trust in your business and product. When you deliver quality and relevant content to the ideal customer, you become an authority in your industry, making your target audience more likely to buy your product.
The trick in using content marketing in demand generation activities is thinking about where your prospective customers are in the sales funnel. Infographics, blogs, and social media posts are essential top-of-the-funnel content, often the target area of demand generation and lead generation. However, aligning your content strategy with your target audience's interests, needs, and pain points is extremely important.
Inbound marketing
This part of effective demand generation tactics primarily focuses on brand awareness by attracting visitors to your website through content. This content can include email newsletters, articles, social media content, etc.
The idea at this stage is to generate interest in people already familiar with your content and the problems your product or service aims to solve. This method helps you bypass the cost and random traditional methods such as conventional ads, cold emailing, and calling. That way, your product is being blasted to an already primed audience with a higher chance of success. However, it is worth noting that demand generation relies on both inbound and outbound strategies.
Social media marketing
Digital marketing on social media is one of the most popular forms of marketing and is incredibly effective when you pair this with other demand gen strategies. An excellent social media presence can increase the effectiveness of your lead generation strategy. The data collected from the platforms can also help you optimize your demand generation work.
Lead nurturing and scoring
Lead nurturing is a long-term strategy often involving building a connection or rapport with potential customers acquired through your marketing campaign. The clients at this point are usually at the first stages of their buyer's journey, and the nurturing helps you guide them to make a purchase.
Lead scoring, on the other hand, is a tactic that ensures that only high-prospect clients make it from marketing to sales. The method often involves some form of data collation and metric system that assigns value to indicate the interest level of each lead. Trying to nurture leads and score them often goes hand in hand, depending on the tools you are using.
Lead magnets
Lead magnets are high-value downloadable content that prospective clients can access in exchange for personal details such as email or phone number. For lead magnets to be effective, they must align with your audience's interests and address their pain points. They are even more productive when paired with SEO and blogging and do well in increasing brand awareness and cementing yourself as an authority in your field. Interestingly, getting the best results requires a strategic combination of marketing automation and email marketing. Without such a combination, you might not be able to get the best sales conversion rate from your marketing efforts and the lead magnet.
Conclusion
Sales are crucial to any business, but to sell their product or service, they must unveil them in a way that sparks the interest of their target audience and improves the odds of lead conversion, which is why B2B demand generation is so important. Strong demand generation efforts can build interest in your product, establish your reputation as an authority, and push your product to new markets.
Commonly used strategies include content marketing, lead magnets, lead scoring, and social media marketing. As part of a successful marketing strategy, you can use the best tools in the market to measure the impact of demand-generation campaigns on your revenue.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I create demand for a product?
To create demand for a product, clearly communicate its unique value proposition to your target audience through targeted marketing campaigns and effective branding strategies. Additionally, incentivize potential customers with promotions or discounts to encourage trial and adoption.
What are the key factors that determine the effectiveness of your demand generation strategy?
The key factors determining the effectiveness of a demand generation strategy include understanding your target audience's needs and preferences and aligning your messaging accordingly, as well as utilizing data-driven insights to optimize marketing channels and campaign performance.
What are some of the best demand generation tools?
Some of the best demand generation tools include Cloudpresenter, Unbounce, ConvertKit, Leadfeeder, Hubspot, Pipedrive, and Lemlist. With these tools, a detailed demand generation strategy can help acquire new customers consistently.
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