What is B2B demand generation?

In simple terms, B2B demand generation is exactly what it says on the tin – a method for creating demand for your brand’s products and services. This data-driven marketing strategy uses technology to cover every touchpoint on the buyer’s journey – from building initial awareness through to customer retention.

With the use of data, demand gen tracks integrated sales and marketing tactics, refines audience segments, orchestrates the customer journey and helps to understand marketing’s contribution to revenue.

Attracting visitors

Business to Business demand generation is not about converting already existing prospects, rather it focuses on finding new ones, also known as leads. The first step is creating interest in the product or services on offer by establishing a clear brand identity that resonates with its audience.

• Thoroughly identify your B2B audience personas including their pain points, industry size attributes, business goals and where they spend their time online.
• Leverage thought leadership content to establish your company as an authoritative voice within its industry: customers will recall your brand when they eventually do have a problem to solve.
• Don’t forget to maintain a strong social media presence, keep up good public relations and align your brand and offering with buyer needs to complete this top of the funnel step.

Nurturing intent

Inbound marketing is the method by which you put demand gen into practice. This is achieved by providing relevant, engaging content and offers to prospects to encourage them to navigate through the stages of awareness, consideration and decision – otherwise known as lead nurturing. In essence it’s all about delivering the right message to the right customer at the right time. Some inbound marketing methods for achieving this are:

• Email marketing and social media campaigns to guide your potential customer down the funnel
• Engaging, relevant content such as gated content – white papers, e-books, webinars and demos are useful to elicit prospect’s contact details. Other content like podcasts, weekly newsletters and pop-up events serve to keep the reader engaged with your brand for the long-term.
• Chatbots are an additional way to capture leads (voluntarily given contact information) to nurture into marketing qualified leads (MQLs) and sales qualified leads (SQLs).
• Paid targeted advertising attract visitors to your website
• SEO is a must to optimise your content to make sure it’s found in the first place

Converting leads

Demand generation can also be driven by sales enablement and can aid with sales and marketing alignment. Testimonials, case studies, fact sheets and FAQs can all help to foster trust and aid sales.

Customer retention

If you want to achieve sustained growth, your demand gen strategy must also include a way of keeping the customers you’ve worked so hard to earn. Methods might include superb customer service, up to date information on new products and services, using help and ‘how to’ articles effectively to create a knowledge hub for customers, generating up-sells and renewals and tracking feedback.

Measurement

The key to everything is understanding which elements of your demand gen campaign are working and which leave room for improvement. Determining and tracking your KPIs will include early, mid and late-stage metrics covering the cost of the programme, new targets, cost per target and revenue generated.

Summing up

Choosing the right demand generation strategy for your business could involve some or all of these methods.
Demand generation is a long-term strategy with the goal of securing and retaining customers and building brand loyalty. It covers every stage of the marketing funnel and offers an opportunity for visibility throughout the funnel, revealing gaps that can be optimised for future growth and opportunity.

“Customers are now smarter, more connected, more informed, more influenced and influential socially, and less likely to respond to campaign-bait. Marketing has to create content people actually want.” – Tim Barker, Chief Product Officer, DataSift

When it’s orchestrated in the right way, B2B demand gen can place marketing at the heart of revenue generation, pass on qualified leads to sales and ensure that prospects see your brand as a solution and customers continue to engage with it. The five pillars of B2B demand gen are:

1. Goals – Defining your goals gives you a baseline for measurement.
2. Audience – know who you’re targeting and why. Develop well-rounded personas to understand who you’re speaking to.
3. Content – Thought leadership is top of funnel and drives brand engagement; whitepapers, how tos, guides, analyst reports, and ROI calculators are mid-funnel and seek to educate, inform and highlight the road towards solving your buyer’s problem; bottom of the funnel are case studies, testimonials, information on your company’s product and services.
4. Channels – distributing your content will depend on the stage of the funnel but social channels and website will get your message out at the top, while at the bottom think PPC and email marketing to connect directly and convert leads to sales.
5. Measurement – Determine and track your KPIs to monitor the success of your campaign. Use A/B testing and analytics to know exactly what resonates with your audience and you’ll be well on your way to success.

Are you in need of support with your Demand Generation, or are you looking to expand your lead generation strategy? Why not contact us for a no obligation discussion on how MarketOne’s tried and tested frameworks have helped businesses scale at speed and drive measurable impact.