Demand generation and lead generation are two B2B marketing concepts that we should not confuse or, above all, take as contradictory. For our sales funnel to be effective, it requires that these two strategies work harmoniously.
Both demand generation and lead generation are marketing methodologies that seek to attract the attention of potential customers and convert this attention into sales. Thus, we can say that demand generation seeks to make the brand known, while lead generation transforms the audience into customers.
In short: For a lead generation strategy to be effective, it must be preceded by a demand generation strategy .
What is demand generation?
Demand generation is the combination of marketing activities specifically designed to stimulate attention and interest in a brand, such as content, advertising, events, etc.
Their goal is to get potential customers aware of the brand and get them in and moving through our sales funnel.
Key Components of a Demand Generation Strategy
In an AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action) acquisition model, demand generation focuses on the Attention and Interest parts, primarily name recognition and building excitement around the brand.
The four keys to a demand strategy are:
1.- Establish well-focused objectives
For an effective demand generation campaign , the goals should be focused on increasing brand visibility. Specifically, objectives such as brand recognition, visibility, traffic, and share of voice should be considered.
2.- Create awareness
In an incredibly competitive market, maintaining brand awareness is the best way to ensure that new leads flow into your funnel. To do this, our strategy must ensure that our tactics generate a persistent positive impression of the brand in the audience.
3.- Explore alternative marketing strategies appropriate for the brand
The goal is to attract attention, so strategies such as the use of influencers, experiential marketing, sampling or demos, guerrilla marketing and entertainment can help improve brand awareness.
4.- Creation of informative and useful free content
Content like social media posts , blogs, webinars, podcasts, videos, eBooks, case studies, infographics, and market reports help build a strong voice and authority.
What metrics are important in the demand generation strategy?
Some of the most appropriate marketing metrics to verify the success of our efforts in demand generation strategies are:
* Website traffic
* Cost of acquisition (CPA)
* Cost of acquisition per channel (CAC)
* Movement in the database
* Content performance
* Brand awareness
What is lead generation?
The lead generation strategy is the combination of marketing activities designed to increase the interest that a potential customer has in the brand, feeding him until he converts. The main objective is to capture prospects as soon as possible once inside our sales funnel.
Lead generation marketing campaigns collect information about the audience , their interactions and their interests to pass it on at the right time to the sales team for closing. This information is also used to create an ideal customer profile , which will help us search for and identify other similar potential customers.
Key Components of a Lead Generation Strategy
The lead generation strategy focuses on the Desire and Action parts of the AIDA model. In other words, converting someone's interest in the brand into a desire for the product or solution that we offer and its sale.
The seven keys to a lead generation strategy are:
1.- Establish a lead capture model
Without a strategic lead capture plan, it is difficult to move the prospects that are in our sales funnel. The most important part of this plan is the web form through which we collect data from landing page visitors.
2.- Develop your hook offers
We must offer a lead magnet to our audience in exchange for collecting their emails, phone numbers, or contact information. The offer is generally downloadable content or a digital tool, such as demos, white papers, e-books, coupons, discounts, or other exclusive time-limited offers.
3.- Optimize Landing Pages
Landing Pages serve as a runway for our ads and calls to action. From there, we must ensure that its design favors our flow by minimizing distractions and providing a clear and encouraged path.
4.- Take advantage of social networks
By using the paid and organic tools offered by social networks, we can promote our offers or brand by mandatorily including a call to the in all our publications and advertisements.
5.- Use marketing automation
Automated flows help us create processes to expand our reach. They also help track and evaluate the effectiveness and performance of our lead generation campaigns.
6.-Develop a lead scoring system
Lead scoring systems are very important to prioritize our list of potential customers based on the depth and quality of their interactions.
7.- Use remarketing
Remarketing allows us to keep in touch with web visitors and draw their attention to the brand in other parts of the Internet . Remarketing is a great way to win back the attention of leads, pitch them an irresistible offer, and collect their information to transform them into customers.
Important Lead Generation Strategy Metrics
Lead generation strategies are different for every company, and the KPIs against which they measure success vary. However, there are some general metrics that help gauge its effectiveness:
* Number of leads
* Conversion rate
* Total value of the lead
* Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
* Closing sales
* Average response time of potential customers
* Click through rate (CTR)
* The ratio of MQL to SQL
Lead types
You can group leads into different categories based on their interactions and where they are in the sales funnel.
* Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL): These contacts interact with our content, but are still at the top of the funnel and not ready to be contacted by the sales team.
* Sales Qualified Lead (SQL): These contacts interact in ways that indicate their interest in trying or buying your product or service, such as signing up for a demo or viewing a pricing page.
* Product Qualified Lead (PQL) : these contacts have tried a free demo or a light version of your products. They perform actions that show their interest in paying for the product, such as fitting into usage patterns aligned with those of your current customers.
What is the main difference between demand generation and lead generation?
The key difference between demand generation and lead generation is that demand generation happens at the top of the sales funnel when you engage your audience and generate interest in your products or services. In contrast, lead generation focuses on collecting information from interested prospects in order to convert them into customers.
How to combine demand generation and lead generation in a commercial strategy
For a business, it's not a question of which method to focus on first, but how demand generation and lead generation can work together to create a seamless customer acquisition strategy.
Although both methodologies are two different processes, they must work together to create a harmonious system that converts the target audience from consumers into interested prospects and interested prospects into customers.
For example, a business might decide that it wants to produce some informative and useful free content. This demand generation strategy works well to generate interest in a brand, and it would be wise to combine it with a lead generation strategy to get the most out of your marketing efforts. Thus, it may be convenient to give away the ebook via an email link, thus capturing the email address of potential customers that allows us to keep in touch during the sales process.
PGR Marketing y Tecnología provides you with the tools and services your company needs to launch successful demand generation and lead generation actions.
