Well, I've found that trying to define it may in fact be the fastest way to start a fight between marketers... That being said...
There seems to be an upward trend of B2B SaaS companies... Demanding it.
So in the last month Iâve read 50+ articles, 30+ demand gen job applications and spoken to half a dozen demand gen marketers to help get a more collective view on what it actually is.
Giants like Mailchimp, Amazon and Cognism basically suggests demand gen is:
- Understanding your buyer.
- Understanding your buyerâs problems and needs.
- Creating awareness of your product to your buyers.
- Stimulating interest in your product from those buyersâ problems.
- So that they consider purchasing from you when the time is right.
But⊠Isnât this just⊠brand marketing?
Or content marketing?
Or just good marketing in general?
The confusion seems to stem from the misalignment between marketers and non-marketers.
Brand marketing tends to be viewed by non-marketers as ânon-revenue generating activityâ.
And since a businessâs main goal is to generate revenue, many reject it.
But when we consider this activity as 'generating demand' - it becomes much more palatable for non-marketers.
Yes itâs just âgood marketingâ - but itâs good marketing that focuses on buyers early with the intent to influence, not convertâŠ
B2B companies are now starting to accept what marketers have been ranting about for years:
âless than 3% of B2B markets are ready to buy and 82% of those will chose a brand they trust and have been influenced by previouslyâ
So after years of low quality leads, low sales and consequent low growth - attention is now looking back upstream to where the problem is and where investment might be better spent.
It's now undeniable that sustainable growth in B2B SaaS needs:
- Demand gen = marketing to those who ARENâT buying.
- Demand capture (a.k.a. lead gen) = marketing to those who ARE buying.
Generate the demand then capture demand.
(Real) Lead Gen = Demand Gen + Demand Capture.
For the full article and how B2B SaaS companies can go about their demand gen đ Click here: https://lnkd.in/grqgD67r
This post was originally shared by Alex Urquhart on Linkedin.