Demand generation is the function of a marketing department that creates demand for your product or service. This is much more than lead generation, as it also includes the conversations and activities that occur prior to the lead being passed to sales.
Demand generation is the focus of targeted marketing programs to drive awareness and interest in a company’s products and/or services. It is the process of generating leads on Demand.
Unlike traditional programs that throw any lead over the wall to sales, demand generation involves:
What are the differences between lead generation and demand generation? Both are crucial processes to sales and marketing. Lead generation, however, focuses on the “top of the funnel,” driving awareness and leads through inbound and content marketing. Lead generation includes events, blogs, webinars, and other ways of providing content that draws in potential customers.
Demand generation, on the other hand, can be seen as more technical, focusing on lead nurturing, scoring, and measuring Return on Investment (ROI) for analysis.
At its simplest, demand generation can be defined as – surprise, surprise – the generation of demand for a business’ products or services. This is accomplished through a gradual, comprehensive, and holistic process that often spans entire marketing departments.
Demand generation, like conversion paths, can (and should) be thought of as a funnel. Demand generation begins by identifying audiences that are likely to be receptive to the marketing messaging of a brand, before shepherding prospects through a funnel that addresses every stage of the conversion process. However, unlike inbound marketing or traditional conversion paths (both of which play a part in the process), demand generation aligns marketing closely with sales to accomplish these goals.