A B2B demand generation strategy is a marketing approach aimed at building brand awareness and nurturing relationships with prospects throughout the buyer's journey. It involves creating personalized and relevant content to engage potential customers and guide them toward making informed purchasing decisions.
Effective demand generation encompasses a variety of tactics:
To develop a successful demand generation plan:
Demand generation and lead generation are two distinct marketing approaches, each with its own set of goals and strategies. Demand generation focuses on building brand awareness and nurturing relationships with prospects throughout the buyer's journey, targeting a broader audience, including those not actively seeking a solution.
On the other hand, lead generation aims to convert interested prospects into tangible leads by collecting contact information and engaging potential customers through targeted follow-up campaigns.
To evaluate the success of your demand generation campaigns, focus on metrics that translate to commercial success, such as:
A sales call is a real-time conversation between a salesperson and a prospect, aiming to persuade them to purchase a product or service.
Adobe Analytics is a leading web analytics solution for gaining real-time insights into user activity across websites and mobile applications.
Cold calling is a sales technique where reps contact potential customers who have had no prior interaction with their company or product.
A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a secure, isolated section of a public cloud. It lets you provision your own logically isolated resources.
A firewall is a digital barrier that protects a network by monitoring and controlling traffic, blocking unauthorized access and malicious content.
A closed question is a type of query that elicits a simple, often one-word answer like 'yes' or 'no,' or a specific, factual response.
A marketing attribution model is a framework for assigning credit to the marketing touchpoints that lead a customer to convert.
An early adopter is a user who embraces a new product or technology before the majority, helping to validate and popularize the innovation.
Guided selling simplifies complex sales by giving reps step-by-step instructions and data-driven recommendations to close deals faster.
Learn about B2B data solutions, including unlocking the power of B2B data, & key components of effective B2B data solutions.
Data encryption translates data into another form, or code, so that only people with access to a secret key or password can read it.
Discount strategies are pricing tactics used to attract customers and boost sales by temporarily reducing the price of products or services.
CI/CD, or Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery, automates software builds, tests, and deployments for faster, more reliable releases.
A weighted sales pipeline forecasts revenue by assigning a closing probability to each deal, giving a more accurate picture of potential income.
Learn about buyer intent, including understanding buyer intent signals, strategies to capture buyer intent, & buyer intent vs. customer interest.
Sales workflows are a set of automated actions that streamline the sales process, helping teams engage leads consistently and close deals faster.
Marketo is a marketing automation platform used by B2B marketers to manage lead generation, nurturing, email marketing, and analytics.
A warm email is a message sent to a prospect with whom you have a pre-existing connection, like a mutual contact or a prior interaction.
Learn about B2B sales channels, including types of B2B sales channels, strategies for effective channel selection, & integrating technology in B2B sales.
A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is an action plan that outlines how a company will reach target customers and achieve a competitive advantage.
Buyer’s remorse is the sense of regret or anxiety that can arise after making a purchase, often questioning if it was the right decision.
A Value-Added Reseller (VAR) is a company that adds features or services to an existing product, then resells it as an integrated solution.
User Experience (UX) refers to a person's overall feelings and perceptions while interacting with a product, system, or service.
Outbound leads are potential customers a business proactively contacts through outreach like cold calls, emails, or social media.
Google Analytics is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic, offering insights into user behavior and marketing effectiveness.
Data-driven lead generation is the process of using data insights to identify, attract, and convert high-quality leads into customers.
Account Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of individuals from a target account who click on a link in an ad, email, or on a webpage.
Account management is the post-sales practice of building and nurturing long-term relationships with a company's most valuable clients.
Corporate identity is the visual and verbal persona of a company, encompassing its logo, color palette, communication style, and core values.
A value gap is the difference between the value a customer expects from a product and the actual value they receive, often leading to churn.
A Content Management System (CMS) is software for creating, managing, and modifying website content without needing specialized technical skills.
A trusted advisor is an expert who builds a deep client relationship by consistently prioritizing their best interests over any single transaction.
A draw on commission is an advance payment a salesperson receives against future earnings, which is later repaid from earned commissions.
The FAB technique is a sales framework connecting product features to advantages and then to the specific benefits for the customer.
Cost Per Impression (CPI) is the price an advertiser pays for each time their ad is displayed to a user, irrespective of clicks.
A landing page is a standalone web page created for a marketing campaign. It’s where a visitor “lands” after clicking an ad or email link.
Docker is a tool that packages applications and their dependencies into isolated environments called containers for easy deployment and scaling.
Clustering is the technique of grouping similar items. In sales, it means segmenting leads by shared traits to better personalize outreach.
Data enrichment is the process of enhancing raw data by adding missing information from other sources, making it more complete and actionable.
A Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is the page displayed by a search engine after a user enters a query, listing results ranked by relevance.
Intent-based leads are potential customers whose online actions—like searches or content engagement—signal a clear interest in buying a solution.
Target Account Selling is a focused sales strategy where teams identify and pursue a specific list of high-value accounts.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated phone system that uses voice and keypad inputs to interact with callers and route their calls.
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A custom API integration is a bespoke connection between software, enabling them to communicate and share data to meet unique business requirements.
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Process automation uses technology to execute recurring tasks or processes, replacing manual effort to cut costs and boost efficiency.
Revenue Operations KPIs are quantifiable metrics that track the performance, efficiency, and health of a company's revenue-generating engine.
A sales bundle groups multiple products or services into a single offering, often at a discounted price to provide greater value to customers.
Latency is the delay between a user's action and a system's response. It's the time it takes for a data packet to travel to its destination.
A Single Page Application (SPA) is a web app that interacts with the user by dynamically rewriting the current page rather than loading new pages.
Multi-touch attribution is a marketing analytics method that credits multiple touchpoints on the customer journey for a conversion.
A sales process is a structured set of steps that a sales team follows to move a prospect from an initial lead to a closed customer.
Customer buying signals are the actions, behaviors, or statements a prospect makes that indicate they are moving towards a purchase decision.
Churn, also known as customer attrition, is the rate at which customers stop doing business with a company over a given period.
A conversion path is the journey a visitor takes to complete a desired goal, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or subscribing.
Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) is the portion of the market you can realistically capture with your current resources, sales, and marketing.
MEDDICC is a sales qualification framework for complex B2B deals. It helps reps identify and validate key aspects of an opportunity to close more effectively.
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is technology that controls access to copyrighted digital content, restricting its use, modification, and distribution.
Data appending is the process of adding new data fields to your existing database records to enrich and complete your information.
Funnel analysis is a method for understanding the steps users take to complete a goal, revealing where they drop off in the conversion process.
Account-Based Analytics measures engagement and impact across target accounts, not just individual leads, to guide B2B sales and marketing efforts.
De-duping, or data deduplication, is the process of eliminating duplicate copies of data within a dataset to improve accuracy and save space.
Scrum is an agile framework that helps teams structure and manage their work through a set of values, principles, and practices.
An Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of rules that lets different software applications talk to each other and share information.
Website visitor tracking collects and analyzes data on user behavior to understand their journey and improve the overall user experience.
Sales territory planning is the process of dividing customers into geographic areas to be assigned to specific sales reps or teams.
Functional testing verifies that software performs its intended functions as specified in the requirements, ensuring it works as users expect.
A sales dashboard is a visual tool that centralizes and displays key sales data, metrics, and KPIs to help teams track performance and goals.
Analytical CRM analyzes customer data to uncover actionable insights, helping businesses make smarter decisions and improve customer interactions.
Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy for managing all of a company's relationships and interactions with its customers.
Customer segmentation is dividing customers into groups based on shared traits. This allows for more targeted and effective marketing efforts.
LPI, or Lead Per Inquiry, is a key metric that measures how many leads are generated from each inquiry in a marketing campaign.
Copyright compliance is adhering to laws that protect creative works. It involves legally using content by obtaining permission or licenses.
Learn about B2B, including what is it, its key elements, the benefits of B2B partnerships, the differences between B2B and B2C, and strategies for effective marketing.
Marketing automation uses software to automate repetitive marketing tasks, such as email marketing, social media posting, and ad campaigns.
Gamification applies game mechanics like points, badges, and leaderboards to non-game activities to boost engagement and motivate users.
Intent leads are prospects who show buying signals through their online actions, indicating they're actively looking to make a purchase.
Click-through rate (CTR) is a metric that measures the percentage of people who click on a specific link, ad, or call-to-action.
Deal closing is the final step in a sales cycle. It's when a prospect signs a contract and officially converts into a paying customer.
Personalization is the practice of using data to tailor products, services, or content to an individual's specific needs and preferences.
Incident response is an organization's systematic approach to managing and mitigating the aftermath of a security breach or cyberattack.
Average Customer Life is the average time someone remains a customer. It's a key metric for predicting revenue and measuring customer loyalty.
The Dark Funnel describes customer buying activities that are untrackable by companies, such as private chats and word-of-mouth referrals.
A version control system (VCS) tracks changes to files over time, allowing you to recall specific versions and collaborate without conflicts.
A Salesforce Administrator is a certified professional who manages and customizes the Salesforce platform to meet a company's specific business needs.
Lead generation software helps businesses automate finding and capturing potential customers' contact information to build sales pipelines.
Competitive analysis means identifying your rivals and assessing their strategies to pinpoint your own business's strengths and weaknesses.
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the predictable, recurring income a business expects to receive each month from all active subscriptions.
On-Target Earnings (OTE) is a salesperson's total potential pay, combining base salary and commission for hitting their sales quota.
The Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework focuses on understanding customer needs by identifying the specific 'job' they are trying to accomplish.
Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) is a business model where companies sell products directly to customers, bypassing traditional retail middlemen.
User testing involves observing real users interact with a product to identify usability issues and improve the overall user experience.
Lead routing is the automated process of distributing incoming leads to the right sales reps based on predefined criteria.
Quality Assurance (QA) is the systematic process of ensuring a product or service meets specified quality standards from development to delivery.
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation.
HubSpot is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform with tools for marketing, sales, and service, all aimed at helping businesses grow.
A positioning statement is a concise description of your target market and how your product or service uniquely fills their needs.
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract defining the level of service between a provider and a client, including metrics and penalties.
A Marketing Qualified Account (MQA) is a target company that has shown significant engagement, indicating it's ready for the sales team to pursue.