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61% of marketers say lead generation is their top
challenge. But what if you’re focusing on the wrong strategy? Understand this –
lead generation is impossible without demand generation. Demand generation is
awareness, while lead generation is conversion. Let’s simplify it. Why would an
individual be interested in buying your offerings if they do not have a reason
that motivates them to make a purchase? No matter how much value your offerings
hold! The creation of that interest is demand generation and converting that
interest into a lead is lead generation.
So, what
is the confusion? Rather, why is the confusion? Many B2B teams inadvertently
blend these two, leading to misaligned efforts and missed opportunities. This
blog will help you understand the clear distinction between – demand generation
vs. lead generation, and how to exactly prioritize your strategy to drive
sustainable growth.
Demand
generation is a strategic marketing approach that creates awareness and
interest in your offerings (i.e., products and/or services) or in the problem
you solve. It closely relates to trust generation, where you position your
brand uniquely and distinctively. Herein, the target is always to reach as many
people as possible before they are actively seeking your offerings.
This
strategy focuses on the top of the sales funnel (TOFU). Typically, through
these primary techniques, you can channel demand generation successfully:
·
Content
Marketing: Creating
valuable and educational content through blogs, e-books, podcasts, etc.
·
SEO:
Optimizing content
for search engines (e.g., Google and Bing), making it discoverable by potential
prospects.
·
Social
Media Marketing: Building
social media communities to expand reach and enhance brand presence overall.
·
Thought
Leadership: Sharing
original insights and research interpretations to establish your brand as an
industry leader.
Example:
HubSpot's 'State of Marketing'
report is a free
and comprehensive resource that educates marketers, establishes HubSpot's
leadership in the industry, and indirectly attracts thousands of prospects into
their system each year. It prioritizes education first and conversion later.
·
Website
Traffic: Page
views, website visitors.
·
Social
Media Engagement: Likes,
comments, shares, follower growth.
·
Brand
Searches: Direct searches
for your brand keywords and/or company name.
·
Content
Consumption: Downloads,
saves.
Lead
generation, on the other hand, is a strategic marketing approach that directly
attracts potential customers or leads, capturing their contact information to
facilitate later conversion into full-paying customers. Herein, the target is
always to turn general awareness into specific and actionable leads for your
sales team (or as per your sales pipeline).
This
strategy primarily targets the middle-of-funnel (MOFU). Typically,
through these primary techniques, you can channel lead generation successfully:
·
PPC
Ads: Running
targeted pay-per-click campaigns that direct users to landing pages with lead
forms.
·
Gated
Content: Offering
high-value resources like templates, exclusive reports, or crucial solutions in
exchange for contact details.
·
Email
Marketing: Sending
a series of strategic emails once the prospect has been identified to walk them
through the buyer’s journey.
·
Direct
Engagement: Offering
demos, free trials, consultations, etc. that require contact information to
access.
Example:
Salesforce’s ‘Free CRM Guide’ is a targeted resource
specifically designed for prospects who are already aware of their CRM needs.
By requiring contact information for download, it serves as a direct lead
magnet, effectively converting interested individuals into qualified sales opportunities.
·
Cost
Per Lead (CPL): The
average expense associated with obtaining a single lead.
·
Conversion
Rate: The ratio of
visitors who successfully fill out a lead form or take the desired action.
·
Lead
Quality: The
proportion of leads deemed qualified (Marketing Qualified Leads or Sales
Qualified Leads) that advance within the sales process.
·
Pipeline
Contribution: The
revenue derived directly from leads generated through lead generation
activities.
Also
Read: Hire Lead Generator Virtual
Assistant for Your Business
Feature |
Demand
Generation |
Lead
Generation |
Primary Goal |
Educate & Inspire: Create widespread awareness,
build brand authority, and generate interest in the problem your
solution addresses (and your brand). |
Capture & Qualify: Identify specific individuals
who show interest, collect their contact information, and qualify them for
sales. |
Funnel Stage |
Top-of-Funnel (TOFU): Attracting a broad audience,
including those not yet actively looking for a solution. |
Middle-to-Bottom-of-Funnel
(MOFU/BOFU):
Engaging prospects who are already aware and considering solutions. |
Audience Focus |
Broad Market: Targets a wide audience, both
active and passive buyers, to expand overall market reach. |
Specific Prospects: Targets individuals who have
demonstrated a clear interest or intent to buy. |
Core Question |
"Are people aware of the
problem we solve, and do they trust us to solve it?" |
"Who is interested enough to
provide their contact information, and are they a good fit for our
product/service?" |
Content Type |
Ungated & Educational: Blogs, free webinars, podcasts,
infographics, educational videos, thought leadership articles. Focus on
providing value freely. |
Gated & Actionable: Ebooks, whitepapers, case
studies, product demos, free trials, detailed guides, exclusive workshops
(requires contact info). |
Typical CTAs |
"Learn More,"
"Read Article," "Watch Video," "Follow Us,"
"Subscribe." (Low commitment) |
"Download Now,"
"Sign Up," "Request Demo," "Get a Quote,"
"Start Free Trial." (High commitment, information exchange) |
Key Metrics |
Brand Mentions, Website Traffic
(unique visitors), Social Engagement, Organic Search Rankings, Impressions,
Time on Page. |
Lead Volume, Conversion Rates
(e.g., from visitor to lead), MQLs/SQLs, Cost Per Lead (CPL), Sales Pipeline
Value. |
Sales Impact |
Builds a larger, more receptive
audience for future sales efforts; reduces cold outreach resistance. |
Directly feeds the sales team
with qualified prospects, shortening sales cycles and driving immediate
revenue. |
Time Horizon |
Long-term: Focuses on sustained brand
building and market education for future growth. |
Short-term: Aims for quick conversions and
direct sales opportunities. |
Tech Focus |
SEO tools, Content Management
Systems (CMS), Social Media Management platforms, Analytics. |
CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot),
Marketing Automation Platforms (MAPs), Landing Page Builders, Email Marketing
Software. |
Choosing
the right strategy depends on your immediate goals.
Choose
demand generation if:
·
You're
launching a new product or entering a new market category.
·
Your
competitors currently dominate existing search rankings.
Choose
lead generation if:
·
You
have a sales team requiring immediate pipeline to meet quotas.
·
You
are running time-sensitive promotions or needing quick conversions.
To see the
best results, combine both strategically. The combined approach will allow you
to nurture new prospects throughout the entire marketing funnel, thereby
increasing the likelihood of conversions.
Example:
Gong effectively utilizes LinkedIn
ads to retarget individuals who have engaged with their blog content. This strategy leverages the
existing interest generated through demand generation to drive targeted lead
capture, significantly enhancing the quality of their leads.
Trying to
extract contact information from a cold audience that barely knows about your
brand or your offerings. Instead, focus on demand generation first. Let your
target audience know you first. Warm them up before making a push for a
conversion.
Working
only on the top-of-the-funnel and the bottom-of-the-funnel and ignoring the
middle-of-the-funnel, thereby missing the whole customer journey. Instead,
implement multi-touch attribution models. Track how initial demand generation
content (e.g., a blog post) influences later conversions, and based on that
prospect's reaction (e.g., the bounce rate, clicking on a desirable “learn
more” CTA, etc.), you can come up with a solid middle-of-the-funnel strategy.
Understanding
the distinct roles of demand generation and lead generation is crucial for
building a robust and predictable revenue engine. Demand generation focuses on
cultivating the market and establishing trust, while lead generation converts
that interest into actionable sales opportunities. By strategically integrating
both approaches, you can ensure a continuous flow of qualified prospects and
sustainable growth for your business.
Are you
ready to optimize your marketing efforts and achieve real results? At Brickwork, we provide top-notch virtual assistance services specializing in lead generation to
help you capture and qualify those essential prospects. Moreover, our dedicated
content marketing and SEO team is equipped to support you with the foundational
content aspects of your demand generation strategy, ensuring effective
awareness and trust-building. Partner
with us to master
both demand and lead generation and watch your sales pipeline flourish.