If I had been to ask 10 totally different B2B entrepreneurs what “demand technology” means, I’d get 10 totally different solutions.
Sadly, there are plenty of misconceptions about demand technology in B2B advertising, however most would agree that it’s an important a part of your advertising technique.
On this information, I’ll clear up the confusion. I’ll provide you with an up to date definition of demand technology, together with the parts of a profitable demand technology technique. And eventually, you’ll be taught why demand technology isn’t the identical as lead technology.
Desk of Contents
What’s demand technology?
Demand generation programs can help your organization reach new markets, promote new product features, build consumer buzz, generate PR, and re-engage existing customers. This includes things like ambassador programs, influencer partnerships, educational content campaigns, interactive webinars, and more.
Essentially, demand generation is a long-term, education-focused marketing strategy that prioritizes reaching and engaging “out of market” buyers.
The ultimate goal of B2B demand generation is remaining top of mind while your potential customers are not in a buying cycle — so that whenever the need arises, your product or service is immediately considered for purchase.
I’ve found what makes demand generation a distinct concept from other customer acquisition tactics is a commitment to long-term customer relationships and a strategic mindset.
Demand Generation Examples
1. HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing Strategy
HubSpot pioneered inbound marketing as a demand generation strategy by creating high-value educational content (blog posts, guides, webinars, and free tools) that nurtures potential customers long before they’re ready to buy. I’m biased, of course, as a writer for HubSpot, but I do believe there is a lot that we can learn from this strategy.
HubSpot offers free tools like a CRM and Website Grader, which introduce users to our ecosystem. These folks can then keep HubSpot top-of-mind when they need a paid solution. My favorite tool recently has been the AI Search Grader.
This technique builds belief and authority over time moderately than pushing for fast conversions, making it a textbook instance of long-term demand creation.
I additionally love when a product presents me real worth upfront with out pushing a product or sale instantly in my face.
2. Drift’s Conversational Advertising and marketing Method
Drift disrupted conventional B2B advertising by shifting the main target from lead seize types to real-time conversations by way of AI-powered chatbots and messaging.
As an alternative of gating content material, Drift prioritized making it simpler for potential clients to get solutions rapidly, decreasing friction within the purchaser journey.
I actually admire their strategy to thought management content material, together with books like Conversational Advertising and marketing, which positioned them because the go-to model for real-time B2B buyer engagement.
Drift’s strategy aligns with fashionable consumers preferring on-demand, interactive experiences moderately than filling out types and ready for follow-ups.
3. Gong’s Information-Pushed Demand Era
Gong, a income intelligence platform, has constructed its demand technology technique round unique analysis and information insights, typically utilizing proprietary gross sales analytics to create compelling, shareable content material.
They publish data-backed insights on LinkedIn, in newsletters, and on their weblog, offering invaluable info that naturally attracts their audience.
I’m a sucker for brand new information or industry-insider info, so I believe their State of Revenue Growth is the right instance of how you need to use proprietary analysis to function demand gen on your product.
I believe Gong’s demand technology success lies in leveraging information to teach and create authority — a successful components for credibility and engagement.
4. Notion’s Neighborhood-Led Development
Notion, a productiveness and workspace software, focuses on community-driven demand technology by fostering an engaged person base that creates and shares templates, tutorials, and finest practices.
They encourage user-generated content material via Notion Ambassadors and Licensed Consultants, who promote the software organically.
Their freemium mannequin permits people to get hooked on Notion earlier than upgrading to a paid plan, creating pure demand amongst groups and companies. I can see firsthand how efficient this mannequin could be. Most every part I learn about Notion is thru friends who use it religiously and confer with it to me. Such an natural suggestions engine actually can’t be beat.
By prioritizing word-of-mouth and community-driven development, Notion fuels bottom-up adoption — the place people introduce the software to their workplaces.
Why is demand technology totally different from lead technology?
Demand technology advertising is about educating your viewers with no expectation in return. In the meantime, lead technology is optimized for capturing contact info — however prematurely pushes non-solution in search of individuals to gross sales automation workflows, which is extremely ineffective.
Why are most lead technology methods unsuccessful?
The truth is that conventional lead technology is riddled with inefficiencies, outdated techniques, and a elementary misunderstanding of at the moment’s B2B consumers.
Let’s discover six causes most lead technology methods could be unsuccessful.
- Misaligned to the modern-day purchaser’s journey. Gartner analysis reveals that B2B consumers solely spend 17% of their time speaking to gross sales — but most lead technology efforts are geared towards ushering prospects right into a gross sales dialog. Based on Digital Zone, a multi-channel strategy is extra important, given that the majority B2B consumers require at the least 3-10 interactions earlier than critically contemplating a model.
- Too many uninterested leads can overwhelm gross sales groups. Many advertising groups are so centered on driving excessive lead volumes that they find yourself handing off unqualified prospects to gross sales. In consequence, gross sales groups are overwhelmed with leads that aren’t prepared to purchase, which not solely hurts morale but additionally results in burnout. The repetitive cycle of chasing low-intent leads causes frustration and inefficiency, finally harming the corporate’s capability to shut significant offers.
- Creates a hostile setting between gross sales & advertising. The place the traditional battle of “advertising is sending us rubbish leads” and “sales can’t close deals” leads to super inefficiency.
- Damages model notion amongst research-stage consumers. These consumers might finally request a demo when they’re motivated and able to communicate to gross sales. B2B consumers within the analysis stage don’t need to be rushed into a call. In the event that they obtain a whitepaper and are instantly bombarded with gross sales calls, it creates a destructive model expertise.
- Gating content material generates top-of-the-funnel leads. Gating content material — like whitepapers, webinars, and case research — is a normal lead technology tactic. However simply because somebody downloads a report doesn’t imply they’re prepared to purchase. As an alternative of gating every part, I like to recommend utilizing a strategic mixture of free and gated content material, guaranteeing they supply worth earlier than asking for an electronic mail deal with.
- Over-reliance on lead scoring and lead nurturing. With this technique, advertising groups are inserting a guess on their capability to make use of behavioral information and intent signals to foretell the fitting gross sales triggers. With out deeper engagement alerts — akin to a number of high-intent actions (e.g., visiting pricing pages, evaluating rivals, or requesting demos) — lead scoring could be deceptive, leading to wasted efforts on leads that may by no means convert.
For those who’ve been battling lead technology, attempt HubSpot’s lead generation tool. Constructed-in analytics and reporting then make it straightforward to be taught which pages, presents, advertisements, and site visitors sources are driving probably the most conversions.
Gated Content material: Unhealthy Practices vs. Good Practices
Is gated content material an appropriate lead technology software for demand technology?
Let’s begin by wanting on the greatest drawbacks of gated content:
- Lack of page views and traffic.
- No SEO benefit or boost.
- The form deters people from downloading content.
- No brand visibility.
But if you’re going to march on with gated content, it should be done for ABM warm-up and never direct response gross sales follow-up.
Gated content material — used accurately — can supply the next advantages:
- Capturing lead contact info and rising your electronic mail listing.
- Customized lead nurturing based mostly on the content material every lead downloaded.
- E-mail listing segmentation.
- Gives analytics and insights into clients.
- You possibly can supply additional free content material, invites to webinars, and entry to your gross sales workforce when the leads are prepared.
The Function of Inbound Advertising and marketing in B2B Demand Era
Inbound marketing is a key part of any high-performing demand technology marketing campaign. Nevertheless, that is not about content material calendars or the AIDA framework.
As an alternative, it’s about alignment with gross sales to correctly reply to a purchaser’s intent to buy (declared intent), whereas orchestrating and facilitating the specified buying expertise.
Right this moment, with inbound advertising, you’re both capturing demand or creating demand.
Let’s discover what meaning.
Demand Capturing: Intent Channels and Content material Examples
Capturing demand means responding to and fulfilling present buyer wants or needs. I discover it finest to indicate up the place your audience is already wanting. Listed here are some sources you’ll be able to leverage to make your providing simpler to search out:
- Demand Seize. High E-mail Advertising and marketing Providers, Best ETL Tools, Identity Protection Companies, ERP Integration Tools.
- Verticalized Demand Seize. CRM for Actual Property, SEO for Startups, QA Metrics for Software Testing, VoIP for Enterprise.
- web optimization. Backside-of-funnel demand technology technique — this may be summarized as content material advertising that creates blogs and touchdown pages for purchase-intent key phrases.
- PPC. Bidding on industrial intent key phrases to draw your audience whereas they’re solution-narrowing.
- Conversion fee optimization (CRO). A follow by which entrepreneurs run testing packages to extend conversion charges in opposition to high-intent web site site visitors.
- Overview Web sites. G2, TrustRadius, and Gartner. Anyplace your purchaser personas go to learn in-depth peer opinions and scores of your model, merchandise, and providers.
- Associates & Aggregators. PCMag, US Information, Enterprise.com, TechRadar, and so forth.
- Intent Information Suppliers. Bombora, 6Sense, DemandBase, and so forth.
Demand Creation: Schooling Channels and Content material Varieties
Creating demand means producing curiosity and need on your providing earlier than clients are actively looking out. I like to consider this as “smooth” advertising — exhibiting up in your viewers’s house to introduce them to your model and merchandise. Listed here are some methods you are able to do that:
- Social Media Platforms. LinkedIn, X, TikTok.
- Influencer Advertising and marketing. Model consciousness or product launch campaigns with related influencers in your area of interest.
- E-mail Advertising and marketing. Newsletters, content material promo, nurture sequences, and occasion invitations.
- On-line Communities. The Hustle, Sales Hacker, Demand Curve.
- Offline Media. Junk mail, NYC subway advertisements.
- Offsite Channels. Visitor posts, press, and thought management.
- Audio Channels. Podcasts, interviews, radio promoting.
- Video. YouTube, LinkedIn, Vimeo, Wistia, Loom.
- Occasions. Webinars, stay hangouts, digital conferences.
- Conferences. INBOUND, SaaStr, Dreamforce, amongst others.
- Boards. Reddit, Quora, Slack, Discord.
The Function of Gross sales in B2B Demand Era
Rewind to 5 years in the past and ask anybody about demand technology — they’d let you know it was entrepreneurs disguised as salespeople working lead technology techniques by way of advertising automation.
And that’s as a result of advertising was a service group to gross sales, till B2B executives realized that advertising ought to be a strategic associate — not an order-taker.
Right this moment, outbound-focused demand technology isn’t about high-volume chilly outreach with automated follow-up sequences. As an alternative, it’s about ABM (account-based marketing), the inverted marketing funnel.
I find the most successful companies recognize that sales and marketing must work together to educate, engage, and build relationships with potential buyers long before a purchase decision is made.
As an alternative of a top-down inbound advertising strategy, ABM is a bottom-up advertising technique that collaborates with gross sales to interact with high-quality leads and goal accounts throughout advanced B2B gross sales cycles.
Income groups have discovered that full-funnel advertising with a hybrid mixture of inbound, outbound, and lifecycle advertising is the fitting stability for a high-performing demand technology program.
Metrics and KPIs for Measuring Success
Your demand technology advertising efforts ought to be guided by a north star: lead quality.
In addition to understanding key SaaS metrics, I’ve gathered some important questions to ask:
- Which channels are driving highly qualified leads?
- Which lead types most often convert into a qualified sales pipeline?
- What percentage of our opportunities convert into paying customers?
- What percentage of our paying customers stick around long enough to become profitable?
- Which marketing channels are driving opportunities with the best LTV?
- How do we generate more qualified opportunities from the best channels?
- How do we champion full-funnel pipeline visibility?
- How do we hold sales accountable for working the leads properly?
- How can we develop an effective feedback loop between marketing & sales?
Leading Indicators: Example Metrics
- Brand search volume.
- Your brand vs. competitor brand search volume.
- Organic traffic to high-intent website pages.
- Direct traffic (people type your website URL into the browser).
- Entrances and engagement on your feature/solutions pages.
- Referral traffic from other relevant websites and social platforms.
Lagging Indicators: Example Metrics
- Assisted conversions: pages consumed “on the path” to becoming a conversion.
- Website traffic to conversion rate (declared intent).
- Qualified demo to sales opportunity rate.
- Proposal sent to closed/won rate.
- Average deal size.
- Sales pipeline velocity.
- Cost per acquisition (CPA).
- Customer lifetime value (CLV).
Declared Intent vs. Assumed Intent
Digital marketing has evolved away from direct response, lead generation focused marketing campaigns to a more holistic approach that covers brand awareness, demand nurturing, and demand capturing across the entire sales funnel.
With this in mind, I think it’s worthwhile to think about the CTA buttons on your website — and what constitutes declared intent versus assumed intent.
Run a “declared intent audit” to test if assumed intent leads are being handled as declared intent. If sure, that’s a transparent misalignment of gross sales expertise and purchaser expectations.
I believe that is the decisive check which confirms in case your advertising workforce actually understands the client journey — a essential part of any demand technology program.
The place to Begin With Your Demand Era Technique
When you’re acquainted together with your consumers’ wants and might anticipate advertising traits, you’ll be able to gas your advertising packages with enhanced ranges of personalization.
To start together with your demand gen technique, get to know your clients and conduct qualitative analysis via person suggestions and conversations. For those who’re struggling to grasp your prospects’ wants, choose up the cellphone and ask.
Then, from there, if you’re looking for a place to start, I’d recommend marketing automation software. It may possibly show you how to run A/B assessments, select the fitting content material, and customise timing for every of your advertising campaigns and buyer segments.
Editor’s word: This submit was initially printed in January 2014 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
