Why demand generation strategies are critical in 2021
As you're overtly aware, the marketing environment is constantly shifting and changing in response to the breakneck speed of commercial and cultural evolution. The way we all live has changed considerably in response to events like COVID-19, which have seen us spend a lot more time indoors and interacting in the digital space. For businesses, this creates a challenge, particularly when it comes to chasing leads and failing to make much needed conversions.
In response, more companies are pursuing a demand generation strategy, to build enthusiasm for a brand and its products, building a briefer list of qualified leads that are more likely to be converted into customers. If you’ve ever wondered about demand generation strategies or and why they’re important, you’re about to get a brief insight into why they’re more relevant than ever.
What is a Demand Generation Strategy?
A demand generation strategy is simply a strategy for B2B companies that focuses on developing awareness and interest in a brand’s product offerings, developing a relationship with customers at each step of the customer journey. As opposed to a lead generation strategy, a demand generation strategy prioritizes qualified leads and increases the likelihood of pushing prospects towards making a purchase by generating marketing “buzz”.
What Does a Demand Generation Strategy Provide Your Business?
Outside of creating more qualified leads, demand generation strategies assist businesses in maintaining relevancy, particularly in a brand’s existing SEO strategy and in the digital marketplace.
How Can My Business Best Pursue a Demand Generation Strategy?
To take advantage of consumers spending more time online, businesses can use the following 5 strategies to increase the attractiveness of their brand and draw highly qualified leads towards their organisation.
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Maximizing the use of user data
Truly understanding your audience is the key to an effective demand marketing strategy. Without maximizing the use of your user database, genuinely capturing your consumers attention is difficult, timely and costly while lacking a methodical approach to demand generation.
If your business is successful in identifying your customers’ profiles and personas, your marketing strategy can effectively target your ideal customers. This will in turn improve your sales targets and transform your marketing strategy into a profit-boosting machine.
Consumers must be at the centre of the brand’s activities, to ensure the company is maintaining its relevancy within the market and for its consumer base.
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Producing High-Quality Content to Build Legitimacy
Building your brand-to-customer relationship is everything. Thus, every action of the business must relate back to strengthening your legitimacy as a brand. Which is why it is important that the quality content that is produced by your business is always in line with the overarching goals of your company.
High-quality content needs to compel your audience to your brand, while simultaneously educating them and solving problems for them. A lot of thought and effort goes into creating content that will have a lasting impact on your consumers. However, a good amount of time must be spent on curating high quality content to ensure that all information, including visual content, company offers, customer reviews and more is actually strengthening your company’s vision, mission, and brand.
High-quality video content, in particular, is important, with 9 out of 10 consumers demanding more video content and video content consumption increasing amongst 96% of users, according to wyzowl’s state of video marketing report for 2021.
Producing valuable content that is tailored towards your business’ niche customers will enhance your inbound marketing capabilities. Therefore, creating a “buzz” through riveting content which will ultimately drive quality leads and consumers to your brand.
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Use Account-Based Marketing Tactics
If 2021 proved anything, it’s that account-based marketing tactics can seriously deliver. A recent survey conducted by ITSMA reported that 87% of marketers found ABM more effective than any other form of marketing strategy in terms of ROI.
Analysing the reach of your channels and targeting the right audience on the most optimal distribution channels is crucial. Knowing the 5 W’s; who, what, when, where, why and how’s to connect with your audience is vital to creating long-term clients and quality leads to your company.
Account-based marketing tactics must understand constantly shifting consumer preferences and rapidly evolving technologies, as this will save time and costs for companies in maximising their user reach and engagement. Additionally, identifying the most productive distribution channel and targeting the right consumers will accelerate your ROI levels and enhance demand and customer retention rates.
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Lead Scoring
Using data to identify and analyse a qualified lead for their future engagement with the business can be undertaken with the lead scoring model. This model is efficient and truly valuable when it is implemented properly for use.
The process of lead scoring will help you measure the prospects of your business and will determine the value of each criteria of high-quality leads that needs to be addressed or targeted by your business.
This process provides the business with a list of the best-qualified leads and quantifies a final score for each prospect. As a result, this strategy provides a cost-effective and simple model accessible to any business which will concurrently leverage demand generation strategies.
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Cement Authority Through Event Marketing
Successfully planning and executing event marketing is quite critical in our current times. Evidently, marketers highly favour this strategy, as event marketing can build brand awareness and promote the brand’s product and services with direct engagement and user participation.
Event marketing can be labelled as the single most effective channel to build brand loyalty and shape the organisation in a positive light to the public. Hence, more companies are pursuing event marketing to develop memorable events for their consumers. Demand generation must ensure that the company is thriving in their brand-to-customer relationship and facilitating a space for more active leads to join.
Regularly Review Your Process
Utilizing a demand generation strategy doesn’t just improve inbound marketing and build legitimacy for your brand but makes sure your brand is attracting the right customers and building relationships with them across every stage of the customer journey.
Never seize testing and analyzing your demand generation strategy, as it is an essential stepping-stone for any business to track and leverage your marketing tactic and its effectiveness in boosting long term sales.
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