A vast majority of Tech and SaaS B2B startups have little to no experience in marketing. Especially in the past several years, B2B marketing has invented many new strategies, making it even harder to keep up. Two such approaches are demand generation and lead generation.
Even though the two terms are commonly confused, there is a definite difference between lead and demand generation. But what makes one different from the other?
What’s Demand Generation?
Demand generation is based on campaigns to create interest and demand for your product or service. Demand generation aims to increase awareness and excitement about your product or service and entice people to buy from you.
Besides creating buzz around your product, demand generation expands your audience, aligns your marketing and sales team, and drives traffic to transform interest into action.
What’s Lead Generation?
Lead generation is based on marketing campaigns that aim to collect information about potential customers and turn them into leads.
Lead generation focuses on the leads that are ready to become customers. Its center of attention is the customers that have shown enough interest in your product to exchange their personal information and learn more.
Should You Implement Demand Generation or Lead Generation?
Demand generation and lead generation rely on brand awareness and use similar methods, such as content creation, which is why they are often confused.
If you’re wondering whether to prioritize demand or lead generation, we’re here to help guide you along the way. To get the most out of your marketing strategy, you’ll need to get the hang of both demand and lead generation.
Demand generation will make people aware of your brand, but you still need to get them to the stage where they’ll purchase your product or service. This is where lead generation comes to the rescue.
Lead generation will take the people interested in your product or service and move them through the stages of consideration and decision.
Imagine what a lead generation strategy will look like without a demand generation element. You will create a landing page with gated content or place conversion opportunities around your site. But who will come to your site and become a lead if you don’t implement demand generation?
The same is true in the opposite situation, where you take the demand generation approach and leave out lead generation. If you don’t focus on conversions, all of the traffic in the world that comes to your website won’t matter.
When you put together demand generation and lead generation strategies in place, your tech startup can turn leads into customers.
Final Thoughts
The choice doesn’t come down to either lead or demand generation. Successful demand generation will greatly determine the lead generation.
Demand generation creates awareness around your brand and products, while lead generation captures that interest. This results in high-quality leads that have a bigger chance of purchasing.
Once you understand the difference between lead and demand generation, you can create successful campaigns supporting your business goals.
Want to learn more about demand generation? Go to our blog and find some insightful tips to help your business grow!
