Demand generation: what exactly is it & what can you do with it?
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 10:05 am
Yet another 'buzzword' has entered the marketing world. LinkedIn posts about 'demandgen', short for 'demand generation', are flying around your ears. What stands out in all social posts and blogs: there is no consistency in the interpretation of the term, and in the comment sections people regularly start discussions about what it exactly means or does not mean*. Time to dive into the phenomenon: what is demand generation really and what should you, as a marketer, do with it for your IT organization?
Shifting focus
In order to understand where demandgen suddenly comes from, it might be good to refresh your knowledge about the origins of marketing. The concept of selling something is as old as the hills. At least, that's what we would say in Rotterdam. In the Middle Ages, the voice or writing was mainly used to sell a product or service on the market.
In the 21st century, marketing is still basically the email industry list optometry same, but we have more resources, tools and approaches for execution. The only disadvantage? The measurability of marketing efforts. There are now many ways to make marketing (as much as possible) measurable . A side effect of this is that many marketers have started to focus mainly on what is measurable in the short term. And in many cases, this involves leads, leads and even more leads.
The sometimes disproportionate focus on lead generation creates fatigue in the so-called leads themselves. Potentially ready-to-buy individuals are bombarded with sales pitches via email, telephone, LinkedIn, etc. You have probably experienced it yourself, feeling slightly stalked, just because you downloaded an interesting whitepaper. In the meantime, various experts (such as here and here ) agree: conducting marketing activities with only a focus on lead generation will no longer help your company grow. More is needed for that.
How then? You have to do something with your leads, right? * Demandgen enters the chat *. It would be the redeeming answer to the declining quality and quantity of leads. A search for more depth on the concept of 'demand generation' quickly leads to confusion: many different parties and marketers all use a different definition. What is it really?
Shifting focus
In order to understand where demandgen suddenly comes from, it might be good to refresh your knowledge about the origins of marketing. The concept of selling something is as old as the hills. At least, that's what we would say in Rotterdam. In the Middle Ages, the voice or writing was mainly used to sell a product or service on the market.
In the 21st century, marketing is still basically the email industry list optometry same, but we have more resources, tools and approaches for execution. The only disadvantage? The measurability of marketing efforts. There are now many ways to make marketing (as much as possible) measurable . A side effect of this is that many marketers have started to focus mainly on what is measurable in the short term. And in many cases, this involves leads, leads and even more leads.
The sometimes disproportionate focus on lead generation creates fatigue in the so-called leads themselves. Potentially ready-to-buy individuals are bombarded with sales pitches via email, telephone, LinkedIn, etc. You have probably experienced it yourself, feeling slightly stalked, just because you downloaded an interesting whitepaper. In the meantime, various experts (such as here and here ) agree: conducting marketing activities with only a focus on lead generation will no longer help your company grow. More is needed for that.
How then? You have to do something with your leads, right? * Demandgen enters the chat *. It would be the redeeming answer to the declining quality and quantity of leads. A search for more depth on the concept of 'demand generation' quickly leads to confusion: many different parties and marketers all use a different definition. What is it really?