Do you focus on generating demand for your products or services or follow in most of your competitors’ footsteps – prioritizing lead capture?
Let me take a wild guess: it’s the latter.
We’ve all been there. Everyone told us to generate leads and build relationships because that’s how you increase sales.
They’re not wrong, but get this: you must generate demand to get qualified leads.
That’s right – you can’t attract and convert leads (at least not consistently) if you don’t increase brand awareness and spark interest in your offerings.
This guide to B2B demand generation tactics will help you understand how to leverage this marketing strategy and get your business the attention it deserves. Let’s get started.
What Is B2B Demand Generation?
B2B demand generation is a marketing strategy focusing on educating buyers and spreading the word about a product or service. It helps you cast a wide net to capture potential customers and make them want what you sell.
What does that mean? Building brand awareness.
That’s the core focus of demand generation campaigns. They let your target audience know you exist and make them aware of a problem you can solve.
They inform potential buyers about your offerings and explain how you can help. They create a need for your product or service, pulling people into your sales funnel.
Demand generation happens at the epiphany stage at the top of the funnel, where people aren’t aware of what you sell.
It’s where your marketing team positions your brand, builds trust, establishes thought leadership, and stimulates interest.
Nurturing qualified leads to move them down the sales funnel before handing them off to the sales team happens afterward.
Demand Generation vs. Lead Generation
These marketing strategies have the same goal. Both aim to entice more people to purchase from you, but their purposes differ.
Demand generation is a marketing strategy for creating demand for your product – maybe even before it hits the market.
It’s a customer-centric strategy focusing on educating buyers, grabbing their attention, and sparking interest. It explains how your business can solve customers’ pain points, even if they don’t know they exist.
It’s the first step to turning them into leads.
B2B lead generation is a sales-centric strategy that turns demand and interest into desire and helps capture, nurture, and convert qualified leads into customers.
However, a sales-heavy approach doesn’t cut it anymore. Businesses seek value, not content that praises your brand, trying to close more sales.
That’s why effective lead generation focuses on communicating value, building relationships, and highlighting the benefits of purchasing from you.
Best Demand Generation Tactics for B2B Businesses
According to HubSpot, 47% of B2B marketers cite raising brand awareness as their primary goal. A third of them (33%) prioritize lead generation.
What does that tell you?
It shows that most marketers understand the value of generating demand first, not merely focusing on the one that exists. Creating a buzz around your brand is necessary to attract high-quality leads.
Let’s dive into the best B2B demand generation tactics.
1. Offer Something Valuable for Free
Offering something valuable without asking for money or contact information is the best way to increase product demand as a B2B company.
Think about it.
Top-level executives at your target companies don’t base decisions on emotions as many individual consumers do. They use logic, consult with teammates, and thoroughly consider your product before purchasing.
They need more than your blog posts and other free information to make an informed decision. Give them something valuable, no strings attached, and they’ll return for more.
That means no gated content that asks for personal information. Give away a premium tool like an ROI calculator or resources like ebooks, guides, templates, white papers, case studies, and industry reports. They’ll work like magnets.
I know what you’re thinking: giving away a premium tool or resource will cost you some money.
News flash: you’ll create demand. That’s the whole point.
The best part? People will know your value and be willing to pay for your exclusive deals. You’ll build trust and loyalty and increase conversions, sales, and revenue.
2. Invoke the Scarcity Principle
The scarcity principle is brilliant for creating demand for your product or service. It plays on people’s fear of missing out (FOMO) by creating urgency for a particular offer.
For instance, you can communicate you have only a handful of particular items left in stock due to increased demand. That will encourage people to hurry and snatch their favorite products until the supply runs out.
It’s an alluring deal that rarely anyone can resist. It’s similar to time-limited offers but is more effective because it indicates everyone is getting it.
Your target customers will rush to get their hands on your product or service to avoid missing out on an excellent deal. Consequently, its perceived value and demand will skyrocket.
3. Regularly Publish Informative Content
Informative, helpful, insightful content is the fundamental element of demand generation.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, most B2B marketers agree:
- 67% say content marketing generates demand;
- 72% say it educates their audience;
- 77% say it builds credibility and trust;
- 83% agree it creates brand awareness.
Your content should educate your target audience and provide solutions to their problems.
The key is to stand out with fresh, unique content that answers your potential customers’ burning questions and establishes thought leadership.
You can create blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, white papers, case studies, in-depth guides, industry reports, etc. You can repurpose existing pieces and convert FAQs into various content formats.
Here are the most effective content types for the top of the funnel:
Don’t forget guest blog posts – some of the best content marketing hacks for attracting high-quality leads.
Remember to tell a captivating story, even when tackling technical topics. Spreading the word about your business through storytelling will work wonders for your B2B organization.
4. Leverage Partner Marketing
Partner marketing is a strategic collaboration between companies that provides mutual benefit. Both promote each other’s products or services to help achieve goals while tapping into a new audience. It’s a win-win for both.
It’s an excellent strategy to get on new customers’ radars, raise brand awareness, and drive demand.
The key is to partner with established, reputable brands to get their success to rub off on you.
That doesn’t include your competitors – that would be counterintuitive. Work with brands selling similar products that complement yours. That way, everyone will benefit and grow.
5. Harness the Power of Social Media
I don’t need to tell you that social media channels are perfect for raising brand awareness and creating demand. You already know that.
For years, platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have been instrumental in B2C and B2B companies’ growth.
I won’t go into detail because you know you must share your content on social channels to attract qualified leads.
Spread the word, engage with followers, ask questions, and join conversations in the comments sections. Build relationships because personalized connections will leave a lasting impression.
6. Collaborate With Influencers
Collaborating with influencers is one of the B2B marketing best practices. People trust them and rely on their opinions and recommendations about products and services.
Influencers raise brand awareness, create demand, and inspire purchases. They share authentic content and personal experiences and build meaningful relationships.
According to TopRank Marketing, 86% of B2B companies report successful influencer marketing campaigns. Most (70%) say working with influencers has improved their brand awareness.
Find industry or niche experts, analysts, executives, and customers willing to promote your brand in this partnership. They can create social media posts, blog posts, infographics, case studies, videos, live streams, etc.
7. Host Webinars With Thought Leaders
According to Zippia, 73% of people attending a B2B webinar turn into qualified leads. On average, this content asset generates between 500–1,000 leads and has a conversion rate as high as 55%.
That’s why webinars are having a moment these days. They’re the best-performing B2B content assets for driving demand and leads, according to 58% of marketers who use them.
Webinars can supercharge interest in your product or service, help with brand positioning, and engage your target audience.
The best part is you can reuse them to drive engagement in the middle of the funnel and increase leads and sales.
Hosting them with industry experts who will share valuable insights is vital. Bringing some influencers on board may be challenging initially, but focus on impressing them and building meaningful relationships.
The connections you forge through webinars will take your demand generation campaigns to the next level.
8. Run Display Ads
Display ads are banner ads you see on most websites these days. They’re eye-catching visuals ideal for generating demand.
How are they different from search ads?
Besides containing attention-grabbing visuals instead of only text, they focus on a “push” approach. They don’t pull leads already searching for your product or service but build brand awareness using specific targeting parameters.
They’re excellent for attracting niche buyers and driving demand instead of focusing on immediate conversions and sales.
Don’t forget to use display ad retargeting. It will help you recapture lost leads – website visitors who clicked on your ads and left without converting.
Need Help Creating Demand Generation Strategies? The OneIMS Team Can Help!
OneIMS is your go-to B2B digital marketing partner for growing your business. We can help you generate demand for your product or service in a heartbeat and capture qualified leads that convert.
Check out our solutions to see how we can help.
In the meantime, read our previous blog to discover how to create the ultimate B2B marketing framework. That game plan will help you make data-driven decisions for increasing brand awareness, high-quality leads, and sales.
