In principle, Demand Generation pursues three goals:
- Build brand awareness
- Conducting a dialog with the target customer (keeping him “inline”) and thus learning more about him
- Indirectly create concrete demand
Does Demand Generation only target leads?
No. Demand can be created using freely available content. For example, on LinkedIn or on a corporate blog. Advertising can also help. However, the sooner you can turn potential customers into leads, the better. Because demand generation works even better with push communication (“lead nurturing”).
Why is there a lack of concrete demand?
People and organizations have pain points galore. Many are and remain weak. Some, however, are continually getting stronger. In wise foresight, affected people google sporadically and successively work their way into the affected topic. At this point, there is not yet a concrete need, but merely interest.
In practice, it is primarily these three forces that counteract concrete demand.
- Low need (subjectively perceived lack)
- Too little desire to eliminate a shortage (motives and expectations)
- Low purchasing power
Demand Generation focuses on precisely these forces:
- Building a trusting relationship between the brand and the customer (“brand awareness”) in order to learn more about the customer.
- Explaining how big the pain really is (often bigger than perceived)
- Addressing individual buying motives (return on investment, security, relief, sustainability …)