There’s a belief in the b2b market that demand generation is a challenging marketing initiative or activity and it involves complex strategies as against lead generation. This is certainly not true. Such myths and more myths are keeping marketers away from utilizing the true potential of demand generation. Many are building strategies believing these myths. Considering the huge potential of demand generation, it’s necessary to debunk these myths in order to optimize the power of demand gen.
This blog talks about some of the myths surrounding demand gen and how this knowledge can help b2b marketers create better business outcomes.
Demand generation involves a single channel approach-
This is a big myth and marketers often think that if they adopt demand gen they will have to stick to only one single channel. However, the actual implementation of demand gen can and should involve a multi-channel approach. You need not adopt only ABM or only email marketing or paid ads alone. You can always use these different channels in combination for optimizing your demand gen efforts.
The very objective of a solid demand gen strategy is to have a very comprehensive approach and implementation of activities surrounding demand gen. If you focus on only one channel it can defeat the whole objective. It can also defeat the purpose of having a dynamic marketing initiative for better results.
Demand gen demands a combination of marketing initiatives for better lead conversion. You simply won’t be able to realize the true potential of demand gen if you decide that all the marketing activities will be conducted in silos. Hence the myth that demand generation involves a single channel approach needs to be debunked for better results.
Demand generation is an extension of lead generation-
This is one of the biggest myths amid marketers. Sure demand generation is all about creating brand awareness in order to create more opportunities, but it functions independently even though its ultimate aim is to help attract more leads that have the potential to convert easily.
Demand generation can be a bit complex but it can develop and help nurture better relationships with the client. On the other hand, lead generation is about identifying the target audience and then contacting the right leads, which is a more simpler and direct approach.
Demand gen takes a more educative or insightful approach towards leads and thus has more depth to it. This is also the reason why demand gen can help in strengthening rapport and relationships with clients and create a more loyal customer base.
There’s another myth that says, demand gen doesn’t need special skills. This myth also needs to be debunked, because it can impact your entire process of hiring resources. Demand gen is an independent marketing activity that impacts the ROI. It is not just about leads it is also about fostering relationships. This proves that b2b organizations need to either hire specialized and skilled resources or they need to partner with demand gen experts.
Conclusion-
There will be innumerable myths and misconstrued beliefs about demand gen. But considering its high potential and value in impacting sales and ROI of any business, marketers must learn more, have proper knowledge about demand and adopt the best practices of demand generation while debunking its myths.