Demand generation is the function of a marketing department that creates demand for your product or service. This is much more than lead generation, as it also includes the conversations and activities that occur prior to the lead being passed to sales.
Unlike traditional programs that throw any lead over the wall to sales, demand generation involves:
- Nurturing a steady crop of qualified leads that want to engage with sales.
- Aligning marketing with sales.
- Measuring and optimizing the results over time.
What are the differences between lead generation and demand generation? Both are crucial processes to sales and marketing. Lead generation, however, focuses on the “top of the funnel,” driving awareness and leads through inbound and content marketing. Lead generation includes events, blogs, webinars, and other ways of providing content that draws in potential customers.
Demand generation, on the other hand, can be seen as more technical, focusing on lead nurturing, scoring, and measuring Return on Investment (ROI) for analysis.