The goal of every advertising campaign is to generate leads which is ultimately a driver to generate sales. The term “Lead Gen” is commonly used to refer to activities that generate new leads for businesses. But a singular focus on lead generation will not lead to a sustainable boost in your business unless paired with demand generation efforts.
Let’s take an example from the sports and entertainment industry. If you’re looking for a sports event to attend with your family in the coming weeks, you may already have an idea or two in mind with teams nearby that you know of. Good lead generation marketing works to be present while you’re searching for sports tickets near you. This can be done using paid search, SEO optimization, or other lower funnel tactics, where you’re likely targeting audiences who already know about your brand or are looking for your product or service already. This is always a finite audience. With demand generation efforts, you’ll reach customers who are less likely to know about you already. Engaging with consumers who match your customer profile at all stages in the marketing funnel is key to sustainable growth, and top of funnel demand generation efforts are key to gaining new customers.
Demand Gen works to seed a specific destination across a much larger audience and to become top of mind when people are ready to purchase. If you see several ads over time advertising a minor league baseball team near you featuring family fun, that team is much for likely to play a role when you’re looking for a sporting event to attend with your family. The ads you saw were part of a brand awareness campaign, but they will make the Lead Gen tactics more effective when consumers start actively looking.Getting the right message to the right people to seed demand will ultimately build your brand awareness and boost your business.
Demand Gen can be neglected because it can take longer to reap the rewards and it can be harder to track and measure. In a world where budget dollars are tight, businesses sometimes neglect Demand Gen advertising because they can’t always see the impact it has on leads. The use of affordable, top of funnel advertising tactics, running continuously to generate ongoing demand in the background will have an impact on leads and amplify lead gen efforts over time. With affordable and easy awareness advertising methods like display advertising, businesses can keep their focus on lead gen but also reap the impact of ongoing Demand Gen.
