As a marketing professional, you may have heard the phrase “demand generation.” Demand generation is the data-driven process you undertake to make your brand and products appealing.
You do this by engaging in calculated techniques that create interest and excitement about your products among your existing customers while creating new leads. This work may seem to be the same thing as inbound marketing. The difference is that demand generation focuses on revenue as the end goal.
Demand generation can occur at every touchpoint in the customer journey. Given this scope, a demand generation initiative should be divided into three distinct phases. These are:
- Brand awareness
- Digital marketing
- Customer retention
A successful demand generation strategy will touch on each of these fundamental elements.
Demand Generation in the Brand Awareness Stage
Before you can create or maintain demand for your products or services, you have to make people aware of your brand. “Brand awareness” refers to the ease with which people can recognize and remember your company.
Techniques for Developing Brand Awareness
These techniques will help you create more awareness about your company:
Establish a Strong Brand Identity
The most recognizable brands work to communicate a strong identity. They are associated with clear values, a fleshed-out brand persona, and consistent visual and auditory assets like striking logos and jingles.
Create a Strong Social Media Presence
Social media is an easy-to-use, cost-effective platform for letting others know about your brand. The content you share on social media will be associated with your brand over time.
Build Authority
Brand awareness will only lead to demand if it’s combined with trust and respect. These feelings are the result of sharing expertise with your target audience. Authority can be built by blogging, offering responsive customer support, and participating in industry forums.
Build an Effective PR Strategy
PR involves ensuring that the recognition your brand receives is positive. It requires tailoring announcements about new products. PR also involves responding promptly and professionally if there is ever a problem. That kind of reputation management is imperative. Doing the right thing instead of the cheap thing is valuable over time.
Demand Generation and Digital Marketing
Demand generation describes the outcome. It’s about keeping people excited, engaged, and wanting your products. Digital marketing is the process of making that happen by using various marketing methods across online channels.
Digital Marketing Techniques
These digital marketing techniques will allow you to maintain interest and enthusiasm for your products and services:
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization sets a solid foundation for digital marketing. It ensures you understand how people are searching for your products and services. This insight includes the keywords they are using and the intent behind their searches. Learning how to boost your search ranking better informs your product.
Paid Advertising
When it’s targeted correctly, paid advertising can give your demand generation efforts a head start. This approach ensures that the right people see your products at the right stage of the customer journey.
Social Media Marketing and Blogging
Blogs and social media posts are ideal mediums for keeping your brand and products relevant to both current and prospective customers. These platforms give people an opportunity to engage with your brand, allow you to make important announcements, and help you develop thought leadership.
Conversational Marketing
Conversational marketing allows brands to engage with customers in an even more personalized way. This interaction happens when people communicate with your brand using a chatbot on your website or online store.
Modern conversational marketing also takes place through messenger apps. Brands can use conversational marketing to answer questions, curate product recommendations, and send out personalized offers.
Demand Generation and Customer Retention
Customer acquisition is an important part of demand generation. However, the only way to achieve your growth goals is to retain your existing customers. That means creating an excellent customer experience up to and through the sale. Next, it is crucial to focus on service and support once they’ve made a purchase.
Customer Retention Techniques
Use these customer retention techniques to strengthen your demand generation efforts:
Keep Existing Customers Informed
Existing customers should be one of your buyer personas. You should be marketing to them and educating them about new and updated products.
Show Appreciation for Customers
Special deals and offers frequently woo prospective customers. Meanwhile, existing customers may feel quite ignored in these efforts. Find ways to keep existing customers engaged with special offers and bonuses just for them.
Streamline Renewals
This advice applies to SaaS firms and other subscription-based service providers. Part of a demand generation strategy will involve tracking upcoming subscription renewals and engaging customers during that process.
Engage Demand Generation to Boost Revenue
Remember that the success of a demand generation campaign is measured in increased revenue. Keep this in mind as you create your strategy and determine the appropriate key performance indicators.