![How to learn more about
current customers
Sales team
• Ask them for insights and advice
• Is there a reason why customers
choose your product over others?
Google Analytics
• Demographics and interests reports
• Location report
• Referrals report
Facebook
• Audience Insights tool
• Search bar - “Pages liked by people
who like [X]”
Twitter
• Twitter analytics reports
• Affinio’s free discovery tool](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/buysellads-demandgen-slidedeck-180403133424/85/The-Demand-Generation-Strategy-Playbook-11-320.jpg)
The Demand Generation Strategy Playbook
- 2. Where marketers go for curated, high-performance ads. BuySellAds builds powerful revenue technology for publishers and connects marketers with curated, passionate audiences at scale. More than 4,500 advertisers grow their companies through our native, display, email, and sponsored content placements.
- 3. What we’re covering: • Why is demand generation important? • How to set up a demand generation strategy for success • Planning and budgeting for paid campaigns • Optimizing demand generation strategies over time
- 4. PART 1: What is demand generation marketing?
- 5. A simple definition: Demand generation marketing creates need for a product or service with the goal of passing qualified leads to the sales team.
- 6. What sets it apart? 1. The marketing and sales funnels are connected. 2. Focus on sending only the most qualified, valuable leads to sales. 3. Use automation tools to move people through the funnel. Demand generation isn’t lead generation or inbound marketing. Learn more about that here →
- 7. PART 2: Creating demand generation strategies
- 8. 1. Defined target audience 2. Clearly stated goals 3. Structured funnel 4. Tactics Every successful demand generation strategy has four components:
- 9. 1. Defined target audience You need to know who you’re talking to before diving into a demand generation strategy. Do you have an existing customer base or are you starting from scratch?
- 10. Using past customers and sales • Who has bought from you in the past and what do they have in common? • Will your current customers still be your target audience in 2-3 years? • If not, who is that audience?
- 11. How to learn more about current customers Sales team • Ask them for insights and advice • Is there a reason why customers choose your product over others? Google Analytics • Demographics and interests reports • Location report • Referrals report Facebook • Audience Insights tool • Search bar - “Pages liked by people who like [X]” Twitter • Twitter analytics reports • Affinio’s free discovery tool
- 12. Creating a new target audience • Don’t go too big with target audiences. • Easier to reach smaller audience and explain product value. • Don’t go too small, though. Would a conference exist for this group?
- 13. How to learn more about new audiences Publishers • What news organizations, blogs, podcasts, and websites do they follow? • Read these resources and find recurring themes and issues. Actually… Talk to them. • First-hand information is the holy grail of persona development. • Ask sales team for intros, or send cold email to consultants/influencers. Social Media • Twitter advanced search • Facebook search and Audience Insights tool • Instagram hashtags
- 14. Putting it all together • Create personas based on audience subgroups with different pain points, backgrounds, job titles, and more. • Goal here is to create a hypothetical person you can plan marketing activities around. • Buffer’s guide is a great resource for this.
- 15. 2. Creating goals What do you actually want to accomplish with this demand generation strategy? Which KPIs will quantify failure or success of that goal?
- 16. Different goals require different approaches and different metrics. For example: • Improve lead quality » SQL to customer conversion rate, improved accuracy of lead quality scores • Grow sales » Increased customer lifetime value, number of sales made • Raise awareness of a product » Increased sales percentage, gain certain number of inbound sales inquiries
- 17. Keep goals SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timed. Example: • Grow leads by 20% every quarter, beginning by referring 20 leads to sales in Q1. • KPIs would be number of leads, lead quality score, and conversion rate from SQL to customer.
- 18. 3. Structuring the funnel Demand generation links the marketing and sales funnels, so your strategy should cover everything from first impression to signing on the dotted line. PROSPECT SUBSCRIBER LEAD MQL SQL OPPORTUNITY CUSTOMER 5,000 5%=250 15%=37 25%=9 50%=4-5 GOAL: Visit website and subscribe to remote management newsletter MARKETING ACTIVITIES: Blog posts Social media Advertising on remote and developer communities Weekly newsletterwith links to remote management resources and articles Case studies with similarly sized tech sompanies Exclusive Q&A Webinars FAQ sheets Testimonials Booklets on standard retreats Referral bonus for new customers Planned team-wide surveys after event to collect data for customer Drip email campaign (weekly) linking to blog posts on remote management best practices Download free “Making the Most out of Team Retreats” E-book Open all emails and spend at least 1 minute on website for each visit View retreat package page and click on 2 trips or complete sales contact form on website
- 19. Defining the stages Looking at your funnel, outline: 1. What makes someone qualified for a lead status 2. What actions graduate that person to the next stage of the funnel 3. What actions remove someone from the funnel 4. Target conversion rate for each stage PROSPECT SUBSCRIBER LEAD MQL SQL OPPORTUNITY CUSTOMER 5,000 5%=250 15%=37 25%=9 50%=4-5
- 20. Defining the stages Looking at your funnel, outline: 1. What makes someone qualified for a lead status 2. What actions graduate that person to the next stage of the funnel 3. What actions remove someone from the funnel 4. Target conversion rate for each stage Lead scoring is your friend here. Check out popular frameworks → PROSPECT SUBSCRIBER LEAD MQL SQL OPPORTUNITY CUSTOMER 5,000 5%=250 15%=37 25%=9 50%=4-5
- 21. 4. Picking the right tactics Finally, it’s time to think about which channels you’ll use to nurture leads towards a sale
- 22. Top funnel tactics Goal: explain what problem your product solves and get contact information. Advertising Giveaways Free online tools Social media Blog posts Reports and research Press coverage Webinars See creative examples of top-funnel demand generation on our blog →
- 23. Mid funnel tactics Goal: build trust and educate about your product. Email campaigns Newsletters Blog posts Large content pieces Case studies Webinars
- 24. Bottom funnel tactics Goal: give sales the resources they need to close deals and land future ones. Surveys Referral programsCase studies
- 26. Getting qualified leads to sales starts with traffic at the top of the funnel. Most companies use paid and organic channels to create this traffic.
- 27. Search engine marketing • Help you reach people who are actively seeking solutions to a problem. • Can get expensive fast if you’re in a crowded market. • Smart keyword strategies can help you mitigate against that.
- 28. Communities and publisher marketing • Where does your audience naturally go online? • Can be forums, subreddits, and websites with narrow topics. • Unlocks bunch of different types of ads and brand safe placements.
- 29. Social media • Popular for prospecting, but costs can rise unexpectedly. • Facebook lookalike audience based on high-value sales, or remarketing campaigns. • Keep mid-funnel campaigns minimal or risk annoying people.
- 30. How much should you spend on advertising? Easiest to start with the ideal result and work backwards to calculate costs. Use the target conversion rates from your funnel to help calculate this. Required visits Subscriber conversion rate LEAD MQL SQL Lead conversion rate MQL conversion rate SQL conversion rate Number of leads
- 31. PART 4: Optimizing for success
- 32. 1. Return to the original goals • Take a look at your original KPIs and goals. • Calculate how each channel contributed to the KPIs and impacted customer acquisition costs • Did any other metrics unexpectedly change?
- 33. 2. Look at lead scoring • Lead scoring formula should be reviewed every few weeks. • Does your scoring align with high-value customers? •Are people being churned out because they don’t fit unnecessary rules?
- 34. 3. Focus on efficiency • Optimize parts of the funnel with the highest drop offs. • Look at your landing pages, these are easy wins. • Analyze drip campaign and create better, more relevant content.
- 35. 4. Talk to your customers • Reach out to high-value customers for insight into your marketing process and their challenges. • In these interviews, ask open ended questions and let the conversation take you in unexpected directions.
- 36. Demand generation is never really over—goals change and audiences shift. Match your marketing strategy to these pivots and keep sales happy along the way. Optimizing your demand generation machine will lead to major rewards down the line. Always keep improving
- 37. You have the foundation. Now become an expert. Get bonus examples, additional chapters, and even more advice in the Demand Generation Strategy Playbook. It’s 50 pages long and packed with actionable tips and tricks on creating strategies, optimizing paid campaigns, choosing the right marketing tools, and finding opportunities to keep picking up wins. Best of all, it’s completely free. Get Your Copy