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4 Essential Components for Demand Generation Success

The B2B funnel is stumbling because too many brands are trying to sprint before they can walk.

Pouring almost all their energy into short-term lead gen while neglecting the critical foundation of brand awareness and long-term demand creation. With 92% of budgets laser-focused on immediate wins, companies are burning through today’s limited demand and setting themselves up for a dry spell tomorrow. It’s time to stop sabotaging future success.

Ready to get your demand program back on track? Here are the 4 essential components you can’t afford to skip.

1

Know your customer

The IT decision-maker landscape is evolving, with a new generation of BETAs (21- to 40-year-old digital natives) now comprising two-thirds of this audience. BETAs are research-driven, value expert opinions and user reviews, and expect digital-first, informal interactions.

Additionally, today’s decision-making units (DMUs) average 20 members, split evenly between IT and other lines of business (LoB), making it crucial to reach beyond traditional DM roles and engage broader, influential stakeholders.

And to complicate matters further, the buyer journey is no longer linear; most B2B purchasing decisions occur before direct sales engagement, and prospects frequently self-educate, making it difficult to gauge their position in the process. 

What practical actions can you take?

Deliver immersive, interactive, and personalized content to connect with BETAs.

Broaden your targeting to include LoB stakeholders in areas like finance, product, and marketing, while considering future decision-makers and their motivations.

Revamp nurture strategies with self-selectable content and paid media to re-engage prospects and boost conversions.

2

Embrace creative effectiveness

B2B brands are missing the mark on creative effectiveness, with a heavy focus on short-term tactics and a lack of impactful brand building. A LinkedIn survey revealed that 75% of B2B ads scored poorly on effectiveness, and 77% have no lasting brand impact.

Combine that with the fact that buyers increasingly seeing little difference between providers, it’s more crucial than ever to stand out and foster emotional connections.

What practical actions can you take?

Prioritize emotive, distinctive advertising—which is up to 7x more effective than rational messaging.

Invest in high-quality, memorable creative, and disseminate it consistently across multiple channels over time.

Embrace bold, convention-challenging ideas that differentiate your brand, and support them with data-driven insights to get buy-in from stakeholders.

3

Prioritise data, become a brand publisher.

Buyers are overwhelmed with content, and the flood of easily accessible AI-generated material has only worsened the saturation. Despite the abundance, 71% of final B2B decision-makers say less than half of the content they encounter provides valuable insights.

To earn the trust of privacy-conscious buyers and motivate them to share their data, brands must prioritize producing standout, high-value content. You might also consider using incentives, like discounts or personalized offers, to encourage access to key assets.

While over 80% of B2B demand generation assets remain gated, carefully weigh whether gating your content is the right choice. If you do gate an asset, make sure it delivers substantial value.

What practical actions can you take?

Personalize your content to better engage your audience by using targeted elements such as messaging, case studies, customer logos, and industry-specific insights.

Leverage data from individual interactions to gain actionable insights and further refine your approach.

Think like a brand publisher: establish a reputation for offering consistently high-quality, valuable, and often ungated content.

4

Innovate, test, learn and test again.

New IT decision-makers and influencers prefer brands that deliver engaging, personalized experiences and offer the flexibility to choose their own journey. To stand out, your content should be differentiated and valuable, cutting through the noise with tailored, impactful messaging. An innovative approach like the 70-20-10 model can optimize your demand generation efforts across the funnel.

Make sure you are refreshing campaigns often, conducting quarterly brand studies, and using agile media strategies for optimization.

What practical actions can you take?

70% ‘Brilliant Basics’ to meet current goals with interactive content and optimized channels. 

Dedicate 20% to experimenting with new formats, improving targeting, and A/B testing creative and messaging.

Reserve 10% for long-term innovation with personalized digital content and an integrated mix of channels.