From Tactics to Strategy: Why Lead-Gen Falls Short in B2B Marketing
In all of my years (decades actually) in B2B marketing, simply generating leads from your ICP was the original metric of success. This lead-gen tactic was effective back when competition was lower and fewer software solutions were available.
I intentionally use the word 'tactic' instead of 'strategy' when referring to lead-gen because, in my opinion, there isn’t much strategy behind it: identify the audience, provide a downloadable, and collect the leads.
Despite being outdated and ineffective, this basic tactic still appears frequently in on my social feeds far too often. I see lead-gen ads from unknown companies offering solutions that I'm not looking for, suggesting downloadable content with the unspoken promise of relentless follow-up calls and emails.
The Shortcomings of Lead-Gen:
Low conversion rates: A high volume of leads does not translate into a high number of conversions. Often, most of these cold leads are not in the market for your product or service.
Sales and marketing misalignment: Marketing may be praised for generating a high number of leads but sales teams are left struggling to convert them. Mistrust forms for the inbound channel and now you’ve got bigger problems.
Drain on resources: Collecting unqualified leads wastes marketing dollars and for sales to be chasing those leads consumes time and focus.
The Competence of Demand-Gen
Demand-gen is a holistic approach that I truly believe in. It goes beyond merely capturing leads; it focuses on nurturing and educating potential customers throughout their buying journey, which starts before they download anything. This kind of strategy integrates various marketing touch-points to create awareness, consideration, and ultimately, demand for a product or service.
Key Components of a Robust Demand-Gen Program
Ungated Content Marketing: High-quality content and use cases that address the pain points and needs of your audience/ICP.
SEO and Paid Marketing: Ensure your content is discoverable through search and is strategically placed via paid channels to reach your audience.
Email Marketing and Nurture: Targeted campaigns that should nurture leads through content that is personalized & relevant to them.
Webinars and Events: Live opportunities to provide value, engagement and education.
Systems that talk to each other: Once a contact or account shows interest in your product, it should be easy for you to serve them your ideal customer journey if your platforms and marketing tools talk to each other.
The Balance Between Lead-Gen and Demand-Gen
A robust demand-gen strategy includes lead-gen as a component but does not rely on it. By integrating lead-gen into a broader demand-gen framework, you can ensure that the leads generated are of higher quality and more likely to convert. This synergy creates a more sustainable and effective marketing approach that can be easily forecasted and scaled.
