Effective Stages of Demand Generation
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Effective stages of Demand Generation PART 1: LINK BETWEEN DEMAND GENERATION AND SALES REVENUE WHITEPAPER Effective stages of demand generation Part 1 Contents Introduction 3 What is demand generation? 4 Demand generation is more than a tactical consideration 5 How to effectively plan your demand generation programmes 6 Summary 10 About StratMarketing 11 2 Effective stages of demand generation Part 1 Introduction There are many whitepapers, blogs and forums that discuss demand generation programmes. Many offer advice about the merits of using one automation system over another or the tactical benefits of this over that to boost response rates. Their initial standpoint is that B2B marketers understand what demand generation is and know how to plan their programmes, but this may not always be the case. This whitepaper has been written for those marketers who may need some planning guidance; to shed some light on the key stages that they need to consider before any tactical activity takes place. The key stages discussed within this whitepaper are: • Defining demand generation • Why demand generation is more than a tactical consideration • How to effectively plan your programmes 3 Effective stages of demand generation Part 1 What is demand generation? So let us start by defining what demand generation is. “It is better to Like anything that requires a definition there are many to choose from, so it have it and not makes sense to quote from one of the leading experts in this field. need it than to Adam Needles, Vice President of Demand Generation Strategy at Left Brain need it and not Marketing, explains it thus: “...demand generation is not merely about getting a prospect’s attention; have it.” rather it is about incubating a prospect with the information (s)he needs to move forward until (s)he is at a stage where that prospect is ready to speak Gerard Patrick Roeling with a sales representative. It is also about helping to convince a prospect Marketer – before (s)he talks to a sales representative that your product / solution should be on their shortlist, if not top choice...it is a holistic activity that spans the buyer lifecycle. It’s not just a single tactic at the top or bottom of the marketing and sales funnel. It’s the art of educating buyers and nurturing these relationships from earliest awareness to monetising initial demand; it’s also about growing that demand among current customers. It’s the whole thing...” Reading Adam’s definition underlines the importance of getting your demand generation programme right, simply because there is so much at stake. It also stresses that there is much more to this than just lead generation. 4 Effective stages of demand generation Part 1 Demand generation is more than a tactical consideration Clearly this refers to strategy, but on more than one level. “All men can Firstly, there is the direct link between demand generation and sales see these revenue. When reviewing the revenue line on their trading statements, senior management now think about the contributions that both sales and tactics whereby marketing make, as well as how they work together to meet revenue targets. I conquer, but This is a strategic issue and one which represents a real juxtaposition in the way marketing is regarded internally - not as a cost, but as an investment what none to the business and a contributor to its revenues. Importantly, this also can see is the presents marketing with a much stronger position when negotiating budgets at the end of the year. strategy out of Secondly, there is the strategy behind the demand generation which victory is programme itself. evolved.” As mentioned earlier, demand generation is not just about the tactics employed to achieve a specific outcome, but a more holistic approach to Sun Tzu building and nurturing relationships with prospects through to an initial sale Chinese General (and beyond). It is important at this stage to put into context the importance of the marketing and sales relationship. All the planning in the world means nothing without trust, understanding and engagement – and from the highest level. Rules and definitions need to be agreed to maximise every opportunity to meet and exceed revenue targets. 5 Effective stages of demand generation Part 1 How to effectively plan your demand generation programmes “Failure comes Objective Setting There needs to be clarity in what you are trying to achieve, in order to plan only when we the right route(s) to get there. Things to consider include: forget our ideals What is a sales opportunity? and objectives.” This needs to be agreed by both sales and marketing from the outset, as failure to do so may impact on their relationship and ultimately, how they Jawaharlal Nehru deliver against their target revenues. Prime Minister India At the first stage of transition, however, there should be an understanding of 1947 - 64 marketing qualified leads (MQLs) – those that marketing believe are ready to be contacted by the sales person. Qualification will be judged by how closely these leads match the ideal prospect profile, the depth of information known and levels of activity during the nurturing process (for example, whitepaper downloads, website visits, webinar registrations etc). The second stage of transition, referred to as sales accepted leads (SALs), occurs once budget, authority, need and timescales (BANT) have been identified and validated. Sales then take ownership of the lead. How many sales opportunities would marketing be expected to deliver (over a defined time period) for sales to meet their conversion targets? This may be an estimate if no historical or buyer-related information exists, or if a new market is to be targeted (at this stage, they are referred to as sales accepted leads SALs). Where data does exist, both marketing and sales should be able to forecast a realistic number of sales opportunities to be delivered. Targeting Prospects The importance of data Your database is your most valuable marketing asset. A clean database allows marketers to maximise every opportunity to connect with customers and should be updated with current and accurate information, such as demographics, buying responsibility, company size, purchase behaviour. Aligned with relevant content, a powerful proposition and timeliness, an accurate, up-to-date database provides marketers with the best tools to engage both new and existing customers. 6 Effective stages of demand generation Part 1 How to effectively plan your demand generation programmes Buyer personas “I love an Buyer personas help marketers identify the types of prospects likely to audience. I work develop into bona fide sales opportunities and are a vital step when planning better with an demand generation programmes. It also acts as a perfect guide when acquiring data; how else will you know who to target? The ideal profile will audience. I am include such information as: dead, in fact, • Age • Location without one.” • Gender • Number of employees • Job title • Annual revenue Lucille Ball • Size of business • Key decision makers Actress • Industry • Information sources used Use existing customer information to help build the ideal prospect profile, as well as data acquired from research, web analytics and the CRM system. There may also be some advantages in creating profiles for the types of customer you do not want to target (this information will be found via internal sources). The process should be an iterative one; with deeper data, it will be possible to populate personas with such information as lifetime values (LTV) and retention costs (presented as averages) to help justify whether or not certain activities are worth undertaking. Understanding the buyer and buyer behaviour Understanding the steps customers take before making a purchase presents marketers and sales people with a window into their world. Interaction with, and questioning of, the buyer will reveal a great deal to inform future engagement with them. This may include: • What their need is • What they are doing to find a solution • How quickly they need a solution • The key decision makers involved • Their chosen sources of information • How they consume this information • How they want to be contacted • If they have compiled a shortlist • Who is on the shortlist 7 Effective stages of demand generation Part 1 How to effectively plan your demand generation programmes “Communication, Communication Strategy How marketing and sales engage with the customer will, in part, depend the human on how much is known about them. Marketing can use this information to manage the relationship with the person; for example, how they will be connection - contacted, the type of content they’ll be sent and how often this will happen. is the key to What you can do to keep the conversation going throughout the buying cycle success.” Awareness Intent Deciding Purchase Paul J. Meyer Founder Personal Webpage/SEO Development Industry Rich media Banner ads Partner mailings Webcasts Sponsored Inserts Referrals E-Commerce content Direct Response cards Listing Print ads Sponsored Quotes Newsletters email Events Whitepapers Target Group Advertising/ Lead Customer promotion generation The above model makes this point really well. As mentioned earlier, the buyer persona helps to identify the type of prospect likely to become a customer. Marketing will now need to consider the media channels and relevant content to engage their ideal buyer. How this is done is really important; buyers tend not to wait until they receive a brochure or see an advertisement before realising they have a specific need. More traditional channels are more likely to hit the mark if they happen to coincide with a buyer’s need to search for a solution. On the other hand, information via online channels, such as blogs, search engine marketing, organic search and social media, is available continuously and is eminently searchable.