Demand Generation 2016 Salary Guide
Your guide to the San Francisco Bay Area’s Demand Generation industry updates, salary ranges, and more! Introduction
One of today’s most in-demand skill sets is understanding how to leverage both technology and data in order to improve the relationship between sales and marketing.
While there are many variables that factor into the compensation equation (bonus, stock, benefits, etc.), this salary guide will give you, as an employer, an idea of how to position your organization to attract the best revenue-producing marketers. If you’re a job seeker, it will give you the insight necessary to make the most of your next career opportunity.
About the Author
Wes Lieser is an experienced Digital Marketing Recruiter at Versique, a Minneapolis-based executive search and consulting firm.
In his time with the company, he has profiled over one thousand Demand Generation candidates from across the country, working with companies in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Seattle, Austin, New York, New Jersey, Minneapolis, and Boston.
Learn More
2 Table of Contents
Understanding Your Salary Guide ...... 4
Demand Generation Overview ……...... 5
Hiring Challenges ...... 6
Industry Trends ……………………………………...... 7
Making Sense of Salary Trends ………………………….. 8
Demand Generation Salaries & Role Descriptions ……… 9
Marketing Operations Salaries & Role Descriptions …….. 11
CRM/Database Marketing Salaries & Role Descriptions .... 12
About Versique ……………………………………...... 13
Talent & Job Search Resources …………………...... 13
3 Understanding Your Salary Guide
The 2016 Demand Generation Salary Guide is a comprehensive resource for salary information and hiring trends for Demand Generation positions specific to the San Francisco Bay Area. This guide includes both salary ranges and role descriptions for the most critical Demand Generation positions, along with important industry insight.
The information in this salary guide was compiled using data from hundreds of candidates within our database who were directly profiled for potential roles with our clients, dozens of Demand Gen placements, as well as a recently conducted questionnaire.
Based on information gathered over the past 18 months, this salary guide is the most current and comprehensive of its kind.
Understanding the latest salary trends and current hiring outlook is critical to your organization’s ability to attract and retain the best talent. With this salary guide, you will boost your competitive advantage and attract the best talent in the Demand Gen market.
In this guide you’ll find:
• The latest and most accurate salary data and descriptions for the top Demand Generation positions in the Bay Area • Expert advice for hiring managers on how to attract the top Demand Generation talent • An in-depth review of the hiring outlook for positions related to Demand Generation
4 Demand Generation Overview
Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in demand for marketers who understand how to leverage technology to increase sales and marketing efficiency, and drive revenue. Companies now have better ways to attract, nurture, and close leads – ultimately due to the data made available by improvements in technology.
Data not only gives you better insight into HOW to interact with your prospects, but also WHEN to interact with them. Persona building, lead scoring, and database segmentation are just a few critical parts of your nurturing strategy that shouldn’t be overlooked. You can have the greatest content in the world, but if the message goes to the wrong prospects, or reaches them at the wrong time, it won’t translate to meaningful results.
The most important aspect of Demand Generation for a marketer to understand is that success in this segment is not just about leads. While acquiring leads is important, a savvy Demand Gen professional knows that the ROI that results from those leads is the most important factor to watch. As reporting tools develop, leadership will view marketing ROI as a much more significant contributor to revenue.
5 Hiring Challenges
In recent years, Demand Generation has become one of the most quickly growing sectors in the marketing industry. Depending on the business, Demand Gen is typically divided into two components: the campaign/program side and the operations side. As this part of the industry grows, there will be more and more demand for experienced professionals to step in and build data-driven marketing strategies in all industries.
While Demand Generation is one of the most popular career paths in the marketing industry, it is not without its hiring challenges. One of the biggest challenges hiring managers face is the competition for talent. “There are simply more jobs than there are qualified people to fill them,” said one Bay Area expert. It’s a candidate’s market and organizations in need of Demand Gen professionals will need to differentiate themselves to attract and retain top talent.
One of the other major challenges in hiring for Demand Generation roles is finding the necessary technological skills for the job. Marketing Automation requires a lot of technical experience, and it can be difficult to find candidates who have extensive experience with the necessary technology and tools.
Along with finding technical experts, hiring managers should look for professionals who know the limitations of reporting tools and understand that the B2B space requires a level of trust between a business and its vendor/partner. That same level of trust also benefits B2C companies in their interactions with consumers. Look for Demand Gen professionals with an expert handle on lead-nurturing email campaigns who know how to build up that trust and convert it to sales.
6 Industry Trends
There are a number of industry trends that set certain companies apart in the competition for talent. One Bay Area expert believes the following are the three trends that could make a company more attractive to top Demand Gen professionals: Account-Based Marketing, Predictive Analytics, and Funnel Analytic Tools.
Account-Based Marketing
Account-Based Marketing refers to the targeting of select accounts, as well as the decision makers within those accounts, to market directly to them. According to one Bay Area expert, “The ABM model is essentially for targeting enterprise companies. At the enterprise level, you have a committee of at least 5-15 people you need to influence to purchase your product or solution. Companies like Engagio, founded by Jon Miller (Co-founder of Marketo), Lean Data, LeadSpace, Termimus, and Bizible are all trying to help write the first chapter in the Account Based Marketing history books.”
Predictive Analytics
One Bay Area Demand Generation expert said, “Predictive Analytics is the ability to analyze your database of closed or lost leads and then analyze your existing pipeline or lead funnel, and identify which leads have the highest propensity to close.”
What makes Predictive Analytics (PA) so complex is that, once peripheral technologies are added to the tech stack, one must assume that the implementation between Marketing Automation and CRM systems, as well as the data within those systems, is “clean.” PA solutions are, by nature, dependent on how the MA and CRM are built, as well as on how clean the data within those systems is.
Regardless of different marketers’ stance on Predictive Analytics, it reinforces what we already know: better data leads to more accurate reporting.
Funnel Analytics Tools
There is a limit to the reporting capabilities of Marketing Automation and CRM systems. The typical lead doesn’t click the “buy it now” button; leads need to be nurtured and trust needs to be developed in order for them to convert to sales. That is where Funnel Analytics Tools come in.
According to one expert, “The real problem Demand Generation marketers have, is how to attribute all the various marketing touch points to ROI. Some Marketing Automation tools make it difficult for marketers to get a good sense of what funnel velocity looks like. There are various companies out there trying to tackle the lack of deep marketing analytics that can accurately attribute ROI and a multitude of touch points.”
7 Making Sense of Salary Trends
On the following page, we detail role definitions and expected salary ranges for a number of Demand Generation positions. There are two things you’ll notice right away about these salary ranges. The first is that the widest range of salaries is in the startup space. This is because bonuses and equity are generally factored into the salary equation more significantly in startups than in any other type of organization; our salary guide does not factor in any bonuses or equity.
The second notable trend is that the manager-level positions also have a wide salary range. Manager-level titles are typically the most variable and overused. This means the salary ranges take into account those people that have “manager titles,” but may not necessarily be managers. Another contributing factor to note is that those with a “Senior Manager” title are also considered in this category.
In an industry as fast-paced and ever-evolving as Demand Generation, there can be a variety of hiring needs, depending heavily on company type and capability. For example, a smaller company may require a Demand Gen professional to understand not only overall strategy, but also be a technical SEO and SEM expert, due to their need to run the business as lean as possible. Larger companies may have the ability to split those capabilities between multiple roles. Either way, strategy and tactics will need to work hand-in-hand to effectively deliver the desired results.
*Note: The salary information collected for this guide was rounded to the nearest thousand. The ranges on the following pages continue with the same pattern.
8 Demand Generation Salaries & Role Descriptions
To fully appreciate the impact of Demand Generation, one must first understand how the modern sales and marketing process works. A Demand Gen professional is well-versed in how to acquire, nurture, convert, and retain customers. Furthermore, they have a deep understanding of the overall lead management process – they decide how leads are acquired, scored, nurtured, and passed along to sales, all the while working endlessly to shorten the sales cycle.
VP of Demand Generation
Startup SMB Enterprise
$171,000 - $229,000 $189,000 - $246,000 $226,000 - $270,000
This role requires 12+ years of experience and is very involved in building an organization’s tech stack and ensuring that their team has the best possible resources to be successful. The VP of Demand Gen leads the overall strategy and direction of 5+ marketers and is typically directly tied to pipeline growth and aligning marketing with sales. In some instances, inside sales (Lead Qualification Reps) may report to this role.
Director of Demand Generation
Startup SMB Enterprise $132,000 - $180,000 $163,000 - $197,000 $175,000 - $206,000
This role is considered one of the most sought-after roles in Demand Generation. Companies typically look for people with equal strategic and tactical skills. Depending on the organization, a Director of Demand Generation will have anywhere from 1-5 direct reports. The ideal candidate would have the ability to develop overall Demand Gen strategy, but wouldn’t mind rolling up their sleeves to aid with tactical execution as well. This position requires 7-10 years of experience.
9 Demand Generation Salaries & Role Descriptions cont.
Demand Generation Manager
Startup SMB Enterprise
$68,000 - $129,000 $78,000 - $137,000 $81,000 - $139,000
While Director-level roles are in the highest demand, manager roles are the hardest to recruit for, due to the variance in skills required to be successful. Managers should be experts in marketing automation, but should also have experience building and executing campaigns from scratch. This role requires 3-6 years of experience and is often the point where most professionals determine whether they want to go down the Demand Gen path, or the Marketing Operations path.
Demand Generation Specialist
Startup SMB Enterprise $49,000 - $66,000 $52,000 - $73,000 $55,000 - $77,000
No one goes to college to study Demand Generation (at least not yet) so these professionals typically learn on the fly. People in this role are generally responsible for executing campaigns that support marketing initiatives and reporting on the results using the CRM and/or MAP. The position requires 1-3 years of experience.
A Demand Gen professional is well-versed in how to acquire, nurture, convert, and retain customers. Furthermore, they have an understanding of the overall lead management process.
10 Marketing Operations Salaries & Role Descriptions
If we look at Demand Generation as a vehicle, then Marketing Operations can be seen as the nuts and bolts that keep things running. Marketing Operations is about managing the day-to-day sales funnel and automation infrastructure to make sure that the lead management process runs efficiently. These positions are very involved with Marketing Automation and work very closely with both IT and sales to develop reporting and analytics that ensure that KPI’s are being met.
Director of Marketing Operations
Startup SMB Enterprise
$125,000 - $155,000 $140,000 - $170,000 $155,000 - $180,000
This role is responsible for leading the overall strategy and execution of the company’s lead roadmap and lead process to optimize funnel performance and shorten the sales cycle. This person, in charge of improving database cleanliness and overall business performance, should also be continuously performing maintenance checks of existing campaigns and programs. The role typically requires 7-10+ years of experience.
Marketing Operations Manager
Startup SMB Enterprise
$63,000 - $121,000 $71,000 - $133,000 $76,000 - $142,000
This position is extremely hands-on and technical, requiring the use of both Marketing Automation and CRM systems. The person in this role manages the database and design workflows in the MAP to increase the flow of qualified leads over to sales. Typically, this position requires 4-6 years of experience.
Marketing Operations Specialist
Startup SMB Enterprise
$47,000 - $60,000 $49,000 - $65,000 $52,000 - $70,000
This position typically requires 1-2 years of hands-on experience using MAP and CRM. The person in this role manages the day-to-day operations for lead scoring, database segmentation, and campaign execution. This individual has a general understanding of the marketing infrastructure, but generally serves as more of a system administrator.
11 CRM/Database Marketing Salaries & Role Descriptions
CRM/Database Marketing is where data lives. Marketing is a science, and this is where everything starts. From acquisition to nurturing, all the way to retention, database marketers understand the entire customer lifecycle. Many high-level database marketers work at larger companies because smaller organizations often don’t have the luxury of having a Director of Database Marketing. Instead, they typically have a less expensive resource taking direction from marketing leadership.
Director of CRM/Database
Startup SMB Enterprise
$150,000 - $190,000 $163,000 - $197,000 $175,000 - $206,000
This role requires 7-10+ years of experience and leads the strategy behind developing queries and extracting data to better define customer segments. Someone in this role works extensively with data to uncover KPI’s and better understand the customer. One of the key differentiators between CRM/Database experts and Demand Gen or Marketing Operations is that there is an increased focus on current customer loyalty and retention, as opposed to generating new leads.
Database Manager
Startup SMB Enterprise
$83,000 - $129,000 $87,000 - $141,000 $89,000 - $152,000
The person in this role is typically a very technical, hands-on expert in database marketing. A Database Manager is responsible for a number of initiatives including identifying and targeting customer populations for direct marketing campaigns (email, mail, etc.), collecting and analyzing customer data, driving customer acquisition, and securing customer retention. In short, this position provides data-driven insight to maximize the efficiency of the marketing strategy. It generally requires 4-6 years of experience.
Database Marketing Analyst
Startup SMB Enterprise $54,000 - $75,000 $59,000 - $78,000 $62,000 - $77,000
A Database Marketing Analyst has 2-4 years of hands-on experience within a marketing database, and their main focus is reviewing/analyzing data loaded into and exported from the marketing customer database. They are very familiar with monitoring the quality of the data by building reports and performing checks of inputs and outputs. They are also responsible for pulling marketing lists for direct marketing campaigns, and generally have extensive experience in creating reports, dashboards, and analytics to generate business insights and drive concrete actions.
12 About Versique
Versique is one of the largest talent acquisition firms in the Midwest, and specializes in both consulting and permanent placement. The firm’s team has more than 350 years of combined experience.
The recruiting and consulting team specializes in the following practice areas: information technology, human resources, digital marketing, engineering/operations, finance/accounting, sales, CPG (consumer packaged goods), and executive retained search. Versique also has an internal digital marketing agency that specializes in SEO, PPC, inbound marketing, and more.
Versique has filled thousands of positions and its network of connections is one of the strongest in the industry. We create amazing connections.
Talent & Job Search Resources
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