What Is Demand Generation?
Demand generation is the full-funnel marketing strategy focused on creating awareness and interest in your product or service, before people are ready to buy.
It's not about capturing existing demand (that's lead gen). It's about creating demand where none existed.
Think of it this way: lead generation fills the funnel. Demand generation builds the funnel.
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Start your free trialWhat's the key difference between demand generation and lead generation?
💡 Tip: Think carefully before selecting your answer!
Demand Generation vs. Lead Generation
The mistake most companies make: Jumping straight to lead gen without demand gen. You end up with a lot of low-quality leads who have never heard of you and aren't ready to buy.
The Demand Generation Funnel
Stage 1: Awareness People learn your category and brand exist.
- Content marketing, social media, PR, podcasts
- SEO for top-of-funnel keywords
- Industry events and speaking
Stage 2: Education People understand the problem and potential solutions.
- Blog posts, guides, and how-to content
- Webinars and workshops
- Comparison and use-case content
Stage 3: Consideration People evaluate specific solutions including yours.
- Case studies, customer stories
- Product demos and free trials
- ROI calculators and assessment tools
Stage 4: Decision People choose your solution.
- Sales conversations
- Proposals and pricing
- This is where lead generation takes over
Demand Generation Strategies
Content Marketing
Create valuable content that educates your target audience without gating it. The goal is reach and trust, not email addresses.
- Blog posts optimized for search (content strategy)
- YouTube videos and podcasts
- Social media thought leadership
- Original research and data reports
Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
Target specific companies with personalized campaigns. Effective for high-value B2B sales.
- Personalized ads to target accounts
- Custom content for specific companies
- Multi-channel outreach coordinated across sales and marketing
Events and Community
Build a community around your category, not just your product.
- Host webinars, workshops, and meetups
- Sponsor and speak at industry conferences
- Build online communities (Slack, Discord, LinkedIn Groups)
Social Media
Use organic and paid social to build brand awareness and thought leadership.
- LinkedIn for B2B demand gen
- Short-form video for B2C awareness
- Employee advocacy programs
- See our social media strategy guide for platform selection
Partnerships and Co-Marketing
Partner with complementary (non-competing) brands to reach each other's audiences.
- Co-branded content and webinars
- Newsletter swaps
- Integration partnerships
- Joint research projects
Measuring Demand Generation
The key shift: Demand gen metrics are leading indicators. Revenue is a lagging indicator. Track both but don't expect demand gen to show pipeline impact for 3-6 months.
Common Demand Gen Mistakes
- Gating everything. Nobody reads your PDF if they have to fill out a 10-field form. Ungate most content.
- Measuring only MQLs. MQLs from demand gen content are lower-intent by nature. Measure pipeline and revenue instead.
- Expecting instant results. Demand gen is a 6-12 month play. Companies that quit at month 3 never see results.
- Ignoring sales alignment. Demand gen without sales enablement wastes pipeline. Coordinate messaging and follow-up.
A B2B SaaS company started demand gen 2 months ago and hasn't seen pipeline results yet. What should they do?
💡 Tip: Think carefully before selecting your answer!
For Google's specific AI-powered ad format for demand generation, see Demand Gen Campaigns. For the broader marketing approach, B2B content marketing strategy covers content-led demand gen in depth.
Understanding your target demographic is essential for effective demand gen, because you need to know exactly who you're creating awareness for. Once leads enter your pipeline, list segmentation helps you nurture them with the right messages. And for optimizing conversion at each stage, see our marketing funnel optimization guide.