mb&l consultores
Author: Martin Di Lorenzo - mb&l consultores

Demand Generation: What it is, where and when we need it, and how to do it? – part 2

In the first part of this document, we covered the basics of Demand Generation and evaluated certain actions we can take with our current Customers or installed base.

Now it’s time to decide what we can do with those Prospects with whom we have no contact, who do not know us, or with whom we have not yet done business.

In these cases, it is advisable to divide actions into two major groups: how we make them know us (brand positioning) or how we make them want to know us (offer positioning).

In the first case, we could focus on Content Marketing, such as blogs, technical documents, educational videos, webinars, and more.

We could also optimize our website to improve visibility in search engines, known as SEO, or even opt for search engine advertising, known as SEM. Marketing on social networks, such as LinkedIn, with technical content about our offering, success stories, testimonials, etc., will also be appropriate for this purpose.

If we choose to position our offer, we will opt for exclusive events and personalized campaigns because we seek to strengthen the value of our products and/or services and market recognition in solutions related to the specific needs of one or more industries. Referral programs continue to work very well, and of course, the “word of mouth” from our satisfied Customers is as effective as ever.

Sponsored content, participation in industry events, forums, and communities also allow us to showcase our offer to potential clients in a specific group or industry, where we could demonstrate experience, knowledge, and success stories.

In recent years, mass email, which we thought was obsolete, has returned, with cold email campaigns, always considering that email providers try to prevent such campaigns (although their success in this regard is questionable, given the amount of advertising email we receive daily…).

These campaigns have come back into fashion and have even proven quite effective for a long time, with companies specializing in collecting potential contacts and even doing all the work for us. There are dozens of tools to automate almost every task in this process, making campaigns relatively inexpensive and with little effort on our part. But we are in a fast-paced world, times move very quickly, and what was the star of marketing a few months ago now seems to be losing its luster, perhaps because we have overused it.

This does not mean that it is a practice we should abandon, but perhaps we need to find another approach because, let’s face it, the idea is simple. Perhaps the change lies in focusing less on the wonders of our products and services and more on the value they add to concrete market needs, which is ultimately the heart of Consultative Selling.

In any case, positioning our offer requires a telescopic sight rather than a shotgun blast. Generating engagement on networks, studying industry trends, knowing our Customers, choosing the space where we will seek prospects remains the most important part of marketing, and today it is easier what used to be very difficult: communication with the potential market.

The advent of Artificial Intelligence will surely play a crucial role in demand generation, and it is essential to evaluate where it can be useful for this purpose, something many of us have already begun to do. Could it help us tailor campaigns more selectively? Or perhaps tools that present our solutions in the most efficient way for the generation that buys from us today? Much of this we are already seeing, and we must stay alert to the advancement of these new technologies.

By the way, what is your Sales Team doing with AI? Is it time to start doing something to avoid falling behind?

If you want to know more about Demand Generation or other Consultative Selling topics, do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to help you.

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