Blog Post

Demand Generation

The Best Demand Gen Strategies and How to Implement Them

There are many effective demand gen strategies. But knowing which works best for B2B SaaS or your individual business isn't always straightforward.

In this blog post, we will explore the best demand generation strategies for B2B SaaS. We'll look at how to use them to meet your goals and how they'll inform your current or future marketing strategy.

What Are 9 Key Strategies for Demand Generation?

Before I talk strategy, I want to get one concept out in the open. We're going to look at 9 effective demand gen strategies that are very effective for B2B SaaS looking to grow their companies.

But I'm not suggesting you use one of these and run with it. These strategies are interconnected. Implementing each of these together amplifies your demand generation to not only generate more revenues.

And you can do it time- and cost-effectively to generate the positive cash flow you'll need to grow.

1. Define Your Audience for Better Targeting

Create data-backed buyer personas that represent your ideal customer. Use this demand gen tool to connect more efficiently with targeted messaging within these other demand generation strategies.

2. Focus on Full Funnel

Buyers go through three distinct stages of a buyer's journey.

  • Non-aware. They don't know they have a problem or how much it's impacting their productivity, business goals, customer relationships, etc.
  • You have the answer to this problem, but they don't know they have a problem yet.
  • To generate demand, research, plan, create, and publish content to expand awareness of the problem.
  • Use it to guide them into the next stage and capture the lead (email list, etc.) to improve your ability to nurture.
  • Problem-aware. They now know they have a problem. They want to learn everything they can about possible solutions.
  • Engage them with content that helps them explore the solutions.
  • Focus on benefits, not specific SaaS features, which will seem overwhelming right now.
  • Solution-aware. They now need to define and refine the solutions that will work best for them.
  • Allow them to experience the solution with a demo or free trial.

Map out the buyer's journey within your company to enhance the timing and relevance of your messages.

3. Be Omnichannel

According to McKinsey, 94% of survey marketing leader respondents said the move toward a more omnichannel experience has been good for businesses and customers. B2B customers regularly interact with brands across at least 10 channels.

These include various channels:

  • Organic social media and search
  • Paid social media and search
  • Influencers
  • Display ads on Google and Facebook partner websites
  • Remarketing
  • Email
  • Website
  • Apps

To implement an effective omnichannel experience, you must be consistent, targeted, and resourceful. This allows you to work within time and money constraints.

For example, deploying effective analytics, A/B testing, a robust content management system, and automation allows you to streamline content creation and related processes. Eliminate duplicate efforts to maximize ROI.

4. Build a Relationship

Demand generation gets much easier when B2B SaaS companies focus on solving real-world problems. You build authority, industry relevance, and a following of loyal fans/customers.

This becomes a magnetic force that amplifies demand generation.

To build a relationship, listen to your customers and prospects. Build your content messages around their needs, goals, and preferences.

Showcase your willingness to solve B2B problems and how others use your SaaS to meet their goals.

5. Publish High-Quality Content

High-quality content is the substance that turns "strategy" into tangible business results. Use it to communicate thought leadership, authority, relevance, and your unique value proposition (UVP).

Guide and influence by presenting the right kind of content at the right stage of the buyer's journey.

For example,

  1. Someone is not aware they have a problem. Social media posts, blog posts, and videos can help them learn about their problem.
  2. Guide them to the solutions. Leverage valuable content to capture demand through email list sign-up. Checklist, Guide, etc.
  3. Send them solution-focused content via email to nurture that interest into making a decision. Case studies Vs. Content, etc.
  4. Offer them a demo or free trial so they can experience the solution.
  5. Assign the lead to a sales rep. Follow-up with a Sales email sequence (email automation) that includes sales enablement content.
  6. Support and re-engage them to increase retention and CLV through retargeting, social media, email, customer support

6. Streamline Workflows with Automation

Identify repetitive and time-sensitive tasks. Use automation to enhance workflow and improve results.

For example, lead scoring automation tracks a lead's behaviors. It identifies when the MQL becomes a SQL. It can then assign that person to a sales rep to begin email sequences and sales outreach.

This is known as Speed the Lead.

According to Oracle research, lead quality increases by 80% when companies employ automation. And this is just one pivotal moment you can use it to enhance results.

7. Unify Marketing, Sales & Service

A unified marketing, sales & service team communicates one message and accomplishes perfectly timed hand-offs. Achieve consistently delightful customer experiences. People want to share these experiences online.

This sharing feeds the top of funnel. It generates more demand.

8. Target Key Accounts

Key accounts:

  • Are high ROI and CLV
  • Help you generate buzz and demand
  • Show that your SaaS works
  • Give you valuable feedback that helps you improve your product

They've also been working with you for a while, and it may be a name people know. Even better!

Identify key accounts to acquire and retain. While you never want to be too reliant on one account, these are critical for Demand Gen and growth.

9. Optimize with A/B Testing, Tracking, and Analytics

Track, test, and analyze to improve how you apply these strategies continually. Invest in tools to correctly attribute revenues across the buyer's journey—not just the last touch.

Track ROI of your various strategies, channels, and companies to determine which ones you should increase to grow.

This not only improves their effectiveness. It cuts costs to increase ROI.

How to Build a Successful Demand Gen Campaign?

Leverage these strategies to provide real value to customers. This builds credibility that attracts the right people and guides them through the buyer's journey.

Want to know more about how to implement demand gen for your B2B SaaS company? See how Dropbox increased targeted engagement by 6.5X.

Blog Post

Growth

Demand Generation

Blog Post

5 Reasons You Should Hire a Growth Marketing Agency

Google Trends data shows that searches for "growth marketing" have grown substantially over the past five years. This isn't too surprising — growth marketing is highly scalable, provides a strong Return On Investment (ROI), and helps brands grow sustainably long-term. 

Mastering growth marketing isn't always easy, so many companies choose to work with a growth marketing agency. This article will shed light on five reasons your brand should hire such an agency. 

#1. They Have Experience With Other Companies at Your Growth Stage

As brands grow, they often face a common set of growing pains related to marketing. For example, startups often lack the marketing bandwidth to run full-fledged campaigns on all digital platforms simultaneously. Or, new ecommerce businesses often struggle to get the engagement snowball rolling (getting your fifth follower is far easier than getting your 150th). 

Growth marketing agencies work with brands over long periods, so they know how to minimize growing pains and steer a brand through the chaos. 

Growth hackers have also implemented a wide range of strategies across many digital platforms, so they know what works and what doesn't. This knowledge is invaluable, as it will help you make smarter marketing choices straight away so you can yield returns quickly. 

Note: Read "How To Build a PLG Funnel Your Sales Team Can Use."

#2. They Can Plan Industry-Specific Long-Term Strategies

Compared to regular marketers, growth marketers view the sales funnel more holistically. Plus, they focus on metrics like Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and retention rate over short-term revenue. 

The growth marketing sales funnel stages: awareness, consideration, action, adoption, and expansion and their corresponding lifecycle stages.

As a result, growth marketing strategies are like snowballs — they grow as they gain momentum. Growth marketing is really a long-term approach. 

While a traditional marketing agency can help you design a strategy weeks to months in advance, your growth team will think months to years ahead. Naturally, they can help you design marketing that is sustainable and provides long-term returns. 

Growth hackers are also excellent researchers. They can dive deep into your industry and learn what motivates your customers and how to market to them best. When you hire a growth marketing team, you get a holistic, industry-specific plan. 

#3. They Can Save You Money

The initial investment of hiring a growth hacking marketing agency often makes brand owners and managers nervous. However, if the brand invests wisely, it can spend less on an agency than it would if it tried to run a fully-fledged marketing strategy in-house. 

Growth marketing agencies can also get brands a better ROI. Agencies have a lot of in-house expertise, so they can optimize your marketing budget with smart investments and reduce marketing wastage. 

Research on 1,000 marketers by Rakuten Marketing shows that around 26% of marketing budgets were wasted in 2018, while a 2022 report on 41 companies spending $500,000 to $31 million on marketing estimates marketing wastage is 41%. So wastage is a major concern for many brands. 

#4. They Reduce Your Workload

Growth marketing agencies often employ marketers who specialize in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), paid media, content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, referral marketing, video marketing, and other marketing niches. So, when you work with an agency, you get access to experts without having to expand your in-house marketing team. 

Working with a growth marketing company can also reduce your workload substantially. Marketers can either complete marketing tasks for you or help you automate them. 

You'll know whether you've hired a good agency if they're easy to work with. We recommend looking for an agency that communicates well, provides regular updates, consults you in the decision-making process, and works transparently. 

#5. They Can Help You Become Results-Driven

Growth marketing is generally more adaptive than traditional digital marketing (though that is changing as marketers get better access to marketing data). When they implement a strategy, growth hackers conduct frequent tests and experiments to assess how your audience is responding. Then, they optimize your marketing materials to obtain the best result. 

Naturally, hiring an agency can help you become more results and performance-driven. Performance marketing offers benefits like:

  • Higher ROI
  • More efficient marketing
  • Optimized campaign planning
  • Enhanced forecasting 
  • Faster speed to lead times
  • Greater customer retention

Working with a growth hacking consulting agency also means you don't need to design your marketing analytics infrastructure alone. Many new brands and startups with limited staff and busy schedules often struggle to dedicate time to building this infrastructure, so it's nice to get it off your to-do list.

Note: Read "3 RevOps HubSpot Automations Your Business Needs."

Performance Marketing and Growth Marketing Agencies

Growth marketing can improve your ROI, grow your customer base, and help you achieve rapid and sustainable growth. 

You can see the value of a growth agency by looking at a case study like that of Allocations. Matter Made helped Allocations develop marketing infrastructure and run campaigns on Google, Bing, and LinkedIn. As a result, Allocations increased its pipeline three times in the first 90 days

Want results from growth marketing? Let's talk. 

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