From Lead Gen to Demand Gen: How to Do It Right?

I recently had a surprising discovery that left me both concerned and motivated. While chatting with several B2B SaaS startup founders and CEOs, I realized something shocking: despite demand generation being a well-established concept among marketing professionals, many companies are still clinging to outdated lead generation approaches！

I can't tell you how many times I heard, "We've got this great gated whitepaper that's bringing in leads!" When I tried explaining the benefits of demand generation, I'd often get a puzzled look followed by, "Okay, but then how about leads?"

It became clear to me that there's a significant gap between what marketing experts know and what many B2B companies are actually doing. So, I decided to write this blog post to break down the differences between lead generation and demand generation, and offer some practical steps for making the shift.

Lead Gen vs. Demand Gen: What's the Difference?

Let's start with the basics. Lead generation is like fishing with a net - you're trying to capture as many potential customers as possible, often through gated content, forms, and cold outreach. It's all about getting contact information quickly.

Demand generation, on the other hand, is more like cultivating a garden. You're creating awareness, educating your audience, and building trust over time. Instead of immediately asking for contact info, you're focusing on providing value and establishing your brand as a go-to resource.

Here's a quick comparison:

The key difference? Demand generation creates a pool of interested, informed prospects who are more likely to convert when they're ready to buy.

Baby Steps: How to Make the Shift

I know, I know, if you're used to lead gen, the thought of potentially losing that lead flow can be scary. I've been there. But trust me, the quality of leads you'll get from demand generation will more than make up for it.

Here are some baby steps I've used with my clients to help them make the transition:

1. Gradually ungate your content: Start small. Pick one or two of your best-performing pieces and make them freely available. Monitor the engagement and compare it to when it was gated. I did this with a client's ebook, and we saw a 300% increase in downloads and shares.
2. Focus on creating valuable, educational content: Instead of pushing for immediate conversions, create content that addresses your audience's pain points and questions. One of my clients started a weekly video series answering common industry questions. Within three months, they became the go-to resource in their niche.
3. Experiment with "zero-click" ads: Allocate a small portion of your ad budget to awareness-focused campaigns that don't require immediate action from the viewer. We tried this with LinkedIn ads for a client, and while it didn't generate immediate leads, it significantly increased their brand recognition and inbound inquiries over time.
4. Implement self-reported attribution: Add a "How did you hear about us?" field to your remaining forms. This will help you understand which demand gen efforts are driving awareness. It's how we discovered that a client's podcast appearances were driving 30% of their high-quality leads.
5. Adjust your metrics: This is crucial. Shift focus from lead quantity to quality metrics like pipeline velocity and revenue attribution. It might be uncomfortable at first (it certainly was for me), but it's essential for long-term success.

This isn't an overnight process. In my experience, it usually take 3-6 months to see significant results. But stick with it, and you'll build a marketing machine that consistently fills your pipeline with high-quality leads.I've seen firsthand how this shift can transform a company's growth trajectory.

One of my clients, a B2B SaaS startup, was initially skeptical about moving away from their lead gen tactics. But after implementing these steps over a few months, they saw a 40% increase in qualified opportunities and a 25% boost in average deal size.

The bottom line? Don't be afraid to evolve your marketing strategy. By embracing demand generation, you're setting your company up for sustainable, long-term growth.

And trust me, your sales team will thank you for the higher quality leads!