What is Demand Generation?

Demand generation is all about creating interest and engagement before a prospect is ready to buy.

Demand gen is not just about capturing leads. It’s about building brand awareness, nurturing long-term relationships, and driving high-quality prospects into your sales funnel.

“Companies that excel at demand generation experience a 23% higher conversion rate from marketing-qualified leads to sales-qualified leads.”
Source: Forrester​.

Unlike lead generation, which focuses on getting contact info, demand gen works to make sure that when a prospect is ready to buy, your company is top of mind.

Why Demand Generation Matters

A strong demand generation strategy helps:

• Build trust and credibility – Educating your audience positions your brand as an authority.
• Generate high-quality leads – When done right, demand gen brings in engaged prospects who are actually interested.
• Align sales and marketing – It ensures both teams are working toward the same goal: driving pipeline growth.

How SaaS Companies Use Demand Generation

A SaaS company running LinkedIn ads, publishing thought leadership content, and hosting industry webinars is creating demand. The goal isn’t just to capture leads but to educate and engage potential buyers so they recognize the company’s value when they’re ready to invest.

Where Demand Generation Fits in the Funnel

Demand generation plays a big role at the top and middle of the marketing funnel, where the goal is to educate and engage—not sell.

Awareness Stage (Top-of-Funnel)

Attract potential customers and make them aware of your brand.
Tactics: SEO-optimized blogs, LinkedIn ads, industry reports, social media campaigns.

Consideration Stage (Mid-Funnel)

Nurture prospects by providing valuable insights and solutions.
Tactics: Webinars, case studies, email marketing, retargeting campaigns.

Decision Stage (Bottom-Funnel)

Support sales teams by reinforcing trust and offering incentives to convert.
Tactics: Product demos, sales enablement content, competitor comparisons, free trials.

Demand Generation and ICP

You need demand generation if you want a predictable pipeline and engaged leads.

It ensures that when your ideal customer is ready to buy, they think of you first.

Demand Generation vs. Growth Marketing: Key Differences

A lot of people lump demand generation and growth marketing together, but they’re actually two different things.

Both focus on driving business growth, but they do it in very different ways.

How They Compare

Demand generation is all about creating brand awareness and getting prospects interested in your solution before they’re even thinking about buying. It’s focused on top and middle-of-funnel activities like content marketing, paid advertising, and events.

Growth marketing, on the other hand, is about optimizing the entire customer journey—including conversion, retention, and upsells. Growth marketers run A/B tests, fine-tune onboarding flows, and build referral programs to keep customers engaged and spending more over time.

A demand generation team might drive webinar registrations with LinkedIn ads, while a growth marketing team ensures that attendees are nurtured post-webinar and moved toward a sale.

Strategies That Drive Growth

A strong demand generation strategy builds long-term brand equity and fills the sales funnel with high-quality leads. Here are some of the best strategies to get results:

SEO & Content Marketing

Organic search is one of the most cost-effective ways to generate demand. When you create high-value blog content, whitepapers, or guides that answer industry questions, you attract potential buyers before they even realize they need your solution.

Example: A SaaS company ranks for “best AI sales tools” and consistently drives organic traffic from decision-makers researching their options.

Paid Advertising for Demand Generation

Running paid ads on Google, LinkedIn, or Facebook helps amplify your reach, getting your brand in front of the right audience faster than organic efforts alone. Retargeting ads are especially effective for keeping your brand top-of-mind after someone visits your site.

Example: A demand generation team launches a PPC campaign targeting CFOs searching for “enterprise expense management software.”

Webinars & Virtual Events

Live events and webinars allow you to engage directly with potential buyers, educate them on key industry trends, and introduce them to your product in a more interactive way.

For example, a cybersecurity company hosts a webinar on “Preventing Data Breaches in 2025,” attracting IT decision-makers who later move into the sales funnel.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

ABM is a highly targeted demand generation approach that focuses on engaging specific high-value accounts rather than casting a wide net. It combines personalized outreach, custom content, and multi-channel engagement to win over decision-makers.

Example: A software company uses ABM to send personalized reports to target accounts, showing how their solution can increase efficiency based on company-specific data.

Lead Nurturing & Email Sequences

Not all leads are ready to buy immediately, but that doesn’t mean they won’t in the future. Lead nurturing through email sequences, newsletters, and personalized follow-ups helps keep prospects engaged over time.

Example: A marketing automation platform sends a weekly email with actionable tips, ensuring that when a prospect is ready to buy, their product is top of mind.

Why Demand Generation Works

Demand generation isn’t just about short-term results. Demand gen is about building a scalable, sustainable way to attract and engage customers.

A well-executed strategy fills the pipeline, strengthens brand authority, and makes sales teams more effective by delivering warmer, better-informed leads.

Demand Generation Metrics: How to Measure Success

A strong demand generation strategy means nothing without the right metrics to track performance. Measuring the success of your campaigns helps optimize efforts and maximize ROI.

Key Demand Generation Metrics

Website Traffic & Engagement – Tracks how many potential buyers are discovering your brand through organic search, paid ads, and content marketing.
Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) – Identifies leads that meet specific engagement and qualification criteria before passing them to sales.
Cost Per Lead (CPL) – Measures the efficiency of paid campaigns by calculating how much is spent to acquire each lead.
Pipeline Influence – Evaluates how demand generation campaigns contribute to the overall sales pipeline and revenue growth.
Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate – Tracks the percentage of leads that actually convert into paying customers.

Example

A demand generation manager analyzing MQL-to-SQL conversion rates notices that leads from LinkedIn ads convert at a lower rate than those from organic search. They optimize the ad targeting and messaging to improve performance.

The Role of a Demand Generation Manager

Demand generation managers bridge the gap between marketing and sales, ensuring a steady flow of high-quality leads into the pipeline.

They focus on building awareness, engaging prospects, and creating scalable marketing strategies.

Key Responsibilities

Create & Optimize Campaigns – Develop and refine multi-channel demand generation efforts, including content marketing, paid advertising, and lead nurturing.
Align Marketing & Sales – Work closely with sales teams to ensure smooth handoffs of qualified leads and provide insights on lead quality.
Measure & Optimize Performance – Use data and analytics to refine messaging, campaign strategies, and budget allocation.

SaaS Companies Use Demand Gen for Growth

For SaaS companies, demand generation isn’t just about getting leads—it’s about educating and engaging prospects long before they’re ready to buy. Because SaaS sales often require a deeper understanding, companies must invest in long-term strategies to nurture potential buyers.

Best Demand Generation Tactics for SaaS

Freemium & Free Trials – Offering free access to the product builds trust and allows users to experience the value before committing.
Product-Led Content – Blogs, guides, and case studies educate prospects on how the software solves real-world problems.
Community Building & Thought Leadership – Engaging with industry communities, hosting webinars, and publishing insights establishes credibility.

Demand Generation Full-Funnel Approach

Unlike traditional lead generation, which focuses primarily on capturing contact information, demand generation nurtures potential buyers throughout the entire sales funnel.

It’s about building trust, keeping prospects engaged, and moving them seamlessly toward conversion.

Stages of the Funnel

Attract – The top of the funnel is all about getting in front of potential buyers. Tactics like SEO, social media marketing, and PPC campaigns ensure that the right audience finds your brand.

Engage – Once prospects know about your company, the goal is to keep them engaged. Webinars, gated content, and lead magnets provide valuable insights in exchange for their contact information.

Nurture – Not every lead is ready to buy immediately. Email marketing, ABM (Account-Based Marketing) campaigns, and retargeting help keep your brand top-of-mind while addressing pain points and objections.

Convert – When a prospect is ready to decide, they need a clear path to purchase. Sales enablement content, demo offers, and free trials give them the confidence to move forward.

A nurtured approach leads to higher SQL conversion rates and faster deal velocity.

The Emphasis for B2B Growth

A well-executed demand generation strategy doesn’t just bring in leads—it creates long-term brand affinity and builds a predictable pipeline of high-quality opportunities.

• Expands brand reach and builds long-term relationships with potential buyers.
• Generates high-quality leads that fuel the sales pipeline and improve close rates.
• AI-powered insights and automation enhance efficiency, personalization, and scalability.

Want to see how AI-powered demand generation can accelerate your pipeline?

Discover how Revenue.io helps teams drive sustainable growth.