An interesting conversation has been raging in the B2B market lately around demand generation vs. demand capture. The idea is that marketing can’t always create (i.e., generate) demand; in some cases, they need to be focused on capturing it instead. Take a seasoned business buyer who is well acquainted with the few leading options she has to choose from when her contract term is up. The marketers competing for her next contract are in a “demand capture” situation. She’s already going to buy. The question is which company can provide more relevant content, more timely interactions, and a more effective solution.
In another scenario, a company might have a brand new AI solution that its audience isn’t aware of. They need to do some work to “generate demand” by educating their audience about their new solution's benefits and use cases. The demand isn’t there yet, so the work is about driving interest and getting budget.
These two concepts are two sides of the same B2B marketing coin. In either case, marketers need to fine-tune their demand strategy to get in front of their next customers faster with relevant messaging. Creating the right experience to capture or generate demand requires an understanding of the prospect or customer, their needs and preferences, their intent, budget, and place in their buying journey. A lot of B2B marketers rely on relatively stale data and rigid channel-based demand marketing that doesn’t allow for the flexibility and personalization that today’s buyers demand.
Anteriad recently launched a helpful guide called “Level Up Your Demand Strategy,” which provides B2B marketers with smart approaches that take demand marketing up a notch. From using intent data effectively to mapping today’s new buyer journey, this guide can help identify gaps in current approaches and provide inspiration for new ones.
Demand marketing is a lesson in timing and relevance. A marketer must meet their prospect at the right time, with the right message. To do that well, marketers need to have a strong data foundation. It’s no accident that Anteriad is built on data from the ground up. We provide B2B marketers with a robust, global data solution that helps identify more leads, understand the buyer journey more accurately, and personalize every activation. Our ranking in the top 1% of data providers attests to our commitment to data excellence.
If you’re considering an upgrade to your demand strategy, data is a good place to start.