Hey ,

It’s not uncommon to come across marketers who separate ABM and demand gen (while they don’t really have to). Some even argue that demand gen is better than ABM and some others take the opposite stand.

But what if you don’t have to choose between ABM and demand gen? What if you can blend both marketing strategies to get optimal results?

That’s what today’s newsletter is all about. We will walk you through the nitty-gritty of demand generation and ABM, and then show you how to make the most of both marketing strategies. 

Before we dive in, here are some job listings that you or someone around you might be interested in.

TRENCHES JOB BOARD

EXPANDI is hiring a Lead Acquisition / Demand Generation Manager

Job responsibilities:

• Manage the day-to-day execution of multiple marketing campaigns from start to finish, with direct responsibility for hitting pipeline targets and performance KPIs.
• Develop and execute demand generation initiatives that significantly increase the marketing database and overall pipeline
• Constantly look for new channels for inbound leads

Learn more about the job and apply here.

PROOFPOINT MARKETING is hiring a Performance Marketing Specialist

Job responsibilities: 

• Strategize, build, and manage campaigns across paid search, paid social, and display channels. 
• Create media plans and performance forecasts, and then analyze, interpret and act upon performance data to effectively manage campaign budgets to meet forecasted targets.
• Educate clients on how paid media affect relationship velocity efforts

Learn more about the job and apply here.

Now, let’s get to the meat of the matter.

Do you have to separate demand gen and ABM?

The short answer is NO. And the long answer is still NO.

In fact, ABM and demand generation are two marketing operations that are part of full-funnel marketing, and it stands to reason that demand gen can't exist without ABM. 

Why? Mainly because before you even do activation in ABM, you need to have engaged accounts. Your contacts must be aware of your company, your product, or your service. And how do you do that? Through demand gen.

But unfortunately, most B2B marketers get it wrong. Owing to scalability obsession, they set up huge wishlists of accounts based on firmographic data. 

Here’s a quick example:

• We want FinTech companies from the United States 
• Team size: 50 to 1,000 employees 
• Revenue: $50k MRR 

Then they define the roles based on ICP and upload those accounts to LinkedIn. In case they have a budget, they purchase software like metadata or Demandbase and try hard to create engagement via display ads.

But here’s the question: would people really purchase a six-figure product by clicking on a display ad, then visit a landing page, book a demo call, and pay for the product? In all likelihood, the answer is NO. 

In fact, clicking on a display ad doesn't equal buying intent. Neither does it mean awareness. The attention span is very low because people can forget about your ad within a few seconds. That's why you need to have a completely different approach to demand gen and ABM. 

How to build a successful demand generation strategy?

Demand generation focuses on building reliable brand awareness and interest, resulting in high-quality leads. 

It can help you make your business’ marketing messages sound more authoritative and carry more weight with prospective clients, and ultimately help increase revenue by farming strong leads.

Here are some steps to build a successful demand gen strategy.

Step 1: Build awareness

In today's competitive sales and marketing landscape, brand awareness is critical to achieving a consistent flow of quality leads. And while it may seem like an easy thing to do, brand awareness isn't just about grabbing a potential buyer's attention. 

A real and lasting brand awareness strategy leaves potential buyers with a persistent positive impression of a company and makes them more likely to trust that company when it offers solutions to customer challenges or needs. 

One of the best ways to build brand awareness is to leverage customers' reviews and testimonies.

Reviews are important in the sense that they act as candid consumer feedback related to real-world use, free from marketing hype. 

Step 2: Develop a content strategy

Hand-in-hand with brand awareness, building industry expertise is a key element of reliable demand gen. Industry expertise means that your brand is seen as an authority in its field from the very first interaction with a potential customer. 

This kind of expertise helps build client trust and lays the groundwork for important conversations about customer pain points and the solutions your business can offer. A solid content marketing strategy that offers timely, helpful insights at each step of the purchase journey is the best way to build expertise. 

Providing content that answers buyer questions/concerns while they move through their purchase journey builds purchase confidence and brand credibility. 

If you have the marketing resources, develop curated or personalized content to address the needs of your target accounts. Furthermore, you can use segment-specific information to craft calls-to-action (CTAs) that guide buyers through their purchases. 

Step 3: Nurture high-quality leads

Once you’ve made first contact with a potential customer, your marketing team hands over the lead details to the sales team and congratulates each other on a job well done, right?

WRONG. Healthy, reliable demand generation requires a full lead nurturing strategy from first contact through decision and purchase. 

Marketing teams should work alongside sales throughout the purchase journey, remaining in tune with buyer questions, concerns, and attitudes. Depending on how robust their resources are, marketing teams should continue to interact with these high-value leads all the way through purchase by providing helpful content to answer common questions.

Your marketing team should focus on the types of content prospective clients need, as well as the most appropriate channels to share that information. The goal of this kind of targeted nurture campaign is to reach customers with the right content or assets at the moment when that information is most helpful to them. 

How to do ABM?

With ABM campaigns, you should basically have 3 tiers. 

• Tier 1: companies with the highest revenue potential. 100% personalized campaigns. 
• Tier 2: companies with medium revenue potential. One to few campaigns. Here, you can personalize by vertical and job roles. 
• Tier 3: mass-market campaigns. This is a normal marketing campaign, with little personalization. 

How to blend demand gen and ABM?

While doing demand generation activities, you’re creating a pool of accounts that are aware of your product or service. As you begin to see a reliable trickle of leads coming in from your demand gen strategies, you may want to fast-track high-value leads. This is where an ABM strategy comes into play.

ABM requires marketing and sales teams to strategically select accounts to target and nurture through customized engagement and support. 

Marketing teams should design target company personas based on high-value clients that are most likely to convert and/or grow. Evaluate what business objectives and values these target accounts tend to share, as well as what major steps in their buying journey precede purchase. 

Use the target personas to inform how you market to these leads, providing them with personalized content that directly addresses their unique pain points and questions.

Upcoming community events

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See you in Trenches 😉

Adechina D. Odjo,

Content Editor @Trenches