Demand Generation Definition

Demand generation is the process of creating interest—demand—for a product or service. This is possible through a variety of means, the most common of which is the cultivation of brand awareness.

Building brand awareness through online marketing is often both affordable and effective; creating advertising campaigns on platforms like Google Adwords or Facebook is a common strategy since audience targeting can be nearly as granular as a business might like. Online marketers will also focus on improving SEO, creating additional cornerstone content, and other marketing strategies.

Demand Generation Example

Suppose that a business has recently launched a new service. The business knows that the service fills a demand and people are sure to benefit from it—but they have to hear about it first!

The business decides to take a multi-faceted approach to demand generation. Additional high-quality content is created on their blog, a Google Adwords campaign is started, and they have their site audited for potential SEO improvements. Offline, the business also makes sure to attend relevant trade shows and conventions. All of these elements contribute to spreading the word about their new service and ultimately generates demand.

The more potential customers that can be made aware of a business the better chance the business has of closing a sale, hence the importance of demand generation.

Why is Demand Generation Important in Strategic Marketing?

Lead Generation

Demand generation goes hand-in-hand with lead generation. During and after generating demand, potential customers will be curious about the product or service and will want to learn more, making them more easily captured as qualified leads.

Closing Sales

Similarly, after demand for a product or service has been generated, closing sales will be easy—prospects know that your business can solve their problem or otherwise enrich their lives.