From Lead Generation to Demand Generation: What, Why, and How?

Last updated 09 March, 2023.

Leads, leads, leads….we demand leads! (pun intended)

Here’s a mantra every marketer has heard from sales and management at some point in their careers.

That’s because most B2B companies are still very heavily sales-led. In other words, lead generation is often the only sheriff in town 🤠.

Having said that, there’s also a growing wind of change called demand generation.

What’s the difference, you ask?

Lead generation is usually great for acquiring many contacts, but it also favors quantity over quality.
Demand generation, on the other hand, focuses on attracting relevant people based on what they need to solve at a given time. It favors quality over quantity and has a greater impact on revenue.

Put simply, companies focusing solely on lead generation may be missing out, BIG TIME 😱.

In part 2 of episode 95 of the SaaS Growth Hub Podcast, Adam Holmgren (Global Demand Generation Strategy Lead at GetAccept) shares his thoughts on what it takes for B2B SaaS companies to steer away from Lead Generation to run a Demand Generation Playbook.

Adam’s 3 DOs for switching over to a demand generation playbook

Get the buy-in from all affected parties (management, sales, etc.) and manage expectations.
Create a clear experimentation framework and explain to everyone how you work.
Even out the split between search and social channels. If your focus is mostly on search channels, that’s a problem for demand generation.

Adam, Reeta and Seija cover: