Read time: 8 minutes
B2B demand generation has changed dramatically over the last decade. It's now more complex and dynamic, requiring marketing professionals to be agile, data-driven and customer-centric. The traditional methods of cold calling and email blasts are no longer as effective as they once were. Today, businesses need to adopt a more sophisticated and targeted approach to capture the attention of potential clients.
In order to succeed in this new environment, marketers need to leverage technology, focus on personalisation, and create compelling content. The idea is to maintain consistent and personalised engagement with prospects throughout the buying journey.
In this article, we'll help you understand what modern B2B demand generation looks like and how it can be used to drive awareness and interest in your products or services.
We’ll address some of the key changes within B2B demand generation and how to tackle the challenges they bring.
There has been a shift in buyer needs and preferences
Demand generation is tired. The needs of B2B buyers are very different from 10 years ago and this shift is driven by advancements in technology, changing buyer behaviour and evolving marketing strategies.
And that’s not all, there has been a big change in the demographics of B2B buyers and the buying process as a whole.
The average B2B buying group is now aged between 25-44 years old, reflecting the increasing role of millennial managers across the workforce, particularly in B2B purchasing.
Buyer committees are now the norm
One key way the buying process has changed is the increase in buying committees and their role within B2B purchasing. According to Pipeline, the number of these committees has increased by at least 28% over the last 24 months.
The size of these committees is also growing, with the average B2B buying committee made up of around 10 to 11 participants.
Demand generation while structured is anything but traditional. Why are you buying leads the same way as you always have? Intent data and AI now allow marketers to decide which accounts they should be driving a mile deep as opposed to a mile wide, yet marketers still put limits such as lead caps across their entire account list.
If the buying committee is getting bigger, the intent data has confirmed your suspicions on which accounts to target, why do you cap the leads you get from the accounts that are showing more interest the same as you would to the accounts that are showing zero interest?
- Frank Rukaj, VP of Global Sales
Research is paramount
Today’s buyers, particularly millennial buyers, want a more self-directed journey and will conduct extensive research themselves before even considering engaging with sales.
The modern buyer's journey has become more complex. Prospects are now conducting extensive research online before making a purchase decision. This means that marketers need to provide valuable content at every stage of the funnel to nurture leads and build trust. From informative blog posts and whitepapers to case studies and webinars, content must address the specific needs and pain points of your audience.
The same study from Pipeline found that B2B buyers now use 10 or more pieces of information to make their purchasing decisions. Therefore, your demand generation strategies must provide the most helpful and relevant information for each stage of the buying process.
Omnichannel experiences are expected
Not only this, but the way buyers consume content has changed as well. There's a greater emphasis on personalised content that speaks directly to their needs and unique challenges.
With the rise of social media, content marketing, and search engine optimisation (SEO), businesses now have a plethora of tools at their disposal to reach their target audience. By leveraging these digital channels, marketers can create more personalised and engaging campaigns that resonate with their prospects.
Pipeline also revealed that B2B buyers want a digital-first experience and will make over 80% of their purchase decisions before engaging directly with a brand.
With that in mind, effective B2B demand generation requires a presence across multiple channels—including email marketing, social media, webinars, etc.—to engage buyers where they are. Video, interactive content and virtual events are now more prominent than traditional formats like whitepapers and ebooks.
This has created new challenges in B2B demand generation
It's clear B2B demand generation is getting more demanding; advances in technology and changing buyer behaviours have created new challenges.
It's harder than ever to cut through the noise and marketers need to do more to reach and engage their target audience. But as buying committees grow, they can no longer target just one decision-maker.
Instead, marketers need to appeal to different people with different perspectives and core focuses. This can make it 10 times more challenging to make a sale. In fact, bigger buying committees have led to a 30% reduction in a company’s ability to reach a purchasing decision.
Other challenges include focusing on omnichannel engagement, reaching buyers where they are and dealing with a dramatic increase in workload.
Marketers must also be aware of regulatory changes to data privacy and compliance when collecting, storing and using data to target B2B buyers. These constantly changing policies make it difficult for marketing teams to stay updated and avoid fines.
The alignment between marketing and sales has never been more critical. Organisations must rethink their demand generation strategy to ensure full collaboration and a seamless transition from lead generation to nurturing and conversion.
How can marketing professionals tackle these challenges?
If you’ve found that your demand generation strategy has slowed due to these challenges, it’s time for a new approach:
Use intent data and its benefits to inform your tactics
There is a place and good reasoning for all tactics; email marketing, account-based marketing (ABM), automation, the list goes on. Ultimately, it's a combination of these tactics that will drive the best results.
And it's safe to say that most organisations subscribe to a funnel structure across sales and marketing. So your tactics should be structured to support this funnel too.
Your keywords and topics should also be a funnel as the types of keywords you're leveraging can be indicative of where that specific account is in their research phase. Consider having your vendors segment your account lists based on early-, mid- and late-stage keywords to inform the tactics to get you in front of the accounts based on their research readiness.
- Frank Rukaj, VP of Global Sales
Get to know your target customers (even better)
Demographics and buyer personas are great, but it's vital you get to know more about your target customers to reach and target them effectively. And good quality data is going to be the key to these insights.
Enter, intent data.
Intent data reveals where a prospect is in their buyer journey; if they’re still in the research phase or whether they’re actively looking to make a purchase.
Recommend reading: What is intent data? Your not-so-secret weapon for B2B marketing
Armed with these insights, you can target them with the most relevant and tailored content marketing, increasing the likelihood of a sale.
When it comes to lead generation, understanding where prospects are in their buyer's journey is crucial for lead generation. Intent data can significantly improve your lead generation efforts by providing insights into potential customers' readiness to purchase, allowing you to prioritise outreach strategies and only engage with those who are most likely to convert.
This data is also a critical part of ABM, a strategy that has become the cornerstone for B2B demand generation and business growth. This technique focuses on targeting high-value accounts with personalised marketing content.
That is why 91% of marketers are using intent data and ABM to prioritise their accounts.
Make sure to choose the right partners and platforms
It’s all well and good talking about intent data, ABM and other demand generation solutions, but to get the best results you need to find the right partners and tools that will help you make meaningful connections with your customers.
Intent data is as useful as it is confusing. There are different types of intent data: first party (active) and third party (passive). The market is flush with intent vendors that have strong opinions on which is best. Usually, their opinion is based upon what they sell and is fiercely defended to support their claims. Cutting through the noise and knowing the differences can determine the success of your strategy.
If marketers are asking which is right for them while taking into consideration how the market is making purchase decisions, the logical answer is both.
Demand gen marketers should be more demanding of their vendors when it comes to leveraging both active and passive research to inform/confirm their decisions as well as challenging their perceptions of which accounts to target.
- Frank Rukaj, VP of Global Sales
AI and machine learning (ML) help with predictive analytics, lead scoring and personalisation, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of your demand generation efforts. And integrating your CRM systems with marketing automation platforms is crucial for tracking and managing leads throughout the buyer's journey.
So, you need to look for advanced tools and providers who can support your marketing efforts with lead enrichment, intent data and real-time engagement tracking.
Sure, investing in the right partners is a big decision and this will take time and thorough research, but it’s vital that you get this right if you want to feel confident and in control of your demand generation strategy.
