Demand Generation: 7 Strategies for Generating Quality Leads for Your Start-up

In the pursuit of generating leads for your start-up, quality is key in avoiding wasting time and resources on bad leads. However quality leads can take time to develop. Demand generation strategies can be an effective method of expediting the process while creating lasting equity for your brand.

So, with that in mind, here are 7 demand generation strategies to help boost your lead generation.

1. Table of Contents

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   Set a Solid Foundation

The most essential step is to perform a detailed analysis of your target market. This includes identifying key groups and their preferences with market segmentation.

Segmentation can be based on various methods, such as demographics and psychographics. Demographics focuses on static variables such as age, gender, and job title. Psychographics addresses IAO variables (interests, activities, and opinions) and can determine more details about target markets on a cognitive level.

From this data, the next step is to establish your buyer personas. Setting definitions of ideal buyer personas beforehand will not only increase the targeting of your campaigns but also their efficiency.

By this point you should also have identified common pain points and how your competitors are working to address them. All this work will kickstart your demand generation strategies.

2. Content Marketing

Given the long-term nature of demand generation, crafting a variety of high-quality content is an excellent strategy.

Create content in a range of formats and lengths that suit the interests of your target market, such as:

• Articles
• Whitepapers
• Case studies
• Ebooks
• Webinars
• Videos
• Podcasts

The key to producing content that generates demand is ensuring its relevance and value for its target audience. Use your knowledge of their needs and research existing content along with keywords to optimize your content both in terms of search engine rankings and topic.

When determining which content you are going to produce, be sure to create a content map. This prioritizes trending or strategic topics and helps to establish a consistent publishing schedule.

Content marketing is relatively cheap and can have lasting value with content often being suitable for repurposing at little to no cost, increasing its value.

For example, a popular article can be converted into a subject of discussion for a webinar or podcast. Content marketing should be your priority for demand generation.

3. Social Media Marketing

Navigating social media can be quite the challenge. However, social platforms can also be tremendously beneficial if managed correctly.

Social media platforms provide you with the opportunity to interact directly with your ideal client base, nurture relationships, and collect invaluable feedback from social listening.

Take any insights learnt and create thought leadership content such as advice for trending topics, tips, or polls. The aim of these posts is to encourage engagement that leads to discussions and the growing of your network or followers (depending on each platform).

The higher the quality of the content, the better the interactions will be. In time, you will be able to establish yourself as an industry expert as you develop your connections and reach.

With your content map, you can also schedule social media posts to promote recently published pieces or older content on your site.

Social media can also be used to humanize your brand by showcasing company culture and your team members. This combined with the distribution of content, thought leadership posts, and a consistent schedule can be effective in generating demand.

4. Free Tools

Although this strategy requires a greater investment than others, creating a free tool can be an excellent way to generate demand for your products and services.

Using a detailed understanding of your target market’s needs from your research, develop a tool that facilitates a lengthy or complex day-to-day process. Focus on an element of their business that can be streamlined.

Not only does this prove your knowledge of their needs but also demonstrates the value your company can bring with its products.

If developed successfully, your tool will encourage repeat visits to your site and content, as well as shares. This will also boost demand generation and brand awareness.

5. Email Marketing

Emails are a powerful tool in the marketer’s arsenal for demand generation. However, getting emails right requires development, time, and the right strategy for your target market.

A great strategy for opted-in contacts is sending out regular email newsletters. The nurture interest by containing updates, and relevant content.

When it comes to the actual email content, personalization goes a long way. If the recipient feels that they are receiving individual attention, they are more likely to interact positively.

Be sure to test the best times for sending emails for higher open rates and regularly clean email lists. Promos and giveaways are a great tactic for growing your list and attracting prospects you may not have found otherwise.

Emails make a great method of distribution for content to its target audience and as such, an efficient way to generate demand.

6. Co-Marketing

When it comes to demand generation, brand awareness is central to campaigns and can often compound their effect. One method of getting your brand name out there in a credible manner is by partnering with a non-competitor in your space.

This allows you to take advantage of their audience and vice versa. Co-marketing could mean publishing on each other’s websites, creating joint projects, or featuring team members from both brands in webinars and podcasts.

Before entering an agreement with another party, be sure to research them thoroughly and establish terms with them before getting started on collaborative projects. Remember, this should be a symbiotic partnership where everyone is a winner.

7. Lead Scoring

Evaluation of your demand generation efforts is essential to generating quality leads. This can be achieved with lead scoring.

This is the process of assigning value to both online and offline interactions of prospects with your content. The purpose of this is to determine when a lead is ready to be passed onto your sales team or a nurture program.

Though some may argue that the value attributed to each interaction is arbitrary, the key to a lead scoring system is tailoring it to meet your goals and specifications.

Once these benchmarks are established you will not only be able to assess the effectiveness of your demand generation tactics but also convert leads to prospects.

Final Thoughts

In the era of a well-informed prospect, demand generation is essential for generating awareness, nurturing, and finally, quality leads. As well as regular testing, it is imperative to start your demand generation efforts with exhaustive research of your target market.

The better your content and strategies match your prospect’s needs and interests, the more quality leads you will be able to generate over time.