Let's talk marketing strategy – demand generation vs demand capture

No demand, no revenue, right? Demand is at the core of any business, whether B2B or B2C – to be successful, you first need to create interest in your products/services. However, the actual business world is a lot more complex than this, and where many companies fail is by not approaching demand in a strategic manner.

We’re here to save you from making the same mistake. This article dives into demand generation & demand capture, describing what each entails and making sure you know how to leverage both of them for your business.

Demand generation – putting your brand out there

Demand generation is about making people come to you – it’s the strategic move of putting your brand in front of prospects in places where they’re most likely to engage with it.

If you’re now thinking ‘this sounds similar to branding’, you’re right, the two have various overlapping aspects. However, demand generation stems from B2B and instead of centering around attracting the masses like branding does, it is more focused. Demand generation provides you with a new categorization framework so that instead of MQLs, your ultimate target will be closed deals.

Demand generation takes a step further than mere awareness play – it targets and educates a key set of people, with the goal of making them become extremely high intent. It’s a top-funnel tactic that relies on finding the people you continuously want to be in front of. It is a first step, and a crucial one for that matter, on your way of driving sales and becoming a top-of-mind brand.

There are plenty of reasons why you should focus your marketing efforts on demand generation, including:

• increasing your visibility, especially if you operate in a highly competitive industry
• finding prospects where they are and gaining a better understanding of their pain points
• showcasing your expertise and educating potential buyers about your solutions

So how do you go about demand generation? Think of it as a game, where you have various potential moves to choose from, such as:

• Content marketing
• SEO
• Organic social
• Paid averting
• Events & webinars

To win the game, you also have to remember the most important rule: to create demand, combine the right ICP with the right messaging & timing.

Demand generation in practice

To create demand, it is key to combine the right ICP with the right messaging & timing. The results are powerful, as several companies have proven.
Think of a CRM system – did Hubspot pop up in your mind? Probably. And that’s because they successfully leveraged demand generation to become a top-of-mind brand.
Hubspot uses content marketing to educate prospects about what their product does and how it can help solve their problems. The free materials Hubspot offers, including ebooks, templates, and even certification courses, give the audience a comprehensive understanding of a wide range of marketing strategies, from inbound marketing to sales enablement. In addition, this also strengthens Hubspot’s credibility and thought leadership position.

Adobe is another example worth following. They used a different approach to demand generation, focusing on social media content. Using Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, Adobe shared content that displayed their products in an educative, yet engaging manner. What better way to show what your products can do than pictures of actual consumers using them?
They supported this strategy with paid ads on social media, aimed at redirecting leads to their website.

Demand capture – capitalizing on purchase intent

Demand capture moves further down the funnel, and it’s all about capturing the interest you’ve generated. At this stage, you become more specific with your targeting efforts, as you are focused on high intent searches.

If your strategy revolves around demand capture, high intent data is your strongest ally! You need to focus your efforts on those who already are in the market for your product/service, with the goal of converting them.
Now it’s your time to be assertive: do not fall into the trap of repeating the same steps you took in demand generation. We’ve seen many companies do that, yielding no successful results. Buyers with demand for a specific solution are not looking to be educated – they’re ready to acquire the solution. And you have to be ready to convince them your solution is the best solution!

Staying ahead of competition is essential if you want to convert leads into paying customers. It’s all about mastering the capturing element, and you can achieve that with tactics such as:

• A strong keyword strategy
• Paid ads (e.g., Google Ads)
• Retargeting
• Personalized content (e.g. email marketing)

Demand capture in practice

We said it before and we will say it again – demand capture is about prospects with high-intent purchase. The readiness to buy is reflected in their keyword search, so you would want to focus on those who look for something like “software solution” or “best CRM system”.

Hubspot understood this, making them an example of good demand capture practices as well. Hubspot retargeted prospects who visited their website with paid ads that had engaging visuals, informative yet concise text & a clear CTA.

Spotify is another powerful example: they used paid social for its retargeting strategy. Focusing on Twitter, Spotify used ads to reach freemium members and show them the benefits of upgrading to the premium version.

The sweet spot

There’s one simple rule you need to be aware of: both demand generation and demand capture are important for a successful marketing strategy, as they complement each other. It’s not about choosing one in favor of the other, it’s about knowing how to use a mix of both.
Without generating interest in your offerings, there’ll barely be anything to capitalize on. On the other hand, without capturing the demand you created, you won’t be able to increase your revenue.
The sweet spot is this: demand generation brings in awareness, demand capture helps you make sure your target audience converts.

Our resources on demand generation & demand capture

We know this complex topic cannot be contained in one blog post – that’s why we offer a wide range of materials to help you gain top-notch insights.
Our first webinar will take place on April 24th, 2023 & four guest speakers from the B2B industry will discuss the hot topics of demand generation and demand capture.
What is suitable to use at each stage of your strategy? How should you divide your budget – is it a 50/50 split?
These questions – and many more – will be answered. Make sure you join so that you can get your specific questions answered.

And for our podcast people – we’ve got you. Our podcast, Marketing Corner, deals with the A-Z of marketing and can be found on Spotify & Apple Podcast. Any curiosity or marketing-related thought you have, we have an episode on it (or will have soon).