Editor's note

This perspective is consciously at variance with more traditional "go-to-market" approaches. It is most relevant to technology-related markets, but can be applied to many others. The demand generation triangle can best be applied to high-growth markets. When demand generation efforts aimed at generating new business produce disappointing results, it is often not the fault of the specific sales and marketing programs used. Even the most inspired programs can fail if the environment for success has not been adequately prepared.

	Philosophical approaches:
Cultures and focus differ between businesses. There are major differences between how a company with an Engineering, Product, Sales, or Marketing focus goes to market.

Demand Generation

Whatever their source of revenues, most companies wish to increase demand and preference for their products and services - and of course increase revenues and profitability. The plan may be to grow sales to regular customers, increase the number (and quality) of opportunities for sales to new customers, or drive revenues by increasing the number of active customers in the market (i.e. driving primary demand).

Prioritising sales and marketing investments across three specific drivers of demand will improve demand generation ROI. These are:

Need recognition (by customers)
Attractiveness of the solution (to the customers' need)
Customer franchise (strength of customers' preference for your products or services) based on market presence, convenience, awareness, reputation, and brand preference.

These factors are distinguished from the underlying economic drivers of demand (such as number of potential customers, disposable income, and credit availability), since they are the ones which a business can directly impact. As such, these "demand triangle" factors set the framework against which most marketing investments should be set.

The overall purpose of demand generation is to increase the number and quality of sales opportunities. While a distinction is sometimes made between two forms of demand generation - "push" and "pull" marketing - the fundamentals remain constant:

By understanding the state of the marketplace (and being objective) demand generation campaigns can be planned which have the right blend of emphasis on the solution's value propositions, customer franchise building, and, if need be, market education.

Marketing Minds Services

Marketing Catalogue

Minds Eye (newsletter)

Custom Search

Marketing Cheat Sheet

Marketing Consulting