Any brand’s main challenge is creating genuine interest in its products and services. A successful demand generation funnel allows businesses to implement cost-effective campaigns, attract high-quality leads, and improve long-term ROI.

By aligning content, campaigns, and outreach with each stage of the funnel, businesses can nurture leads effectively and turn interest into action.

In this guide, we’ll discuss the intricacies of the demand funnel, the strategies to implement, the best practices at each funnel stage, and the top metrics to track.

Let’s get started.

TL;DR – Demand Generation Funnel Strategies

Here’s the summary of the most effective demand-generation strategies:

1. Create targeted content
2. Strategically partner with brands
3. Engage with a broad audience on social media
4. Provide free and useful resources
5. Utilize Public Relations (PR)

Looking to build a demand gen funnel that converts?

As a brand marketing consultant, I can help you create a structured funnel that generates a steady stream of quality leads and moves them through the sales process. With strategic messaging, we’ll place your brand and offer in front of your ideal customers.

Let’s connect for a discovery call today for tailored solutions to your marketing needs.

What is a Demand Generation Funnel?

A demand generation funnel visualizes the steps taken by a typical customer, from initial brand recognition to purchase.

The common stages in the funnel include:

• Awareness: Businesses provide information about their brand and its offerings to increase brand awareness.
• Interest: Prospects express interest in an offer.
• Consideration: Prospects begin considering an offer to solve their problem and might compare the offer to other solutions. At this point, they’re categorized as marketing-qualified leads (MQL).
• Intent: Prospects contemplate purchasing the product and are now classified as high-quality leads (HQL).
• Evaluation: At this stage, prospects make the final decision on whether to buy the product. They’re now referred to as sales-qualified leads (SQL).
• Purchase: The prospect finally makes a purchase and becomes a customer.

What is Full Funnel Demand Generation?

A full-funnel demand generation approach synchronizes marketing campaigns with sales activities. This unified effort gives potential buyers all the details they need as they navigate the funnel’s stages.

Demand Generation Best Practices with Funnel Optimization

Following the best practices for demand generation funnels is vital for a business to stay competitive, adapt to market changes, make data-driven decisions, and build customer loyalty.

Here’s a deep dive into each stage and the top practices to implement:

TOFU (Top of the Funnel)

At the TOFU stage, the aim should be to create brand awareness and build interest in an offer.

Some essential practices include:

• Audience Research and Segmentation: Businesses should use past data, surveys, and research to uncover the ideal customer profile. Marketers should also specify where prospects are in the customer journey and understand how they engage with the content.
• Create Informative Content: Craft TOFU content that answers questions and educates potential clients. A resource hub can include short videos, ebooks, infographics, social media posts, and blog posts.

MOFU (Middle of the Funnel)

The goal of the MOFU stage is for a prospect to become a qualified lead who is likely to convert.

The top practices for this stage are:

• Implement Targeted Marketing Campaigns: In the MOFU stage, companies should focus on providing detailed information on their offer, whether through white papers, case studies, webinars, segmented email newsletters, or comparison guides.

• Refine Lead Scoring: Use data on lead behavior, algorithms to predict lead quality, and feedback from the sales team to qualify leads. Businesses can prioritize high-converting leads and increase conversion rates based on these patterns.

BOFU (Bottom of the Funnel)

Tactics in the BOFU stage should be designed to convert prospects into buyers and brand advocates. 

They include:

• Encourage Conversions: At the BOFU stage, use product tours and free trials to give prospects firsthand experience of how an offer is suitable for them.
• Analyze and Optimize the Funnel: Another crucial tactic is continuously monitoring and optimizing the demand gen funnel to increase effectiveness. Use metrics like conversion rate per stage of the funnel, CPL, and MQLs.
• Incorporate Tools: Automation is crucial for capturing leads, conducting competitor analysis, enhancing email marketing, monitoring visitor analytics, and improving customer engagement. Some tools that can help with these tasks include HubSpot, Semrush, Mailchimp, Zapier, and Google Analytics.

How the Demand Generation Funnel Aligns With the Modern Buyer’s Journey

B2B companies must continuously focus on encouraging potential customers to come inbound. They must implement strategies to engage modern buyers and deliver their revenue targets. 

Here are the steps to consider:

Awareness of the Customers Problems

Modern audiences are more market-savvy than ever before. They are aware of their problems but are not actively shopping for the products. 

The demand generation funnel should support the customers’ research. Clients can self-educate through content that answers their questions and creates SEO-focused thought leadership.

The Customer Journey is Not Linear

The modern customers do move predictably from awareness to conversion. They research, compare alternatives, seek advice from previous users, return through a case study, and might convert later. 

Demand generation should support this journey and help customers at every stage without forcing them to make decisions.

Companies Prioritize Building Trust

Demand generation isn’t about collecting contacts. Marketers have to prioritize moving customers down the funnel rather than collecting contacts. 

The demand generation should therefore focus on delivering value and building trust. Leads become a byproduct of the trust.

Content Strategy That Supports Every Funnel Stage

An effective content strategy is the cornerstone of demand generation efforts. It creates consistent messaging around a brand, builds trust, and targets audiences at different points in their buyer’s journey.

So how can a brand create targeted content for each stage? Here are the steps to create a winning content strategy:

Create Buyer Profiles

For the content strategy to work, there should be clarity around the ideal customer profile.

The content strategy should be tailored to specific audiences. So, businesses should gather data on who their target audience is, what they want, and which platforms they use.

Leverage Marketing Automation Tools

Use customer experience tools such as customer relationship management (CRM) software to increase efficiency. Besides, schedule social media posts and digital ads to target when and where the audience is active.

Implement Different Content Types

Potential customers will be at different stages of the buyer’s journey, and the content should align with that. For example, at the top of the funnel, a brand should create content that is easy to access. 

At the bottom of the funnel, the content should prompt the audience to share information that a brand can use to convert them into paying customers.

Measure Content Marketing

Regularly measure content performance at each funnel stage to ensure it attracts attention and builds a relationship with the audience through their pain points and interests. 

Check metrics such as bounce rate, on-page, and engagement to assess how the content resonates with the audience. Additionally, a brand should identify content gaps and avoid underperforming content strategies.

5 Demand Generation Funnel Strategies for Better Visibility

Combining different strategies in a funnel allows a business to capture the attention of potential costumes, nurture the relationship, and ultimately generate revenue.

Here are the five strategies to start implementing:

1. Create Targeted Content

Create targeted content through blogs, guest posts, and videos to answer potential questions about an offer or the business. Optimize the content to boost the search rankings and establish the brand as the solution to the potential customers’ needs.

2. Strategically Partner with Brands

Join in conversations with subject matter experts to position the business as an industry authority. Share helpful expertise on podcasts, webinars, and YouTube channels (and appear on other shows) to build a positive brand perception and credibility with the target audiences.

3. Engage with a Broad Audience on Social Media

Social media allows businesses to engage prospects, understand their needs, and build a loyal online community. Companies can run PPC ads, use social listening tools, and create engaging LinkedIn posts to increase their brand’s visibility.

4. Provide Free and Useful Resources

A great B2B demand generation tactic is offering free resources related to the pain points an offer solves. Examples are creating free tools or offering downloadable content.

5. Utilize Public Relations (PR)

Another strategy is using media coverage to draw attention to a brand and its offer. Create compelling press releases and pitch to major publications to increase the target market.

Demand Generation Funnel Metrics to Track Success

Monitoring metrics can help businesses minimize marketing costs, employ data-driven strategies, and target the right audience.

Here are the key metrics to evaluate:

• Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs): These prospects show positive interest in a company’s products by attending webinars, requesting software demos, and downloading white papers. Track every interaction of leads using tools like Salesforce.
• Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs): These are MQLs who show a stronger interest in a product. Their needs and budget align perfectly with the company’s offerings. Pipedrive, for example, is excellent for identifying and analyzing SQLs.
• Cost Per Lead (CPL): Calculates total marketing spend divided by the number of qualified leads.
• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): Measures the average cost of converting one prospect into a paying customer. CPA is always higher than CPL because it considers additional expenses such as free trial costs and the prices of marketing automation apps.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV): Measures a customer’s total expected revenue for the entire relationship with a company. Businesses that focus their marketing efforts on customer retention often have higher CLTVs.
• Return on Investment (ROI): ROI refers to the net returns generated by specific strategies. The higher it is, the more effective a marketing campaign becomes.
• Signups and Activations: This calculation calculates the number of users who activate free trials or create accounts to determine the level of interest a product generates.
• Average Deal Size (ADS): The revenue generated by one customer transaction. ADS helps businesses understand buyer behavior, establish sales targets, and estimate future revenues.
• Content Engagement: Measures the various ways customers interact with the brand. These include page views, unique visitors, pages per session, session duration, bounce rate, conversion rate, social media shares and reactions, email signups, click-through rates, and impressions.

Common Mistakes That Limit Funnel Performance

Even a well-created demand funnel can fail when the proper strategies aren’t followed.

Here are the mistakes that can affect your demand generation:

1. Creating Gated Content at the Top: When brands create gated content assets, they can negatively affect the B2B customer experience, discouraging the building of relationships and loyalty with the audience.
2. No Lead Scoring: Another mistake is wasting resources on prospects who aren’t ready because of poor lead qualification.
3. Content Gaps: The leads can stall when there are no clear next steps. For example, when a brand creates strong TOFU content but lacks MOFU and BOFU assets.
4. Siloed Departments: When there’s friction between teams, opportunities are lost, and the lead conversion resources are wasted.
5. Lack of Review: Another mistake is the lack of A/B testing across different content types, optimization, and iteration based on content performance.

Hire Me to Build Your Next Demand Generation Funnel

With over two decades of experience in creating marketing strategies that have generated over $500m in online sales, I can help you to:

• Develop a unique value proposition (UVP) that shows how an offer differs from the rest.
• Craft impactful sales messaging to build stronger connections with your customers.
• Create tailored marketing campaigns that attract qualified leads.

Connect with me, and we’ll work together to identify marketing techniques that enhance superior audience targeting, lead conversion, and ROI.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Below are the answers to some of the most common questions about demand generation funnels:

What is a Demand Generation Framework?

A demand generation framework is a structured approach that outlines strategies and methods for capturing interest and driving demand for a company’s offerings.

It aligns marketing efforts with a business’s overall objectives.

What Are Some of the Best  B2B Demand Generation Tactics?

Businesses can use some of these B2B demand generation strategies:

• Offer free but valuable content
• Display ads and run personalized email campaigns
• Use social media channels such as LinkedIn and YouTube to reach a wider audience
• Cross-promote offers with other businesses
• Use FOMO to generate a sense of urgency for the offer

What is the Difference Between Demand Generation and Lead Generation?

Demand generation combines tactics and approaches to drive brand awareness and spark interest. Businesses create content to educate new prospects about their brand and its offer.

On the other hand, lead generation focuses on capturing information from potential clients (often using lead magnets) and creating a list of qualified leads that can be converted into buyers.

How Long Does a Demand Generation Funnel Take to Show Results?

Demand generation is a long-term strategy, and results can take 6 to 12 months.

Can Small Teams Build a Scalable Demand Generation Funnel

Yes. Small teams can build a scalable demand-generation funnel by repurposing content, leveraging automation tools, and prioritizing creative messaging. 

They can also focus on qualified leads who have downloaded multiple content assets and interacted with the conversion leads.

Conclusion

The demand generation funnel offers a crucial marketing framework but requires the right strategies, tools, and execution to achieve its maximum potential.

Want to optimize your demand generation efforts?

Partner with me to create campaigns that accelerate demand and generate consistent leads. We can also personalize the messaging to nurture long-term customer relationships.

Schedule a discovery call for tailored insights that unlock your business growth potential and achieve remarkable success.