B2B Marketing Strategy: Demand Generation vs Lead Generation
Lead and demand generations are both quite important in B2B marketing strategy. It is not possible to generate leads effectively without also generating demand.
On the other hand if you generate demand without turning the demand into leads then it loses its value. Although both lead generation and demand generation share the same end-objectives they are not the same thing.
Lead generation may fall under the general umbrella of demand generation but it is a specific part of this process that requires its own specific set of tactics and skills.
If you do not recognize the difference between these two types of lead generation you may miss out on leads and end up paying more for leads than necessary.
Making the distinction between the two types of lead generations will help you drive more leads that are more likely to be accepted by sales and convert to revenue and also lower your cost per lead (CPL).
Differences Between Demand Generation and Lead Generation
The main difference is that demand generation is the process of getting prospects interested in the product or service you are selling; while lead generation is the process of converting that interest into actual names and contact details that your sales team or even you can follow up on.
Demand generation is a process that entails taking your prospects through the whole process from establishing their awareness of the problem they have and which you can solve, through to increasing their trust and confidence in your brand, all the way to making them interested in the solutions you are offering as solution for their problem or need.
This process in B2B Marketing Strategy may include raising awareness of what your product features are and why they are important.
It may also entail sharing the leadership content you have created that demonstrates your expertise in your sector, distributing some free tools and resources that show your usefulness as well as that of your product or even sharing influencer posts that showcase the values from your brand.
On the other hand lead generation actually translates the interest created by these activities into something that is actionable and tangible.
The most obvious difference that can be seen in lead generation and demand generation is that one campaign asks for contact information, which is lead generation, while the other one does not.
If you create content that users can interact with easily and pay for the distribution of this content to as many relevant people as possible, then you are running a demand generation campaign.
The main aim of demand generation is to make the visitors start appreciating your business and think about why they would want to buy from you.
On the other hand, if you place your content behind a form asking your visitors for contact information and then you pay to distribute to your target audience, you are running a lead generation campaign.
The main aim of the lead generation will be to capture as many leads as possible by giving visitors an incentive to share their contact details with you and making the process easy for them.
The Differences That People Often Forget
One of the main reasons why people often confuse demand generation and lead generation is the fact that they both utilize most the same tactics and tools.
They both tend to rely on smart and precise targeting to be effective and also benefit from the use of compelling and relevant content. However, you should realize that they both use these things for totally different purposes.
B2B Marketing Strategy: How to Target For Demand Generation

The most important thing is to distinguish between the people the people who know enough about your brand and the products you offer and those who don’t.
Successful demand generation campaigns are those that focus on stirring interest in those who show the most interest and likelihood of being converted into leads.
These campaigns also don’t keep on paying to have free content shared with people who already know enough about your business.
The secret to creating a more efficient and effective demand generation is integrating all the potential data sources you have so as to identify relevant prospects that may need their interest and awareness levels raised.
You then need to leverage this data to your target audience in a context where they are more open to engaging with you.
B2B Marketing Strategy: Using Website Retargeting
LinkedIn has a website targeting feature that allows you to group visitors to your website based on the pages they view. This allows you to target prospects based on the level of interest they have shown in your business.
It allows you to create tailored campaigns to people who have already read particular thought-leadership posts on your blog.
B2B Marketing Strategy: Reaching Influencers and Decision-Makers
ABM strategies usually focus the efforts from your lead generation and demand generation campaigns on businesses that are more likely to buy your product.
You can upload a list of the businesses you have identified as part of your ABM approach on your LinkedIn Matched Audiences to help you with this process.
These businesses will add more value to your leads when they convert and buy your product.
B2B Marketing Strategy: Use Email Matching

When you add email matching to your targeting campaign allows you to eliminate those people who are already on your lead list so as to prevent you from sending demand generation campaigns to them.
This will also help to save money that would have otherwise been used to raise interest and awareness where it already existed.
B2B Marketing Strategy: Increasing the Effectiveness Of Lead Generation

The techniques and targeting options used for lead generation are similar to those used in targeting for demand generation.
The difference is that you will be using them to create segments of people who are ready to take the next step in their purchasing journey.
When you target people who are willing to convert into leads will help you as a business to reduce you CPL.
The most important thing is to increase the effectiveness of your lead generation campaign by removing as much friction as possible from the information capturing process.
B2B Marketing Strategy: Removing Friction From Lead Generation Forms
You can use LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms which are in-app forms that are automatically generated and mobile-optimized to suit how users interact with LinkedIn through their smartphones.
These forms are pre-populated with the prospect’s LinkedIn profile data and can be submitted instantly.
This allows your prospects to continue engaging with our content while giving you in-depth and accurate contact information.
This will be a game changer in increasing the number of quality leads that you capture from your lead generation campaigns. It is also quite easy for you to add lead generation forms on LinkedIn.
What Type of Content Work Best for Both Demand And Lead Generation
The content you choose should be differentiated by the presence of lead capture forms as well the objectives they are seeking to achieve.
The content used in another clear difference between the two types of lead generation campaigns.
These are the main differences between demand generation and lead generation even though there are so many other differences between the two marketing campaigns.