Data-driven demand generation
Seven strategies to support your success

I believe that delivering business impact through demand generation requires strategy, flexibility and, crucially, insight-based change management. It is with insights that we can turn data into action, boost pipeline value and drive sales performance. We also avoid over-promising lead volumes which only negatively affect long-term success.

Data is a marketer’s Achilles’ heel. All too often, I see businesses afraid to tackle the one thing that’s unquestionably vital in delivering success and impact. 

In this article, I’ll be sharing a practical approach to navigating the stages of insight-driven demand generation. Hopefully, this will also quieten the argument that asserts that marketing is ineffective in driving the sales number.

Stage 1: Define clear objectives and KPIs

Data-driven demand generation starts with defining what success – and its timescales – look like. Are you aiming to achieve:

• more qualified leads?
• shorter sales cycles? 
• higher conversion rates? 

Whatever your primary goal is, it should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), allowing you to focus on what matters most, and to avoid nasty shocks and/or disappointment. Smart goals will allow you to focus your data collection efforts and track your success.

Stage 2: Identify and collect quality data

Once your goals are set, I’d recommend you identify the types of data needed to achieve them. 

Make sure these provide actionable next steps – when you get sufficient insights, what will you do with them? Are you just collecting data points for the sake of it? Are they vanity metrics that no strategic marketer should be focusing on?

At the recent #TheMarTechSummit, I moderated a fascinating panel discussion with experts in this field – and the consensus was very much that insights are only valuable when they lead to positive change. 

Stage 3: Turn data into actionable insights

Because data is only valuable when translated into insights, segmentation is crucial. It allows us as marketers to target specific messages to audience groups based on their behaviours, interests and/or needs. 

And we can’t perform meaningful personalisation in our content without having put in place the foundations for cohesive data collection. 

For example, behavioural data can reveal your audience's pain points and guide your content strategy. Campaign Monitor reports that segmented campaigns achieve 14% higher open rates and 101% higher click-through rates compared to non-segmented campaigns.

There are loads of tools and services out there that can enrich existing data, from AI providers, such as Clay.com or Ocean.io, to B2B experts like Larato. Bespoke insights essential in giving demand outreach a competitive edge.

Stage 4: Embrace predictive analytics for demand forecasting

Predictive analytics help marketers anticipate demand and respond proactively. This is where AI excels, offering insights that drive higher success rates.

Forrester research reveals that 58% of marketers using predictive analytics expect to exceed their marketing goals. Today, many CRM platforms, like Salesforce, now include predictive scoring functionality, making small-scale insights both accessible and cost effective.

Stage 5: Implement continuous testing and optimisation

Continuous improvement isn't just a hot topic – I believe it's essential to demand generation. Otherwise, your strategic approach becomes dated and, more importantly, ineffective.

Once you’ve segmented your (cleaned) organisational and contact-level data, perform A/B tests or multivariate testing to see what resonates best with your audience. Teams that adopt a full testing approach have up to 30% higher ROI on campaigns, according to Forrester.

For example, testing different messaging across segmented audiences can help you identify the most impactful language, visuals or most engaging CTAs to maximise the number of eyes on your content. So, it’s key to learn from your activities and continuously refine your approach.

Stage 6: Create a feedback loop with sales teams

Another consistent theme at the MarTech Summit 2024 was that collaboration with sales remains critical. This is an age-old message but synchronising with sales teams can take multiple forms. One data insight that is hard to fully map but vital to record is the anecdotal and customer-led feedback to the demand generation activity.

Regular, structured feedback on lead quality, conversion barriers and objections will allow you to refine targeting and messaging. Recent research reports businesses with aligned sales and marketing teams see 36% higher customer retention and 38% higher sales win rates. Capturing this data bridges the gap between strategy and customer realities. 

Stage 7: Measure, report and refine

I believe that true data-driven demand generation is a continuous process. New data points will evolve, so you need to regularly assess whether:

• you have the right insights
• changes in strategy have affected what you see as the most valuable data points 
• you re-map your analysis to take these into account

Regular reporting helps you measure the impact of your strategy, track performance and identify areas for refinement. 

Make sure you’re creating dashboards for KPIs like Estimated Pipeline Value, Lead Volume, Cost Per Lead and/or Win Rate. I’d recommend you make reporting integral to your strategy and not only track your goals but continuously optimise your delivery based on your learnings.

Harnessing data for demand generation

Data-driven demand generation is transformative. But it's only as powerful as the strategy behind it. 

Set SMART goals, be adaptable and make sure you’re focusing on the most critical data points. This way, you'll build a demand-generation engine that drives growth and delivers value. 

With the number of crucial data points expanding, AI and predictive analytics have become even more vital in guiding reactive changes. So, focus on your data points, make sure they allow you to make decisions that boost business impact and evolve to meet customer needs.