How to Build a Demand Generation Strategy that Drives Sales

Generating demand that converts into pipeline opportunities is a top priority for all companies. I believe the ones that who do reach the desired outcomes they want do a great job of having three things in place: strategy, structure, and execution.

Too many companies fall into the trap of thinking that simply creating content and running ads will fill their pipeline. 

In reality, building a sustainable pipeline requires careful planning, consistent execution, and the right execution to convert interest into sales.

Here, I’ll break down the exact blueprint every marketer needs to generate demand, turn it into qualified pipeline opportunities, and ultimately close deals. 

Let’s get to it…

1. Establish a Solid Strategy: Clarity Is Key

The foundation of any successful marketing blueprint is a clear, well-defined strategy. Too often, companies dive into tactics like content creation or ads without setting a proper strategy, and the result is disjointed efforts that fail to generate meaningful pipeline opportunities.

Here’s how to build your strategy:

• Define Your Audience: The first step is to get crystal clear on who your ideal customers are. Develop detailed buyer personas that outline their pain points, needs, behaviors, and where they spend their time online. Research shows that businesses that use accurate buyer personas see a 55% increase in website traffic and a 24% increase in lead quality (HubSpot).
• Set Clear Goals: What are you trying to achieve? Are you building brand awareness, generating leads, or increasing conversions? Your goals will shape the type of content you create and where you spend your resources.
• Map Out the Buyer’s Journey: Understand the stages of your customer’s journey—from awareness to consideration to decision—and create a marketing funnel that aligns with these stages. McKinsey & Company research shows that mapping strategies to the buyer’s journey can increase ROI by up to 30% (McKinsey & Company).

2. Structure Your Funnel: Turn Demand into Pipeline Opportunities

Once you’ve set your strategy, it’s time to build a structured marketing funnel. This is where demand generation meets pipeline development. A solid funnel ensures that the leads you generate turn into qualified pipeline opportunities.

Here’s how to structure it:

• Top of Funnel (TOFU): The goal here is to attract potential customers and build awareness. TOFU content should focus on providing value, answering common industry questions, and addressing broad pain points. Companies that invest in TOFU content experience 7.8x higher web traffic than those that don’t (Demand Gen Report).
• Middle of Funnel (MOFU): At this stage, your leads are aware of their problem, and they’re considering solutions. MOFU content needs to educate them on why your solution is the best. Research shows that 47% of B2B buyers read 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales representative (Demand Gen Report).
• Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): The final stage is converting leads into pipeline opportunities. This is where sales and marketing must align closely. BOFU content, like product demos, personalized offers, and customer testimonials, helps push leads toward a decision. Aligning sales and marketing can increase close rates by 67% and improve customer retention by 36% (HubSpot).

3. Content Creation: The Fuel for Demand Generation

Content is the heart of demand generation. It’s how you attract and nurture your audience at each stage of the funnel. However, simply creating content isn’t enough. You need a structured approach that aligns with your overall marketing strategy.

Here’s what to focus on:

• Create Value-Driven Content: Your content should educate, inspire, and solve problems for your audience. Studies show that 82% of customers feel more positive about a brand after consuming custom content (Demand Metric).
• Tailor Content for Each Funnel Stage: As mentioned above, TOFU content might be blog posts or infographics, while MOFU content could be more in-depth guides or industry reports. BOFU content, on the other hand, could include case studies or success stories from existing clients. 49% of B2B buyers prefer to engage with vendors with informative and relevant content at each stage (Content Marketing Institute).
• Repurpose and Optimize: Don’t let your content go to waste. Repurpose content across multiple channels. A blog post can become a social media series, a webinar can become a white paper, and a podcast can be transformed into a series of articles. Repurposing content has been shown to increase ROI by up to 28% (Content Marketing Institute).

4. Scale with Paid Advertising

While organic growth is essential, paid advertising accelerates your ability to scale. Platforms like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Instagram Ads give you the power to target your ideal audience with precision. The key to successful paid advertising at scale is data-driven decision-making and optimizing your ad spend.

Here’s how to optimize paid ads for demand generation:

• Target the Right Audience: Platforms like Facebook Ads and LinkedIn Ads allow you to target users based on specific demographics, behaviors, and interests. Studies show that targeted ads are 2.5x more effective in engaging potential customers than non-targeted ads (WordStream).
• Use Retargeting Ads: Retargeting ads allow you to follow up with users who’ve already engaged with your content or visited your website but haven’t converted yet. Retargeting can increase conversion rates by up to 150% (WordStream).
• A/B Test Your Ads: Testing different variations of your ads—whether it’s the copy, imagery, or call-to-action—ensures that you’re optimizing for the highest conversion rate. Businesses that regularly A/B test see a 27% higher conversion rate on average (Invesp).

5. Leverage the Right Resources

Having the right tools and resources is critical to executing your demand generation strategy at scale. Whether it’s marketing automation tools, analytics platforms, or customer relationship management (CRM) software, using the right resources can help streamline your efforts.

Here’s what to prioritize:

• Marketing Automation: Tools like HubSpot, Marketo, or Pardot help you automate key tasks such as lead nurturing, email marketing, and social media scheduling. Marketing automation leads to a 14.5% increase in sales productivity and a 12.2% reduction in marketing overhead (Nucleus Research).
• CRM Systems: A CRM like Salesforce or Zoho ensures that all your marketing and sales efforts are aligned. Companies that use CRMs see an average 29% increase in sales (Salesforce).
• Analytics Tools: Use Google Analytics or Hotjar to track user behavior, measure performance, and adjust your strategies accordingly. Data-driven decisions are key to maximizing ROI, with businesses that use analytics tools seeing up to a 300% improvement in ROI on average (McKinsey & Company).

6. Execute with Precision

A well-defined strategy and structured funnel are essential, but they only bring results if paired with consistent and precise execution. Many companies will create a solid plan, but they stumble when it comes to following through. The ability to execute effectively on your strategy is what transforms your demand generation efforts into real pipeline opportunities.

Without proper execution, even the most well-crafted marketing strategy will fall flat. A report by Harvard Business Review found that companies with strong execution are nearly twice as likely to see revenue growth compared to those that struggle with implementation (Harvard Business Review).

Here’s how to ensure flawless execution:

• Prioritize High-Impact Tasks: Once you’ve mapped out your strategy and funnel, prioritize tasks that directly contribute to generating demand and converting leads. Focus on high-impact activities, like launching targeted campaigns or creating high-value content, that will move the needle.
• Hold Teams Accountable: To maintain consistent execution, assign ownership to specific team members for different parts of your marketing funnel—content, paid ads, social engagement, etc. Accountability is crucial for ensuring that everyone is aligned with your goals and responsible for their role in demand generation. Research shows that when accountability is built into the process, teams are 42% more likely to achieve their goals (American Society of Training and Development).
• Track Progress and Optimize: Execution is not a “set it and forget it” process. Regularly measure KPIs to gauge progress and make adjustments. According to data from McKinsey & Company, companies that regularly track and adjust based on data improve their performance by 30% (McKinsey & Company). If a particular ad campaign or piece of content isn’t performing, make the necessary tweaks instead of letting it run ineffectively.

Here’s what to do:

• Break down your strategy into daily, weekly, and monthly tasks that contribute directly to demand generation and pipeline growth.
• Establish a performance tracking system for all marketing activities, using tools like Google Analytics, Looker Studio, Tableau, etc. to keep an eye on KPIs and identify opportunities for optimization.
• Hold regular check-ins with your team to ensure everyone is accountable and aligned with your marketing objectives.

Wrapping It Up: Turning Demand into Pipeline Opportunities

Building demand and converting that into pipeline opportunities requires more than just throwing content and ads into the world. It demands a clear strategy, a structured marketing funnel, and the right resources to bring it all together. By focusing on value-driven content, paid ads that reach the right people, and utilizing automation, you can turn demand into a thriving sales pipeline.

Here’s what to do now:

• Refine your marketing strategy based on buyer personas and clear goals.
• Build a scalable funnel that guides leads through the customer journey.
• Create tailored content for every stage of the funnel and consistently repurpose it.
• Run and optimize paid ads to accelerate demand generation and drive conversions.
• Leverage automation tools and CRM systems to streamline your efforts and track performance.

With these steps in place, your marketing will not only generate demand but also convert it into qualified pipeline opportunities that lead to growth.