{"id":22539,"date":"2022-06-03T19:18:24","date_gmt":"2018-09-24T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/library\/demand-generation-the-missing-piece-of-your-b2b-sales-puzzle"},"modified":"2024-09-17T10:14:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T10:14:53","slug":"demand-generation-the-missing-piece-of-your-b2b-sales-puzzle","status":"publish","type":"library","link":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/demand-generation-the-missing-piece-of-your-b2b-sales-puzzle","title":{"rendered":"Demand Generation – The Missing Piece of Your B2B Sales Puzzle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Algirdas Desceras<\/a>, a Demand Generation Manager here at Bloomreach, was invited to speak at DHPA<\/a>‘s annual summer event<\/a> for the hosting and internet sector. The event brought together experts in their field to share best practices related to the data center hosting provider industry.<\/p>\n

Algirdas took this opportunity to share his knowledge on creating a good relationship between the marketing and sales teams in a B2B company, which ultimately drives more revenue. This post discusses the takeaways from Algirdas’s presentation that can help to optimize the sales and marketing processes in B2B companies.<\/p>\n

\"marketing<\/p>\n

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The Battle of Marketing and Sales<\/h3>\n

As the classic story goes, marketing and sales departments are known to lock horns once in a while. While the end goal is mutual, there is often a misunderstanding of the motives behind sales and marketing efforts, so much so that “roughly two thirds of salespeople<\/a> believe marketers are wasting time on fancy events and branding activities when they would be better served focusing on tactics that directly impact the sales pipeline\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sales people want to see more direct influence from marketing to create the sales pipeline and underestimate the impact of marketing effort like PR, Brand, Content Marketing on their ability to close deals.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s All about Leads<\/h3>\n

This “direct influence” is often measured through the amount of leads marketing generates. However, this metric is not always a simple one to measure. The very definition of a ‘lead’ differs per company, and marketing and sales need to collaborate in order to clarify this term in a way that makes sense for their business.<\/p>\n

This is only the cusp of the alignment journey. Expectations in sales and marketing processes can often go unrecognized, as outlined here:<\/p>\n

\"sales<\/p>\n

\nSource: Exhibitors Only<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Understandably, due to these mismatched expectations, clashes between marketing and sales do occur. The question is how do we narrow this gap and create a better understanding between the two teams?<\/p>\n

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The Bridge: Demand Generation<\/h3>\n

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\"demand<\/p>\n

Having a team solely dedicated to producing leads through marketing efforts (or demand) results in less confusion between sales and marketing. Demand generation focuses on the customer buying journey as a whole to gently guide the target customer into a purchase.<\/p>\n

\"buying<\/p>\n

Bloomreach’s Demand Generation Manager took the audience through the buying funnel he uses to achieve generate leads efficiently (Attract, Engage, Nurture, Convert). As part of the presentation, Algirdas shared advice on techniques companies could try out.<\/p>\n