As with any marketing campaign, a demand generation effort requires regular attention to optimizing its performance in order to generate the best possible results. You already know that Movéo recommends that every key marketing decision be informed by data. But how do we take our best practices and apply them within a demand generation campaign? Here are three ways we do so.
At this point, using Google Analytics or a similar analytics tool to analyze your marketing KPIs should be a requirement for your organization. This is information you cannot be leaving on the table, because it gives your team insights into the ways that your audience interacts with your content. Take your data collection a step further with heat mapping tools that allow your team to see not only how often people visit your pages and how they flow through your site, but also how long they spend on each page and what sections or offerings they prefer within each page. This gives you insight into which information is attracting people and encouraging them to move throughout your site. Isolate the information that drives people towards contacting you—this is what you can prove generates demand. Then, use that information, copy and design to inform your demand generation efforts.
Successful optimization plans begin with clear goals. Set up a scorecard outlining your goals for key demand generation activities, and track metrics against these goals monthly and quarterly. Regularly evaluate where your demand generation work is meeting and exceeding your goals, as well as where it is underperforming. Then, consider the best course of action to improve underperforming metrics. Is your content weak? Start giving away better thought leadership. Are people simply not showing up on your pages? Determine how you can reach a larger audience, whether it’s by encouraging your existing audience to share content or by investing in ads. Remember: demand generation takes time. If you can track how prospects are progressing week over week, you can get a sense of how long it takes to generate demand.
Demand generation needs to reach a lot of people: but who’s best to target? you need to be sure you’re reaching at least a portion of people who you can safely assume will have interest in your offerings. Start thinking about the best ways to target these people: whether it’s through buying a list from a trusted partner organization with targeted clients or personally prospecting, take the time to learn more about who you’re sending information to. Think of these aspects of your marketing as the early stages of building long-term relationships with members of your audience.
Remember, demand generation should build marketing and sales cohesion within your organization. Talk to the sales team as you work to optimize your campaign, and find out what their needs are and how your work can better serve them further down the line.
We’d love to talk more about how you can optimize demand generation campaigns at your organization and answer your questions. Interested? Give us a call.
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