In a crowded marketplace where buyers of products and services are overwhelmed by information and choices, companies need to make smart, data-driven decisions to capture the attention of new customers and win a share of their wallets. Demand Generation professionals rely on data and the latest digital marketing techniques across channels to amplify brand awareness among new buyers, cultivate consideration, and foster brand connection through meaningful interactions.
Demand Generation aims to move buyers into the Marketing funnel and then nurture them into the next phase of the path to purchase. Demand Generation Marketers immerse themselves in buyer behavior to seek out prospects who behave like the brand’s most profitable existing customers, within current markets and new ones.
What Does a Demand Generation Marketer Do?
Demand Generation Marketers are Digital Marketers. They think about all the tools available in the digital marketing toolbox and how they might use them for short and long-term goals. Immediately, the aim is to attract new buyers of a company’s product and services. But the longer view means fostering lasting (and profitable) connections between the buyers and the brand through carefully planned experiences.
Key Aspects of the Demand Generation Role
Demand Generation Marketers are the perfect balance of left and right brain thinkers, both analytical and creative. It's no wonder why we're seeing increasing demand for this hot marketing job title. Demand Generation Marketers are responsible for:
Defining detailed buyer personas – comprehensive, descriptive profiles of each buyer type based on demographic, psychographic, and behavioral insights
Translating the brand positioning into compelling messages that speak to each buyer persona
Ideating and managing targeted marketing campaigns, including analyzing and optimizing tactics
Managing relevant channels to reach each buyer persona, including establishing metrics and analyzing channel performance
Applying the latest tools and technology to activate both inbound and outbound marketing tactics while also understanding how buyers search for products and information on the Web (this requires using search marketing and search engine optimization best practices)
Leading the strategic planning, development, and production of content, which means creating the right content for the right time delivered through the right channel, to prompt the buyer through the purchase journey
Collaborating with other members of the brand’s Digital Marketing team to create and manage demand generation initiatives. This may include colleagues in creative, social media, product marketing, and executive leadership roles, and outside agencies
Researching and pursuing new opportunities – whether new markets, new sources of buyers, new marketing techniques, and the like
Analyzing and reporting on demand generation strategy efficacy and making recommendations to leadership on how to improve existing plans or what to pursue next
The Soft Skills Most Commonly Shared by Successful Demand Generation Marketers
Besides the specialized functional expertise cataloged above, hiring managers should look for essential soft skills when hiring a candidate for a Demand Generation role. The top five soft skills that are the hallmarks of a successful Demand Generation Marketer are
Communication: in all its forms written, interpersonal, presentation
Collaboration: because creating and managing integrated programs means relying on colleagues and outside vendors, job candidates must be able to encourage cooperation, persuade buy-in, and inspire productivity in others
Curiosity: Demand Generation Marketers should exhibit a natural inquisitiveness and excitement about novel ideas, methodologies, and technology
Creativity: to discover new buyer targets, sources of prospects, and tactics to motivate buyer action, Demand Generation Marketers need to be dreamers and blue-sky thinkers
Capacity to learn: job candidates should display a willingness to seek out information and opportunities to expand their mindset, their toolset, and their skills and apply them to solve marketing challenges
If you are looking to hire a Demand Generation Marketer for your team, a specialized Marketing recruiter from 24 Seven can help you find talent fast. Check out our Ultimate Guide to Recruiting Marketers. Whether you want to hire a freelancer or bring on a professional full-time, we have a deep network of Digital Marketers to consider. Contact us today!