Demand Generation: Driving Quality Leads Through Targeted Marketing

Demand generation starts with lead generation – qualified lead generation, that is. On its surface, lead generation is a relatively simple concept: capture consumer interest during the Consideration phase of the buyer’s journey, and convert it into a likely purchase during the Decision phase. However, the reality is that generating just any lead simply won’t do. Companies need to generate qualified leads, in order to actually drive revenue and increase overall marketing ROI.

Whereas general leads can include any kind of potential buyer, qualified leads are prospects that a company determines are likely to make a purchase based on marketing data and analytics. Instead of wasting marketing spend on generating leads that are unlikely to convert, companies must focus their marketing efforts on converting qualified leads– and they can do so through the use of targeted marketing strategies.

Targeted Marketing in the Context of the Buyer’s Journey

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of targeting marketing strategies, it’s important to understand the context of a consumer’s experiences throughout the buyer’s journey. The buyer’s journey is a process that customers go through on their way to buying a product or service. It’s generally laid out in three stages:

Awareness: During the awareness stage, the customer realizes that they have a problem that needs to be solved. This stage is the point where buyers are identifying the challenges and opportunities they want to look into, in addition to deciding how important those challenges are. Here, customers research the symptoms of the problem they face, and they also ask questions to better understand it.

Consideration: During this phase, a customer has narrowed down what their problem is, and they’ve made a clear decision to address it– they are now looking into solutions. Customers in this phase start to research different methods for solving their problem, and they compare the pros and cons of each strategy.

Decision: In the decision phase, the buyer has selected a strategy that they will use to solve their problem, and they actively look for the vendors and products that can execute that strategy. In other words, buyers have picked a category and are now evaluating the competition in that category to see which specific product or company is the best fit for them. They’re now directly comparing various products and services, their features, and their prices.

It’s important for companies to consider the entire buyer’s journey, because it serves as a foundation for mapping out the key touchpoints that customers experience while interacting with a brand. Knowing what the buyer’s journey looks like grants companies the ability to craft content that is tailored to each specific step of the decision-making process. It also enables companies to take a holistic view of this process— and to ensure that there is quality, consistency, and continuity throughout the entire journey. After all, 77% of customers consider a company’s customer experience to be just as important as the quality of its products, and 86% of buyers would leave a brand due to having poor customer service experiences.

Given the importance of building a quality customer experience that is consistent and seamless, companies must intentionally focus on the transitions that take place between the Awareness, Consideration, and Decision phases. This is where targeted marketing comes into play.

Targeted marketing is a strategy wherein companies personalize marketing campaigns based on information acquired through marketing data and analytics. The goal with targeted marketing strategies is to develop and convert qualified leads at the transition point between the Consideration and the Decision phases of the buyer’s journey. This is accomplished by identifying the group of consumers that are most likely to make a purchase (i.e. qualified leads), and then by developing a marketing strategy that appeals directly to them, ultimately convincing them to buy.

How to Build a Targeted Marketing Strategy

Targeted marketing is one of the most effective strategies that companies can implement to improve revenue and boost ROI. In fact, a client who worked with Madison Taylor Marketing to develop and implement a targeted marketing strategy saw a 245% increase in new customers, and a $3.7 million increase in revenue.

Targeted marketing campaigns can be incredibly lucrative for companies looking to increase demand generation, but they have to be developed and implemented the right way. The key here is that companies must research and build their understanding of qualified leads, and then they must develop a strategy that adequately meets their needs and expectations. Here are some steps that companies can take to ensure they are building a strong targeted marketing campaign:

1. Identify Target Audiences – Utilize marketing data and analytics to identify the customers that are most likely to make a purchase from your company. Using segmentation strategies and building a customer persona is particularly helpful during this step. The goal here is to identify qualified leads– and to get inside their minds, in order to figure out what they want and need.

2. Develop and Refine the Value Proposition – Once a company has identified their target audiences, it needs to ensure that the brand’s value proposition is appealing. It must align to their customers’ wants and needs. A helpful way to frame a value proposition is through the sentence below:

“Our company gives customers [insert benefits and opportunities provided to customers] by providing them with [insert the benefit of using a specific product or service], with a focus on [insert customer/user experience].”

3. Consider the Most Effective Mediums – Considering that 80% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a brand that provides personalized experiences, it is extremely important for companies to not only understand what their customers want, but to also develop strategies that meet those needs. To do this, companies should consider what mediums (i.e. email, social media, print ads, etc.) will be most effective for connecting to their consumers.

Increasing Demand through Qualified Leads and Targeted Advertising

In today’s competitive market landscape, companies must be more intentional than ever about how they drive demand. Increased demand is generated through an increase in qualified leads. Therefore, companies must be thoughtful in how they segment and connect to their consumers. By implementing marketing strategies that involve targeted advertising, companies can leverage market data and analytics to intentionally allocate their marketing spend and improve their marketing ROI.

Looking for more information on how to drive quality leads through targeted marketing for your organization? Reach out and let’s begin a conversation.