Demand generation has long been a cornerstone strategy for businesses looking to drive growth (rightfully so!). However, the effectiveness of many traditional demand generation tactics is waning. This shift isn't just due to market saturation or technological changes - it's fundamentally about a transformation in buyer behavior and expectations.

Today's buyers are more informed, more skeptical, and more in control of their purchasing journey than ever before. They're not just looking for products or services; they're seeking solutions to their problems – ones they may not have recognized yet. Traditional demand generation tactics often fail to recognize this nuanced journey, attempting to force urgency where there may not yet be a recognized need.

For marketing leaders, recognizing when your demand generation efforts are faltering is crucial. It's not just about maintaining performance; it's about aligning with your buyers' journey and staying relevant in a rapidly changing market. In this article, we'll explore the tell-tale signs that your demand generation strategy may be losing its edge and introduce emerging trends that could help you regain your competitive advantage by better aligning with your buyers' needs and mindsets.

Signs Your Demand Generation Isn't Working (And Why)

If you’re missing targets quarter over quarter

Before we delve into the specific signs that your demand generation strategy may be faltering, it's crucial to understand the broader implications of these indicators. If your business is consistently missing monthly or quarterly targets, it's highly likely that one or more of these signs are manifesting in your marketing efforts. These signs are not just isolated marketing metrics; they are typically strong indicators or direct contributors to underperformance in overall business goals.

When demand generation efforts lose effectiveness, it creates a domino effect that impacts the entire sales and revenue generation process. Declining lead quality leads to fewer conversions, stagnant website traffic reduces your pool of potential customers, and longer sales cycles delay revenue realization. As these issues compound, they directly contribute to missed targets quarter over quarter. By recognizing and addressing these signs early, you can take corrective action to realign your demand generation strategy with your business objectives and get back on track to meeting (or exceeding) your targets.

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1. Declining Lead Quality

What you're seeing: An increase in unqualified leads and a decrease in lead-to-opportunity conversion rates.

Why it's happening: Traditional demand generation tactics often cast too wide a net, attracting leads who aren't truly aligned with your solution. This misalignment occurs because these tactics frequently fail to consider where prospects are in their buyer's journey. Many leads may be in early stages of problem recognition, not yet ready to evaluate solutions. Forcing these prospects into your sales funnel prematurely leads to poor quality leads and low conversion rates.

2. Stagnant or Decreasing Website Traffic

What you're seeing: A drop in organic search rankings and a reduction in referral traffic.

Why it's happening: Your content may not be aligned with your buyers' actual questions and concerns at various stages of their journey. Buyers are seeking information that helps them understand their problems and potential solutions, not just product features. If your website content doesn't address these evolving needs and search intents, it won't attract or engage your target audience effectively.

3. Lower Engagement Rates

What you're seeing: Decreased email open and click-through rates, reduced social media interactions and shares.

Why it's happening: Generic, one-size-fits-all content fails to resonate with buyers who expect personalized, relevant information. Your audience is likely at various stages of the buying journey, from problem awareness to solution consideration. If your content and messaging don't acknowledge and address these different stages, engagement will naturally decline as buyers find your communications irrelevant to their current needs and interests.

4. Increasing Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC)

What you're seeing: Rising paid advertising costs with diminishing returns, higher expenses for content creation and distribution.

Why it's happening: Traditional demand generation often focuses on short-term conversions, ignoring the longer, more complex modern buying journey. This approach leads to inefficient spending, targeting prospects who aren't ready to buy or failing to nurture those who need more time and information. As a result, you're spending more to acquire customers who may not be properly qualified or truly ready to make a purchase decision.

5. Longer Sales Cycles

What you're seeing: Extended time from initial contact to closed deal, more touchpoints required to convert leads.

Why it's happening: Buyers today go through a more comprehensive decision-making process, involving more stakeholders and more in-depth research. If your demand generation strategy is still focused on pushing for quick decisions rather than supporting this extended journey, you'll find prospects hesitating or requiring more time and interactions before committing. Your strategy may be missing crucial nurturing steps that align with the buyer's need for thorough evaluation and consensus-building within their organization.

6. Declining Return on Investment (ROI)

What you're seeing: Lower revenue generated per marketing dollar spent, difficulty in justifying marketing budget allocations.

Why it's happening: Traditional demand generation often prioritizes short-term metrics over long-term value creation. This misalignment with the buyer's journey leads to inefficient spending on tactics that don't truly resonate with prospects' needs or decision-making processes. When marketing efforts fail to create lasting connections or provide ongoing value throughout the buyer's journey, the return on investment naturally diminishes.

7. Lack of Alignment with Sales Team

What you're seeing: Increased friction between marketing and sales departments, complaints from sales about lead quality or quantity.

Why it's happening: This misalignment often stems from a disconnect between marketing's understanding of the buyer's journey and the reality that sales teams encounter. If demand generation efforts are not accurately reflecting the stages of buyer readiness or fail to provide the right information at the right time, sales teams struggle to engage effectively with leads. This gap indicates that your current strategy may not be adequately preparing prospects for meaningful sales conversations.

8. Outdated Buyer Personas

What you're seeing: Target audience behavior no longer matches your assumptions, shift in customer pain points and preferences.

Why it's happening: Buyer needs, priorities, and decision-making processes evolve over time, especially in rapidly changing markets. If your demand generation strategy is based on outdated personas, it will fail to resonate with your current audience. This mismatch often occurs when businesses don't regularly reassess and update their understanding of their buyers' evolving journey, challenges, and motivations.

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What to do to improve your demand generation 

As traditional demand generation tactics lose effectiveness, a new approach is gaining traction: the Brand + Demand strategy. This approach addresses many of the shortcomings of short-term focused tactics by aligning more closely with the modern buyer's journey — effectively balancing both long-term and short-term marketing goals.

The Brand + Demand Approach

The Brand + Demand strategy recognizes that today's buyers are in control of their purchasing journey and timing. It acknowledges that while immediate conversions are important, building a strong brand presence is crucial for long-term success. This approach focuses on:

  1. Balancing Short-term and Long-term Goals: While demand generation aims for immediate results, brand marketing builds lasting mental associations. The Brand + Demand approach strikes a balance between these two, ensuring both immediate performance and long-term brand health.
  2. Staying Top of Mind: With 71% of buyers purchasing from their initial top choice brand, this approach emphasizes the importance of maintaining a strong brand presence. It keeps your brand fresh in the buyer's mind, so when they're ready to make a purchase, you're their preferred choice.
  3. Building Mental Associations: By consistently connecting your brand to the problems you solve, you create strong mental links in your buyers' minds. This ensures that when a need arises, your brand is immediately associated with the solution.
  4. Fostering Brand Preference: Brand marketing efforts are designed to make your brand the preferred choice in your category. This preference is what ultimately leads to purchase when the buyer is ready.
  5. Providing Value Throughout the Buyer's Journey: Content and interactions are designed to support buyers at every stage, from early problem recognition to final decision-making, always reinforcing brand associations.
  6. Cultivating Long-term Relationships: The focus shifts from transactional interactions to building lasting relationships with potential customers, recognizing that purchase timing is controlled by the buyer, not the marketer.

How Brand + Demand Addresses Traditional Shortcomings

To be clear, brand marketing should not replace demand generation. Many demand generation falls short because it's short-sighted. We're not saying it isn't important, but it needs to be balanced and paired with long-term brand marketing that can sustainably generate pipeline and revenue over time. Balancing brand and demand can help with: 

  • Improved Lead Quality: By focusing on building brand preference and providing consistent value, this approach naturally attracts more qualified leads who already favor your brand.
  • Enhanced Engagement: Content that resonates with buyers' needs at various stages of their journey, while consistently reinforcing brand messages, leads to higher engagement rates.
  • More Efficient Marketing Spend: While initial costs may be higher, the long-term effect of brand building often results in lower customer acquisition costs over time, as buyers already prefer your brand when they're ready to purchase.
  • Shorter Sales Cycles: Prospects who are familiar with, trust, and prefer your brand are more likely to move through the decision-making process more quickly once they're ready to buy.
  • Increased Market Share: By becoming the preferred brand in your category, you're more likely to capture a larger share of the market over time.

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Conclusion

The signs of faltering demand generation are clear, but they also present an opportunity for transformation. By recognizing these indicators and understanding their root causes in the changing buyer's journey, businesses can pivot to more effective strategies.

The brand + demand approach offers a promising path forward, aligning marketing efforts more closely with the needs and behaviors of modern buyers. By focusing on building lasting relationships and providing value throughout the buyer's journey, businesses can not only revitalize their demand generation efforts but also create a strong foundation for long-term growth and customer loyalty.

As you reassess your own demand generation strategies, remember that the key lies in truly understanding and aligning with your buyers' evolving journey. It's time to move beyond short-term tactics and embrace an approach that resonates with the complex, value-driven decision-making processes of today's buyers.

We recommend starting with understanding your Category Entry Points, which are the triggers that prompt a buyer towards purchase. 

TL;DR – Key Takeaways

  1. Declining demand generation effectiveness often leads to missed quarterly targets.
  2. Key signs include declining lead quality, lower engagement rates, and increasing customer acquisition costs.
  3. These issues often stem from misalignment with the modern buyer's journey and mindset.
  4. The Brand + Demand approach balances short-term goals with long-term brand building.
  5. Staying top-of-mind is crucial, as 71% of buyers purchase from their initial top choice brand.
  6. Revitalizing your strategy involves reassessing your buyer's journey, auditing brand strength, and aligning content with each stage of the buyer's process.
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