Most B2B marketers think that lead genen and demand genen are the same thing with
0:04
different names. Now they’re not. And if you’re optimizing for either or, you’re
0:08
leaving pipeline on the table. The reality is that lead genen is
0:11
transactional. And demand genen for all you demand gen marketers is just
0:15
theatrical. But customer generation, it’s the only model that actually scales
0:18
revenue. I’m not here to add more jargon to your B2B marketing. So let me show
0:22
you what each model actually does and why only one actually matters. So lead
0:26
genen is very simple. You run ads, you run gated content, you get form fields,
0:30
and then you pass them off to sales. What’s the problem there is that you’re
0:33
optimizing for volume and not actual quality. So yeah, you got great looking
0:37
dashboards with all these metrics on it, but sales hates you cuz you’re passing
0:40
them garbage leads. And then you got demand genen that comes to try and fix
0:43
it where you ungate content, you build awareness, and you nurture prospects
0:47
over time. Sounds much better, right? Wrong. The problem is these companies
0:50
treat demand genen like a brand theater. You’re running these expensive LinkedIn
0:54
ads. You’re racking up all these impressions and then you call this
0:57
building demand. But when you ask what pipeline it created, crickets. Customer
1:02
generation is different. It’s not just about collecting contacts or building
1:06
awareness. It’s about creating and progressing demand at each stage of the
1:11
funnel and then tracking it all back to revenue.
1:15
You create content and campaigns that educate buyers on not just the problem,
1:19
but also your solution. Secondly, you drive them to high intent actions. This
1:23
could be requesting a demo, a product tour, or just engaging them in sales
1:27
conversations. And then lastly, everything that you do, you track it
1:30
back to pipeline and revenue, not these vanity metrics like CPL. So, when we
1:34
transition clients from either lead genen or demand gen and get them over to
1:38
the customer generation methodology, here’s some of the things that change.
1:41
Lead volume drops, but the quality of those leads actually skyrocket.
1:45
Secondly, you get sales off your back cuz they stop complaining about every
1:48
lead cuz now every lead that comes through the pipeline is actually
1:51
qualified. Thirdly, your cost per SQO might look like it’s higher, and that’s
1:55
by design, and that’s because your deal size and your close rate will also
1:59
increase with it. And lastly, marketing can finally give themselves a pat on the
2:03
back cuz you finally can prove that you’re driving revenue and not just
2:06
leads and vanity metrics. So ask yourself, are you optimizing for just
2:10
leads, awareness, or customers? Because only one of those is paying for your
Learn why customer generation beats lead gen and demand gen, and how B2B marketers can drive real pipeline, qualified leads, and revenue in 2025.
2:14
salary.
View Transcript
Most B2B marketers think that lead genen and demand genen are the same thing with
0:04
different names. Now they’re not. And if you’re optimizing for either or, you’re
0:08
leaving pipeline on the table. The reality is that lead genen is
0:11
transactional. And demand genen for all you demand gen marketers is just
0:15
theatrical. But customer generation, it’s the only model that actually scales
0:18
revenue. I’m not here to add more jargon to your B2B marketing. So let me show
0:22
you what each model actually does and why only one actually matters. So lead
0:26
genen is very simple. You run ads, you run gated content, you get form fields,
0:30
and then you pass them off to sales. What’s the problem there is that you’re
0:33
optimizing for volume and not actual quality. So yeah, you got great looking
0:37
dashboards with all these metrics on it, but sales hates you cuz you’re passing
0:40
them garbage leads. And then you got demand genen that comes to try and fix
0:43
it where you ungate content, you build awareness, and you nurture prospects
0:47
over time. Sounds much better, right? Wrong. The problem is these companies
0:50
treat demand genen like a brand theater. You’re running these expensive LinkedIn
0:54
ads. You’re racking up all these impressions and then you call this
0:57
building demand. But when you ask what pipeline it created, crickets. Customer
1:02
generation is different. It’s not just about collecting contacts or building
1:06
awareness. It’s about creating and progressing demand at each stage of the
1:11
funnel and then tracking it all back to revenue.
1:15
You create content and campaigns that educate buyers on not just the problem,
1:19
but also your solution. Secondly, you drive them to high intent actions. This
1:23
could be requesting a demo, a product tour, or just engaging them in sales
1:27
conversations. And then lastly, everything that you do, you track it
1:30
back to pipeline and revenue, not these vanity metrics like CPL. So, when we
1:34
transition clients from either lead genen or demand gen and get them over to
1:38
the customer generation methodology, here’s some of the things that change.
1:41
Lead volume drops, but the quality of those leads actually skyrocket.
1:45
Secondly, you get sales off your back cuz they stop complaining about every
1:48
lead cuz now every lead that comes through the pipeline is actually
1:51
qualified. Thirdly, your cost per SQO might look like it’s higher, and that’s
1:55
by design, and that’s because your deal size and your close rate will also
1:59
increase with it. And lastly, marketing can finally give themselves a pat on the
2:03
back cuz you finally can prove that you’re driving revenue and not just
2:06
leads and vanity metrics. So ask yourself, are you optimizing for just
2:10
leads, awareness, or customers? Because only one of those is paying for your
Learn why customer generation beats lead gen and demand gen, and how B2B marketers can drive real pipeline, qualified leads, and revenue in 2025.
2:14
salary.
