“Demand Generation” is what you’re looking for from your marketing. But I have bad news: demand-gen is complete BS.
Martech companies invented the term Demand Gen to sell you more Martech. Companies like Hub$pot incentivized marketers and agencies to sell more Martech; therefore, marketing folks embraced made-up terms like demand-gen to sell more tech, to make them and the Martech company more money. And for all of your time and money invested? You get a nice orange notebook and a coffee mug.
(I’m not anti-tech; I’m pro-result. Starting with tech leads to frustration and loss because the big-picture thinking and strategies that must come first will inform you on what tech is necessary to achieve your goals.)
It feels good to get that out there in the world, and knowing is half the battle.
So, what is it that you need and want from marketing?
Brand Awareness.
Brand awareness is when customers and prospects recall and are aware of your brand under different conditions. In other words, people are familiar with your brand and have a favorable opinion of it.
How do you build brand awareness?
Brand Positioning.
By clearly and accurately positioning and messaging what you do, for whom, and the problems you solve for them, you become sticky in their mind, and that’s recall. In other words, it means saying the right thing to the right people often.
How do we identify the right people?
Customer mapping & ICP (ideal customer profile) development.
Identifying and mapping out your customers, distilling down the pains and problems you solve for them, mapping out who influences them, what brands they already trust, who the champions and decision-makers in the buying sequences are, and getting to the root of what they give a shit about.
But how do we differentiate against all the competition?
You don’t; at best, differentiation is meaningless; at worst, it’s a huge red flag and risk to buyers. But you can be distinct, which comes from developing a relatable, recognizable, and likable vibe. You see big corporations do it in their advertising with a character spokesperson (Flo for the insurance company comes to mind). Still, smaller companies like yours can get the same result just by being you. Couple that with proven expertise and powerful intellectual property that informs your approach, and viola! No one can compete with you on being you.
How do we create this likable and ownable vibe for our brand?
Brand personality & tone of voice.
Consistency is the name of the game, especially in brand expression and creative work. The vibe of your design, messaging, campaigns, office, packaging, etc. etc., sends the message of who you are and what you’re about, and the right level of creative distinction can mean a bigger chunk of market share.
Congratulations! You now understand some of the core tenets and benefits of Brand Strategy, the most critical part of developing a marketing plan that ensures the most important thing in business: progress.
