B2B Demand Generation Best Practices and Top Companies for 2026

Introduction

Did you know that more than 90% of marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) never turn into customers? (3) B2B marketers are realizing that simply chasing volumes of leads isn’t enough – the game is now about creating genuine demand for your solutions. In 2026, the focus has shifted to quality over quantity in B2B demand generation marketing. Modern buyers do extensive research (69% of the B2B purchase process happens before contacting sales) (1), so you need to educate and build trust long before a prospect fills out a form.

In this in-depth guide, we’ll demystify what B2B demand generation is, how it differs from lead gen, and outline effective demand generation strategies and campaigns. You’ll learn which demand generation metrics matter, and the latest best practices for 2026 – from omnichannel campaigns to leveraging intent data. Whether you’re a CMO, VP of Sales/Marketing, or growth leader, these insights will help you craft a winning demand generation strategy for B2B that drives sustainable pipeline growth. Let’s dive in!

Understanding B2B Demand Generation

What is B2B Demand Generation?

B2B demand generation is a holistic marketing strategy focused on creating awareness and interest in your brand’s products or services among your target audience – well before they’re ready to buy. In other words, demand gen aims to generate newdemand and nurture future buyers through educational content and engagement. Unlike lead generation (which we’ll contrast in a moment), demand gen doesn’t rush prospects into a sales call (1). Instead, it casts a wider net to build your reputation, visibility, and credibility in the market. By delivering valuable information and thought leadership, you warm up your audience over time until they eventually become receptive to sales outreach.

Consider demand generation as long-term relationship building. It’s about consistently answering your prospects’ questions, addressing pain points, and positioning your brand as a trusted advisor. This way, when the 5% of your market that is actively buying today (and the other 95% that isn’t… yet) think of solutions, your name is top of mind (10). Effective B2B demand generation bridges the gap between marketing and sales by ensuring a steady stream of educated, engaged prospects are aware of the problems you solve.

What is B2B demand generation and how does it differ from lead generation?

It’s easy to confuse demand generation with lead generation, as they work together in the marketing funnel. But they serve different stages and goals in the buyer’s journey. In a nutshell:

• Demand gen builds interest and desire for your offering at the top of the funnel (creating market awareness).
  
• Lead gen captures information and action from prospects in the middle or bottom of the funnel (converting interest into sales leads).
  

Demand generation vs. lead generation isn’t an either/or choice – you need both. Think of demand gen as planting seeds and lead gen as harvesting the ripe fruit. Demand gen creates the conditions (educated, interested prospects) so that lead gen can more effectively capture qualified leads. Below is a side-by-side comparison of key differences:

Table: Demand Generation vs. Lead Generation in B2B – key differences in focus and approach.

In short, demand generation marketing creates market awareness and interest in a problem and your solution, while lead generation captures that interest as tangible prospects for sales (2). For example, a thought leadership article or LinkedIn video that gets your target audience thinking “Hmm, I do have that challenge…” is demand gen at work. When a prospect, now aware of the issue, clicks an ad to download your buyer’s guide and fills out their info – that’s lead gen kicking in.

It’s critical to balance both. If you push straight to lead gen without first generating demand, you risk low conversion and wasted effort chasing uninterested contacts. As Alice de Courcy famously noted, “Stop forcing people through funnels who aren’t ready to buy… focus on generating demand for the 99% who aren’t yet in market” (5). A strong B2B demand generation strategy primes the pump, making your lead capture efforts dramatically more effective.

Why B2B Demand Generation Matters in 2026

In 2026’s B2B landscape, buyers hold the power. They research independently, form opinions via peers and content, and often only contact vendors when they’re 70%+ through their decision (1). This means if your brand isn’t engaging them early, you might never make the consideration list. Here’s why demand gen is mission-critical:

• Longer, complex buying cycles – Multiple stakeholders and buying group consensus mean prospects need multiple touchpoints of value. In fact, the average B2B purchase involves ~29 touchpoints (1). Demand gen ensures you have engaging content and campaigns across those touches to influence the journey.
  
• Information overload & noise – Your prospects are bombarded with sales pitches. Demand gen cuts through the noise by offering helpful insights instead of just promos. By the time sales engages, the prospect is already warmed up by your content.
  
• Trust and credibility – Building trust is paramount (94% of marketers say trust is the key to B2B brand success) (4). Demand gen activities like publishing research, case studies, and expert webinars position your company as a trusted authority. So when that prospect finally talks to your sales team, they already respect your expertise – shortening the trust-building phase.
  
• Better lead quality – Perhaps most importantly, a robust demand gen engine leads to higher-quality leads for sales. Instead of a pile of cold names, your sales team gets informed, marketing-nurtured leads who are more likely to convert. This focus on quality pays off: companies that pivoted from shallow lead-gen (e.g. mass gated PDFs) to demand-gen saw inbound pipeline quadruple, with higher win rates and faster sales cycles (5).
  

In summary, B2B demand generation sets the stage for scalable growth by educating your market and building authentic interest. Next, let’s explore how to craft strategies and campaigns that effectively generate demand.

Crafting a B2B Demand Generation Strategy

Creating a successful demand generation strategy (B2B) requires a mix of art and science. It’s not a one-off campaign, but a sustainable program that aligns marketing and sales toward the same goal: growing pipeline and revenue. 

What are the key components of an effective B2B demand generation strategy?

Here are the key components and steps for building a demand gen strategy in 2026:

• Know Your ICP and Buyer Personas: Everything starts with understanding who you’re trying to reach. Invest time in defining your ideal customer profile (ICP) – the firmographics (industry, size, geography) and pain points of companies that benefit most from your solution. Then map out buyer personas (the decision-makers and influencers at those companies). A well-defined ICP acts as your North Star, ensuring your campaigns target the right people with the right message. (For example, if you sell a cybersecurity SaaS, your ICP might be mid-market tech firms and personas could include CIOs concerned about data breaches.) When you truly understand your audience’s needs and language, you can create content that resonates and attracts those high-fit prospects.
  
• Align Sales and Marketing Early: Demand generation is a team sport that spans marketing and sales. It’s crucial to get buy-in and define roles upfront. We recommend holding a strategy session with Sales to agree on definitions (What qualifies as a marketing qualified lead? What triggers a sales follow-up?), set shared targets (e.g. pipeline dollar goals, not just lead volume), and establish a feedback loop. When sales and marketing operate in sync – sharing insights and calibrating outreach – you’ll achieve much higher conversion rates and shorter cycle times. At Martal, we make this alignment a priority in every client engagement, ensuring that no lead falls through the cracks and messaging is consistent across touchpoints.
  
• Map Content to the Buyer’s Journey: Demand gen isn’t about one viral campaign – it’s an ongoing conversation. Map out the stages your B2B buyers go through: Awareness (realizing they have a problem), Consideration (exploring solutions), and Decision (evaluating vendors). Then plan content and offers for each stage:
  
  • Top-of-Funnel (Awareness): Educational blog posts, industry research, how-to guides, infographics, social media content that highlights challenges and big-picture insights – ungated to maximize reach. The goal is to get on your prospects’ radar and subtly introduce them to a problem/solution space.
    
  • Mid-Funnel (Consideration): Webinars, thought leadership whitepapers, case studies, interactive tools or ROI calculators. Here you’re providing more detailed value and beginning to tie those challenges to your solution. Some content might be gated to identify engaged prospects.
    
  • Bottom-of-Funnel (Decision): Free trials, demos, consultations, vendor comparison guides, and FAQs. At this stage, demand gen overlaps with traditional lead gen and sales enablement – you’re helping the prospect justify a decision and actively engage with Sales.
    
• By delivering the right content at the right time, you nurture leads smoothly from one stage to the next. For instance, a prospect might first attend a thought leadership webinar (awareness), then download a buyer’s guide (consideration), and finally request a demo (decision). Your strategy should facilitate this natural progression.
  
• Choose the Right Channels: Successful demand generation meets prospects where they are. Evaluate which marketing channels your target audience frequents and trust. In B2B, common demand gen channels include:
  
  • Content marketing & SEO: Your website and blog are foundational. Publishing high-value content optimized for search can attract organic traffic of potential buyers. (E.g., ranking for “what is b2b demand generation” might bring in curious marketing managers researching the topic.)
    
  • Social media and communities: LinkedIn is a powerhouse for B2B demand generation – perfect for sharing content, engaging in industry groups, and running targeted ads. Twitter and niche forums or Slack communities can also build awareness (just ensure the content is genuinely helpful, not salesy). Building a community or following around your brand creates ongoing demand “on tap.”
    
  • Email marketing & newsletters: Regularly emailing insights or curated content to your database keeps you on their radar. Even cold email campaigns (if highly targeted and personalized) can generate interest in new audiences – though they should be used thoughtfully as part of a broader outbound lead generation campaign (more on outbound vs inbound shortly).
    
  • Webinars and virtual events: Live online events are excellent demand gen plays. A compelling webinar with expert speakers can attract hundreds of relevant attendees, many of whom will later convert to leads or pipeline. The key is to focus on educating, not pitching. For example, a SaaS company might run a “2026 Industry Trends” webinar series – positioning themselves as thought leaders while subtly showcasing expertise relevant to their product.
    
  • Account-Based Marketing (ABM): ABM is a targeted approach where you tailor campaigns to a select list of high-value accounts. It’s technically a strategy (we cover it below) but involves specific channels like personalized email outreach, LinkedIn ads targeted to those companies, and even direct mail or gifts to break through. ABM has become a cornerstone of B2B demand gen for reaching key accounts with custom attention.
    
  • Paid advertising & retargeting: Paid search ads (Google) can capture active intent (for bottom-funnel leads), while display ads and social ads can amplify your content to targeted audiences for awareness. In 2026, many B2B marketers use programmatic ads or LinkedIn Sponsored Content to promote ungated assets – building familiarity. Retargeting is also powerful: if someone visited your site or content, show them relevant follow-up ads to keep nurturing their interest.
    
• The mix of channels will depend on your audience and budget. A best practice is to run omnichannel campaigns that reinforce your message across multiple touchpoints (more on the importance of omnichannel soon). For example, a prospect might see your helpful LinkedIn post, then read a blog article, later get an email invite to a webinar – all reinforcing your brand consistently.
  
• Plan Multi-Touch Campaigns: Rather than ad-hoc efforts, structure your demand gen into thematic campaigns. For instance, you might create a quarterly campaign around a key topic or offer (say, “Digital Transformation in Manufacturing” if that’s relevant to your solution). That campaign could include a new whitepaper, a webinar, a series of blog posts, targeted LinkedIn ads, and an email sequence – all tied together. Such integrated demand generation campaigns ensure prospects encounter a cohesive message wherever they interact with you. They also help you measure impact holistically. Tip: Coordinate campaign launches with sales plays. If Marketing is running a cloud security awareness campaign, Sales can be primed with call scripts or LinkedIn outreach to prospects who engaged – increasing conversion chances.
  
• Set Goals and Track Metrics: We’ll dive deep into metrics in the next section, but as you form your strategy, define what success looks like. Is it increasing marketing-sourced pipeline by 50%? Boosting website traffic by 2X? Improving lead-to-opportunity conversion rates? Establish a few core KPIs for demand gen and ensure you have analytics in place to track them. Modern demand gen is very data-driven – “measure, learn, and optimize” is the mantra. By setting targets (and using tools like marketing automation, CRM reports, and analytics dashboards), you can continuously refine your strategy for better results.

Finally, be ready to adapt. A demand gen strategy isn’t a static document – it’s a living game plan. Monitor what content topics and channels are resonating (e.g. if your new podcast is taking off, double down on it). Likewise, if a tactic isn’t performing (say, a certain ebook isn’t getting downloads), investigate and pivot. In 2026’s fast-changing environment, agility is a strategic advantage.

Remember: The ultimate goal of a B2B demand generation strategy is to build a sustainable engine that keeps your pipeline full of educated, marketing-nurtured prospects. Next, let’s zoom into some of the specific strategies and campaigns you can employ as part of this engine.

Top Demand Generation and B2B Sales Outsourcing Providers

As businesses look to build predictable pipelines in 2026, understanding B2B demand generation and how to execute effective campaigns is critical. Outsourced B2B sales agencies and demand generation partners can support companies in implementing strategies, managing multichannel outreach, and optimizing prospect engagement. 

Whether you’re developing a full B2B demand generation strategy or testing targeted lead generation campaigns, these providers offer tools and services to accelerate pipeline growth while enabling internal teams to focus on closing deals.

1. Martal Group

Overview: Martal Group is a North America-based B2B sales agency delivering full-cycle outbound sales execution for tech and service companies. Their services combine lead generation, appointment setting, and Sales-as-a-Service execution to support demand generation campaigns and B2B demand generation strategies. Martal integrates multichannel engagement with intent-based marketing to accelerate pipeline development.

Key Features:

• AI SDR Platform: Martal’s proprietary platform, powered by intent data and machine learning, identifies and engages in-market buyers across multiple channels. It streamlines cold outreach, optimizes messaging, and boosts conversion rates by triggering the right touchpoint at the right time. 
• Sales-as-a-Service: A full-funnel outsourced model with flexible, fractional teams that manage lead gen, prospect engagement, qualification, and appointment setting. Built for scalability and performance. 
• Sales Outsourcing Services: Ideal for B2B tech companies needing immediate go-to-market execution. Martal’s SDRs handle outreach, follow-ups, and booking meetings with key decision-makers. Guide
• LinkedIn Lead Generation: Multichannel campaigns supported by LinkedIn experts who connect, nurture, and convert prospects through strategic social selling. 
• Cold Email Services and Cold Calling Services: Expert-crafted sequences and deliverability infrastructure backed by SDR teams across North America, Europe, and LATAM. 
• B2B Appointment Setting: Martal books qualified meetings directly into your calendar, filtering out unqualified leads and handling objections to streamline the sales process. Service
• B2B Sales Training and Enablement: In-house and external training via the Martal Academy, enabling SDR teams and AEs to scale performance through coaching and proven sales playbooks. Training
• Lead Generation Programs: Intent-driven lead targeting with personalized omnichannel outreach across email, LinkedIn, phone, and inbound content. Learn more

Ideal For: B2B tech, SaaS, AI, cybersecurity, telecom, and service companies seeking enterprise-level outbound support integrated with B2B demand generation marketing and SDRs who operate as an extension of the internal sales team.

2. LeadLander

Overview: LeadLander is a website visitor tracking and lead identification platform. It provides insight into anonymous visitors and supports basic demand generation campaigns but does not manage outbound execution.

Key Features:

• Real-time website visitor tracking
  
• CRM and marketing platform integrations
  
• Lead scoring based on web activity
  

Ideal For: Marketing and sales teams wanting visibility into anonymous website traffic. Additional tools are typically required for B2B demand generation strategy execution.

3. CIENCE Go Data

Overview: Go Data provides access to a large database of verified B2B contacts for outbound prospecting. It supports the data-gathering stage of B2B demand generation campaigns but does not manage outreach or nurture workflows.

Key Features:

• Extensive B2B contact database
  
• Technographic and firmographic filtering
  
• Email verification included
  

Ideal For: Sales teams needing bulk lead lists. Often combined with external services for full B2B demand generation strategy execution.

4. Vainu

Overview: Vainu offers live company insights and enriched firmographic and technographic data. While useful for account identification in B2B demand generation campaigns, it doesn’t execute outbound campaigns directly.

Key Features:

• Live company profiling
  
• CRM integration
  
• Custom scoring models for target accounts
  

Ideal For: Teams focused on identifying and scoring high-potential accounts. Additional workflow tools are usually needed for end-to-end demand generation B2B campaigns.

5. OutboundWorks

Overview: OutboundWorks provides on-demand SDRs and supports early-stage testing of outbound sales motions. It’s suitable for companies experimenting with B2B demand generation campaigns but may require additional resources for sustained pipeline growth.

Key Features:

• SDR-as-a-Service
  
• Playbook testing for GTM strategies
  
• Campaign design and appointment setting
  

Ideal For: Early-stage companies validating product-market fit. Scaling long-term demand generation strategy B2B may require more robust support.

6. LimeLeads

Overview: LimeLeads is a lead database offering searchable U.S. business contacts. It’s focused on lead discovery for basic B2B demand generation marketing rather than full-service campaign execution.

Key Features:

• Targeted lead search and export
  
• CSV downloads with real-time updates
  
• Low-cost access tiers
  

Ideal For: Bootstrapped teams or consultants needing fast access to contact data. Outbound campaign management needs external tools.

7. SalesRipe

Overview: SalesRipe combines contact data with basic CRM and campaign features. It provides a starting point for B2B demand generation campaigns but lacks the depth and multichannel execution of dedicated demand generation services.

Key Features:

• B2B contact search
  
• Built-in dialer and email capabilities
  
• Basic CRM functions
  

Ideal For: SMBs seeking a budget-friendly all-in-one tool. Complex B2B demand generation strategy B2B campaigns may exceed its capabilities.

Implementing B2B demand generation best practices involves more than just accessing contact data—it requires precise targeting, multichannel outreach, and consistent follow-up to engage and convert prospects effectively. While these providers offer foundational support for demand generation strategies, companies often combine multiple tools and services to execute full B2B demand generation campaigns that deliver measurable pipeline results. By understanding B2B demand generation and applying structured approaches, organizations can enhance pipeline predictability, accelerate growth, and optimize B2B demand generation marketing. The next step is exploring practical demand generation campaigns and tactics for B2B, which turn strategy into action and help convert leads into qualified opportunities.

Demand Generation Campaigns and Tactics for B2B

What does a B2B demand generation campaign actually look like? In practice, it can take many forms – from a content-driven inbound campaign to an outbound sales development push – often combining multiple tactics. The best demand gen programs use an omnichannel approach, orchestrating several tactics in concert to maximize reach and engagement. 

What are the best demand generation tactics for B2B marketing?

Here we break down key demand generation strategies and campaigns you should consider:

1. Content Marketing & Thought Leadership

Content is the fuel of B2B demand gen. High-quality, educational content attracts your target audience and builds trust over time. In 2026, content marketing is all about depth and value – not churning out fluff pieces for clicks. Some tips for effective demand-gen content:

• Publish content that solves problems. Identify the burning questions and pain points of your ICP, and create authoritative content addressing those. This could be in the form of how-to guides, comprehensive blog posts, videos, or tutorials. By helping your audience solve small problems or understand industry trends, you establish your expertise and make them more likely to seek your solution when a big need arises.
  
• Embrace SEO strategically. Research the search terms your buyers use (for example, “best demand generation strategies 2026” or “CRM vs marketing automation differences”). Build content around those topics to capture organic traffic. However, avoid clickbait or shallow SEO hacks – the goal is to genuinely educate. Search algorithms in 2026 favor authoritativeness and relevance, so quality wins. A well-optimized, in-depth article that answers “What is B2B demand generation?” could rank highly and passively bring in new prospects continuously.
  
• Offer various content formats. Different people prefer different mediums. Mix written articles with infographics, short explainer videos, podcasts, or slideshares. For instance, turn a whitepaper into a webinar, or a data report into an infographic. Repurposing content into multiple formats extends its reach and caters to more of your audience’s preferences (3). Also, visual content can often convey complex ideas faster (think: diagrams of a demand gen funnel, or a video case study).
  
• Thought leadership and POV. Don’t be afraid to share bold perspectives or insights from your company’s leaders. Publish LinkedIn articles or guest posts in industry publications with your unique point of view. If your CEO or CMO can articulate a compelling vision for the future of your industry (even if it’s not directly about your product), it can generate significant interest and conversation – which is demand gen gold. Example: A fintech startup’s CEO writes “The 2030 Future of B2B Payments” – it doesn’t pitch their product, but it educates the market and associates authority with their brand.
  
• Consistency and frequency. Stay top-of-mind by maintaining a regular content cadence (e.g., new blog posts every week, quarterly research reports, monthly webinars). A one-hit content wonder is not demand gen – you need to be in the conversation continuously. Over time, this consistency significantly boosts your brand awareness. As evidence, HubSpot’s marketing blog grew huge by publishing valuable content daily, turning them into a trusted resource in marketing.
  

Why it works: Great content marketing acts like a magnet – drawing in prospects organically and nurturing them until they’re ready for sales. By the time a lead comes through from your content (say, subscribing to your newsletter or contacting sales after reading multiple articles), they often have a strong positive impression of your brand. This short-circuits the trust-building process and leads to faster, easier deals.

2. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) & Content Syndication

While organic content is vital, sometimes you need an extra push to get in front of the right eyes. That’s where demand generation campaigns via paid channels come in:

• Paid Search (SEM): Bidding on relevant keywords in Google can capture prospects showing intent. For demand gen, focus on keywords that indicate someone is researching a problem (e.g., “how to improve B2B lead conversion” rather than just “buy CRM software”). Create ads that offer a helpful content piece or webinar related to that search. This way you’re using SEM to feed your demand gen funnel, not just for immediate lead capture. You might promote a “Guide to Converting B2B Leads” on searches for lead conversion tips – the guide educates (demand gen) and includes a call-to-action to engage with your solution (bridging to lead gen).
  
• Content Syndication: This involves promoting your content through third-party networks or publishers to reach a broader B2B audience. For example, you might work with a site like TechTarget or LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms to distribute a whitepaper to their subscribers. The benefit is tapping into established audiences that fit your ICP. Typically, content syndication campaigns will guarantee a certain number of downloads of your asset (those contacts become leads). It’s a pay-to-play route to generate demand by scaling your content’s reach beyond your own channels. Ensure the content you syndicate is truly valuable – since you’re effectively paying for attention, make it count with high-quality material that will impress readers and draw them into your world.
  
• Display Ads & Social Ads: Banner ads on relevant websites or sponsored posts on LinkedIn/Facebook can amplify awareness. The key for demand gen: target these ads tightly (by industry, role, account, etc.) and use them to promote thought leadership content rather than “Request a demo” (which cold audiences often ignore). For instance, running LinkedIn Ads targeting CIOs in healthcare that invite them to watch a 2-minute expert video or download a trends report will likely perform better for demand gen than a straight product pitch. Over time, as these prospects engage with your content, you can retarget them with progressively more product-focused messages, effectively nurturing via ads. In fact, top brands run full-funnel ad sequences: first a brand awareness ad, then a case study ad to engagers, then a free trial offer to those who showed high interest.
  
• Account-Based Advertising: If you practice ABM (Account-Based Marketing), you can run highly focused ad campaigns that only show to target accounts on your ABM list. Tools now allow you to upload a list of company names or contacts and serve ads just to them (on platforms like LinkedIn, or through IP-based targeting). This way, your key accounts see your brand everywhere: in their inbox (if you’re doing email outreach), at events and in their web browsing (via ads). Such saturation increases familiarity and response rates. Notably, companies using these tactics have seen huge improvements – e.g., Snowflake’s famous ABM program drove a 300% increase in pipeline velocity by executing tailored campaigns for top-tier accounts (3).
  

In summary, judicious use of paid media can significantly accelerate your demand generation by putting your content in front of the right people at the right time. The trick is to spend intelligently – target narrowly, promote content that hooks interest, and always have a follow-up plan (like retargeting or a nurture email) to capitalize on the awareness you generate.

3. Account-Based Marketing (ABM) & Personalization

Account-Based Marketing deserves special attention as a strategy in B2B demand gen. ABM flips the traditional funnel: instead of marketing to a broad audience and filtering leads, you identify your most valuable target accounts first and then concentrate marketing and sales efforts on those accounts with personalized campaigns. In 2026, ABM has matured with better data and AI, making it even more potent.

Key elements of ABM-driven demand generation:

• Select “best-fit” accounts: Work with sales to identify a list of high-potential accounts (these could be large enterprises or strategically important logos). Use data to help – look at firmographic filters, intent signals (e.g., accounts showing increased research on topics related to your solution), and perhaps leverage AI to predict which companies might be in-market. By focusing on a defined list, you ensure your demand gen resources are spent on prospects with a high likelihood of turning into big wins.
  
• Tailor content and messaging: This is where demand gen gets highly personalized. For each target account (or segment of similar accounts), customize your outreach. For example, create account-specific landing pages that greet the company by name and showcase content relevant to their industry. Craft emails that reference specific challenges the account is likely facing. Even your ads can be personalized (e.g., display ads mentioning the account’s industry or showing a case study from a similar company). One creative tactic is sending personalized video messages to key stakeholders at the account, introducing how you can help their business. The goal is to show you’ve done your homework – and that earns the prospect’s attention far more than any generic mass campaign.
  
• Multi-thread outreach: In ABM demand gen, marketing and sales work hand-in-hand to engage an account from multiple angles. Marketing might serve targeted ads and send executive invites to webinars, while Sales might reach out on LinkedIn or call the prospects. Perhaps you’ll also use direct mail (yes, physical mail is making a comeback in ABM) – like sending a small gift or useful swag with a personalized note to a prospect. By combining forces, you create a surround-sound effect. Importantly, ensure consistent messaging – if Marketing’s whitepaper says one thing and Sales’ pitch says another, it confuses the account. Alignment is crucial (shared account plans, regular team check-ins, etc.).
  
• Quality interactions over quantity: ABM usually entails fewer contacts but more high-touch interactions. The metrics of success change – instead of hundreds of leads, you might just aim to engage 10 stakeholders at one Fortune 500 account with 5 meaningful touches each. That’s fine, because landing one big ABM account could equal 100 smaller deals. Demand gen in ABM is about opening doors and building relationships in those target companies. For example, a series of tailored events (like a VIP roundtable or a custom workshop) for one account can gradually turn key execs into champions for your solution.
  
• Leverage intent data: As mentioned, an advanced ABM strategy uses data to prioritize efforts. Intent data (from third-party providers or your own website analytics) can reveal which accounts are surging in research around relevant topics. If one of your target accounts suddenly has multiple employees reading articles on “cloud security solutions” (and you sell a cloud security product), that’s a hot signal to ramp up your outreach to that account immediately. Catching buyers when they’re actively looking massively increases your chances of generating an opportunity – a core goal of demand gen.
  

Why ABM works: It aligns marketing investment directly with potential revenue. By treating each high-value account as a “market of one,” you ensure your messaging is on-point and your brand stands out. It’s the sniper approach versus the shotgun approach. When done right, ABM produces some of the highest ROI in B2B marketing – companies often report larger deal sizes and faster closes. Even if you’re not ready for a full ABM program, you can apply its principles (targeting and personalization) to parts of your demand gen to great effect.

4. Social Media and Community-Building

B2B buyers are people, and people congregate on social networks and communities. An effective demand gen strategy leverages social platforms not only to broadcast content, but to actively engage and build a community around your brand expertise. Here’s how:

• LinkedIn – your B2B powerhouse: If your target buyers are professionals, they’re on LinkedIn. Use it in multiple ways:
  
  • Company page content: Share regular updates – not just promos, but valuable tips, industry news, short videos, customer success stories, etc. This keeps your followers engaged and can attract new ones when your posts get shared.
    
  • Employee advocacy: Encourage your leadership and subject matter experts to post thought leadership content from their personal profiles. LinkedIn’s algorithm often favors individual posts over company page posts. When your VP of Sales shares a thoughtful post (“3 ways to boost demand generation in a downturn”) that content can go viral and drive inbound interest. It also humanizes your brand.
    
  • LinkedIn Groups: Participate in niche groups related to your industry. Provide answers and insights to others’ questions (with no immediate sales agenda). Over time, you’ll be seen as a helpful voice, and group members will naturally become more aware of your company’s offerings.
    
  • Live videos or webinars on LinkedIn: In 2026, LinkedIn Live and Audio Events allow you to host live discussions. This is a great demand gen tactic – for example, host a monthly “Ask Me Anything” live session on a hot industry topic. It’s interactive, builds rapport, and subtly positions your brand at the center of the conversation.
    
• Twitter (X) and beyond: Twitter can be useful for tech or media-savvy audiences. Use it to share quick insights, engage in industry hashtag conversations (e.g. #B2BMarketing), and even to direct traffic to your longer content. Don’t overlook other platforms: if you target younger decision-makers, channels like YouTube (for explainer videos or recorded webinars), Instagram (carousels with industry stats, if visually appealing), or even TikTok (some B2B brands are experimenting with short informative videos) can generate awareness in non-traditional ways. The key is to match the platform’s style – e.g., casual, bite-sized content on TikTok vs. detailed slides on LinkedIn.
  
• Nurture your own community: Consider creating a community space for your audience. This could be a forum on your website, a Slack/Discord community, or a regular user group call. For instance, a CRM software company might start a “Sales Ops Leaders” Slack community for professionals to network and share tips (lightly facilitated by the company). While this isn’t a direct sales tool, it’s a long-term demand gen play: you’re fostering peer-to-peer engagement and your brand is the host, which builds immense goodwill and loyalty. Over time, community members become brand advocates.
  
• Employee involvement: Highlight your team on social – e.g., post a “Meet the Team” series or have employees take over the company Instagram for a day. This showcases the humans behind the brand and builds an emotional connection. Prospects often engage more when they see real faces and stories, which can warm them up in the demand gen stage.
  
• Influencers and partnerships: Identify influential voices in your niche (analysts, popular bloggers, podcasters, etc.). Engage with their content, build relationships, and consider collaborating – maybe invite an influencer to be a guest on your webinar or have them review your research report. Their endorsement or participation can expose your brand to their following (a form of borrowed demand). Just ensure any partnership is authentic and provides value to the audience, rather than a blatant sponsorship.
  

The thread across social and community tactics is authentic engagement. B2B buyers can smell a sales pitch a mile away on social media. The demand gen mindset here is to give value freely. Over time, this builds a tribe around your brand. When people feel like they belong to your community or trust your voice, they are far more likely to consider your product when a need arises. In fact, many B2B purchase decisions today are influenced by “dark social” – untrackable channels like private communities or word-of-mouth on social media. By actively participating in these spaces, you shape the narrative in your favor.

5. Webinars, Virtual Events & Podcasts

Interactive and rich media content – such as webinars, virtual events, and podcasts – play a significant role in B2B demand generation. They allow you to delve deeper into topics and engage your audience in a more personal way:

• Webinars: As mentioned earlier, webinars are a staple for educating prospects. The best demand gen webinars are educational first, sales second. Choose topics that hit on common pain points or emerging trends in your industry, and position the webinar as a learning opportunity (e.g., “How to Reduce SaaS Customer Churn – 5 Data-Backed Strategies”). Bring in knowledgeable speakers – perhaps a mix of your in-house experts, customers for case study insights, and external thought leaders. During the webinar, focus on sharing insights and addressing attendee questions. You can certainly showcase how your solution helps, but in a consultative tone. Pro tip: record the webinar and offer the recording on-demand afterward – this extends its demand gen value, as more people will watch the recording later. Also, slice the webinar into short video snippets for social sharing.
  
• Virtual Events or Conferences: Consider hosting a half-day virtual summit or online conference, especially if you have multiple product lines or a broad topic. Virtual events in 2026 are quite polished – you can have breakout sessions, virtual expo booths, and networking chats. They require more planning but can attract a large audience. For instance, a marketing tech company might hold a “B2B Demand Generation Summit 2026” with multiple sessions by various experts (including non-competitive partners or industry gurus). This not only positions your brand as a leader orchestrating the conversation, but also generates lots of leads and content (each session could be a lead magnet afterwards). The halo effect of running a successful virtual event – attendees will remember your brand long after.
  
• Podcasts and Video Series: The rise of podcasts has been huge in B2B. Hosting a niche podcast (or video interview series on YouTube) can steadily build an audience of ideal prospects who tune in for insights. For demand gen, the approach is to talk about the broader space, not your product. For example, an HR software company might run “The HR Innovators Podcast” discussing talent strategy, compliance updates, etc., featuring HR leaders as guests. Over time, listeners see the company as a trusted resource. When they face challenges that the company’s product solves, guess who they think of first? Even if you don’t start your own, appearing as a guest on popular industry podcasts is great for exposure too.
  
• Workshops or Live Demos: These blur the line between demand gen and sales, but done in a group format, they can be powerful. A live “hands-on workshop” where you teach something (e.g., a cybersecurity firm doing a live hacking demo to show security gaps) both educates and showcases your expertise. Because it’s not a one-on-one demo, prospects feel less pressure – they’re there to learn. Yet it creates demand by highlighting problems that your solution can fix. It’s a fine line: you don’t want it to become a feature demo (save that for later in the funnel), but a bit of show-and-tell can spark that “wow, I need this” moment.
  
• Q&A Sessions and AMAs: Hosting open Q&A sessions (“Ask Me Anything”) with your experts on platforms like LinkedIn Live, Twitter Spaces, or Reddit can generate buzz. People appreciate the unstructured, candid nature of these sessions. It gives your brand a human face and provides real-time value. Plus, the questions asked often reveal what your market cares about, which can inform future content.
  

These kinds of interactive content draw in prospects who might not respond to a static ebook. They engage multiple senses, allow for two-way interaction (questions, polls), and help form a personal connection. Attendees of a good webinar or listeners of a valuable podcast often become fans of your brand. Even if they’re not ready to buy, they’ll remember you – and they might share your content with colleagues, further expanding your demand gen reach through word-of-mouth.

6. Email Nurturing & Marketing Automation

While demand gen often focuses on top-of-funnel attraction, equally important is what happens after someone engages. This is where lead nurturing campaigns via email and marketing automation keep the momentum going:

• Lead Nurture Email Sequences: When a prospect downloads content or attends a webinar (becoming a known lead), don’t let the trail go cold. Design a nurture email series to systematically follow up with additional value. For example, after someone downloads your “2026 Demand Gen Playbook,” you might send a series like:
  
  • Day 2: A thank-you email with the download link (in case they missed it) and a friendly note offering to answer questions.
    
  • Day 5: An email sharing a related case study (“See how [Client] grew pipeline 2x with these strategies”).
    
  • Day 10: A blog article or video on a topic complementary to the playbook (“3 Common Demand Gen Mistakes to Avoid”).
    
  • Day 15: An invite to an upcoming webinar or a suggestion to use an interactive tool/assessment.
    
  • Later: Eventually, an email that gently suggests a consultation or demo, if engagement has been high.
    
• Each email should be brief, personable, and focused on helping – not a hard sell. Use the recipient’s name, mention their company if appropriate, and vary the content format (text email vs. designed newsletter vs. video thumbnail) to keep it interesting. The idea is to continue educating and building trust, guiding them down the funnel at their own pace.
  
• Marketing Automation & Behavior Triggers: Modern marketing automation platforms (like HubSpot, Marketo, etc.) enable you to trigger actions based on behavior. Set up workflows so that if a lead shows certain buying signals, they enter a relevant campaign. Examples:
  
  • If a lead visits your “Pricing” page or the case studies section (strong intent), alert sales or send a “thinking of evaluating solutions?” email offering help/comparison guides.
    
  • If a prospect hasn’t engaged in 60 days, send a “We missed you – here’s new industry research you might like” email to re-engage.
    
  • If a lead’s activity score passes a threshold (lots of website visits, multiple content downloads), automatically assign to an SDR for outreach – they may be demand gen qualified and ready for personal interaction.
    
• Automation ensures timely and contextually relevant touches, which is crucial for demand gen at scale. However, always sanity-check automated content to avoid coming off as creepy or spammy (“We noticed you clicked our email 3 times, want a demo?” – too much). Keep it helpful and natural.
  
• Segmentation: All leads are not equal, and they have different interests. Use segmentation to tailor your lead generation campaigns. At a basic level, segment by persona or industry to send more targeted content (e.g., separate nurture tracks for IT vs Marketing leads if they care about different things). If you have multiple products or use-cases, segment based on what content the lead interacted with – that often indicates their primary interest. Segmented, personalized emails get much higher engagement than generic blasts. This is demand gen continuing the personalized experience through the funnel.
  
• Drip vs. Blast Balance: While automated drips nurture individual leads, you can also use broader email campaigns (newsletters or product announcements) to your database to generate demand among existing contacts. A monthly “insights newsletter” that goes to all prospects can keep your brand in their mind and often prompts dormant leads to re-engage. Just make sure you’re not over-emailing or only sending promotional content. A good rule: 80/20 value to sales content in your general communications.
  
• Measure and Optimize: Track open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates of your nurture campaigns. If certain emails have low engagement, test different subject lines or content. If leads stall after a certain point, maybe your CTA is too early or not compelling. Treat your email campaigns as an ongoing experiment to improve effectiveness.
  

Email might seem old-school, but it remains one of the highest ROI channels. People still check their inbox constantly. A well-timed, relevant email can nudge a prospect to take the next step – be it reading another article or agreeing to a call. In many ways, email is the connective tissue in demand generation, linking one interaction to the next and keeping your brand conversation going.

7. Experiential and Out-of-the-Box Tactics

Beyond digital tactics, some more creative or experiential campaigns can generate buzz and demand:

• Virtual Roundtables or VIP Discussions: Host small-scale virtual roundtables for your target prospects (e.g., 5-7 CISOs in a Zoom meeting discussing cybersecurity challenges). Have a knowledgeable moderator from your team, but keep it a peer discussion, not a pitch. This gives prospects value via peer learning and networking. Your brand simply facilitates the conversation, earning goodwill and insight into their needs. It’s a demand gen win and can directly generate opportunities when participants follow up for more help.
  
• Interactive Tools: Build a simple tool or calculator that addresses a pain point. For instance, a marketing agency might offer a “Demand Generation ROI Calculator” where visitors input their metrics and get a custom report. These interactive assets are highly engaging and shareable. They generate demand by quantifying the problem (e.g., “wow, I’m spending $X per lead, that’s high”) and naturally pointing toward your solution (“perhaps I need expert help to lower that”). Promote the tool via social and email – often people will flock to something that promises a quick personalized insight.
  
• Microsites or Content Hubs: Create a dedicated resource hub around a topic. For example, a “B2B Demand Gen Best Practices 2026” microsite with a compilation of articles, videos, and tools. This can become a go-to destination for your audience. By concentrating valuable content, you increase time spent with your brand (engagement) and can capture leads via optional sign-ups for updates. It’s an immersive form of demand gen where prospects self-educate deeply.
  
• PR and Analyst Relations: Public relations efforts – getting media coverage, press releases about insights, or features in industry magazines – can indirectly generate demand by raising your profile. Similarly, engaging industry analysts (like Gartner, Forrester) to cover your space or recognize your company can validate you in buyers’ eyes. Many exec-level buyers rely on analyst reports or industry press to shortlist vendors. So a positive mention can send warm inquiries your way without you doing any direct outreach. If budget allows, sponsoring research or working with analysts to publish thought leadership (co-branded studies, etc.) can be a high-impact demand gen tactic among enterprise audiences.
  
• Customer Advocacy Programs: Don’t forget your existing customers – they can be your best marketers. Encourage satisfied customers to speak at events, participate in case studies, or share testimonials. Prospects trust peer recommendations far more than sales messages. A strong customer story (whether a video testimonial or a quote in an ebook) often creates demand by showing tangible proof of success. Prospects might think, “I want those results too.” Additionally, explore referral programs or incentives for customers to introduce peers to your solution – it’s an often untapped demand gen channel.
  
• Guerilla Marketing (tastefully): Once in a while, an unconventional campaign can generate huge buzz in B2B. Examples: send a clever “breakup box” to prospects who ghosted (with humorous swag and a note saying “we miss you, let’s reconnect” – but be careful, it must suit your brand and relationship). Or produce a fun parody video that lightly pokes at a common industry frustration – if it resonates, it could go viral in your niche. These tactics are harder to scale or predict, but they can inject personality into your demand gen. Just ensure any edgy ideas still maintain professionalism appropriate for your audience.
  

Ultimately, creativity in demand generation can set you apart from competitors. B2B doesn’t have to be boring. By delighting and surprising your prospects, you become memorable – and when the time comes that they need a solution, who will they call first? The brand that educated, engaged, and even entertained them all along.

Now that we’ve covered a spectrum of demand gen strategies and campaign ideas, let’s move on to how you measure success – because at the end of the day, you need to prove that all these efforts are driving real business outcomes.

Demand Generation Metrics and KPIs That Matter

One famous adage in marketing: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” In B2B demand generation, tracking the right metrics is crucial to evaluating performance and optimizing your strategy. However, demand gen isn’t about vanity metrics (like social likes or sheer lead volume) – it’s about metrics that indicate true pipeline impact and audience engagement. In 2026, B2B marketers are increasingly held accountable for revenue outcomes (42% now cite revenue as a top KPI for marketing) (7), so your demand gen metrics should link to tangible results.

So, how do you measure the success of B2B demand generation campaigns?

Here are the must-track demand generation metrics and what they tell you:

• Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs): This is a classic metric, but still relevant when defined well. MQLs are leads that meet your marketing criteria of likely buyers – based on engagement or fit. For demand gen, track not just the count of MQLs, but their quality (Are they within your ICP? Do they engage deeply?). If you have a high volume of MQLs but low conversion to sales, you may need to refine how you score or nurture them. Remember: The shift to demand gen often means focusing less on raw MQL count and more on the next metric…
  
• Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) or Sales Accepted Leads (SALs): These are leads that Sales has vetted and agreed are worth pursuing – essentially the leads that turn into real sales opportunities. An increasing SQL count (or conversion rate from MQL to SQL) is a positive sign that your demand gen is attracting the right people. For example, if in Q1 you delivered 100 MQLs and 10 became SQLs, but after refining your targeting in Q2 you delivered 60 MQLs and 15 became SQLs – that’s a win for quality. Sales feedback is vital here; regularly review with your sales team which leads turned out strong and which didn’t, to adjust your targeting criteria.
  
• Pipeline Contribution: Go beyond leads and measure how much sales pipeline (in $$) is being generated from demand gen efforts. This could be measured as the total value of opportunities sourced by marketing or influenced by marketing. Many companies use a “sourced vs influenced” split. For instance, you might find that 60% of all new pipeline has marketing’s fingerprints (maybe they first attended a webinar). Tracking marketing-sourced pipeline shows the direct revenue impact of your campaigns. If your demand gen is firing on all cylinders, you should see a healthy pipeline number that aligns with revenue goals. Tip: Track pipeline by campaign or channel if possible (attribution can be tricky, but even first-touch or multi-touch models can give insight into which efforts drive pipeline).
  
• Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): These efficiency metrics are important for optimizing spend. CPL is typically the cost to acquire a lead (usually an MQL) = total campaign spend / leads generated. CPA can refer to cost per customer acquisition or per SQL – clarify what you mean. Watching CPL trends helps ensure you’re not paying too much for top-of-funnel names. CPA tells you the cost to actually acquire a customer (or an opportunity). For example, if your marketing spend in a quarter is $100k and you acquired 50 new customers, your average CPA is $2k/customer. You’d then compare that to your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) to see if it’s viable (more on CLV next). Insight: Demand gen often starts broad (higher CPL) but should yield engaged leads that convert efficiently (lower CPA in the long run). Also, using advanced targeting and AI tools can lower CPL – LinkedIn’s predictive audiences reduced CPL by 21% in tests (4).
  
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV or LTV): CLV is the projected revenue a customer will generate over their life as a customer. It’s more of a business metric, but it’s relevant to demand gen because attracting high-LTV customers is key to sustainable growth. If your demand gen efforts bring in customers that stick around longer and spend more, that’s a huge win (even if they were costlier to acquire). Track CLV by source if possible – e.g., do customers acquired via content marketing have higher retention? If so, double down there. The combination of CLV and CAC (customer acquisition cost) is powerful: you want a high CLV-to-CAC ratio. Many B2B companies aim for 3x or higher (meaning a customer’s lifetime value is at least 3 times what it cost to acquire them).
  
• Engagement Metrics: These are leading indicators of demand gen success:
  
  • Website Traffic & Time on Site: Increased organic traffic to key pages (like your blog or resources hub) signals your content is attracting interest. Time on site and pages per visit indicate how deeply visitors are engaging. If your average time on site jumps after launching a content hub, you’re likely doing something right in educating prospects.
    
  • Content Downloads/Views: Track how many times your whitepapers, ebooks, videos, etc., are accessed – and completion rates if possible (e.g., webinar attendance vs. registrations). If 1000 people download your guide but only 100 actually open it (some systems can tell), consider making the content more accessible (maybe ungate it or improve the intro).
    
  • Email Engagement: Monitor open and click rates on your nurture emails or newsletters. High engagement suggests your content is resonating; declining engagement might mean your emails are too frequent or not relevant.
    
  • Social Engagement: Followers growth, comments, shares, and direct messages coming from social posts can be qualitative signs of building demand. For instance, if a LinkedIn post from your CEO sparks a lively discussion and inbound connection requests, that indicates growing interest.
    
  • Event Attendance: For webinars or virtual events, beyond registration count, look at attendee rate and how engaged they were (Q&A questions asked, poll responses). These show how compelling your event was and whether it generated interest in follow-up.
    
• Conversion Rates & Funnel Velocity: Keep an eye on conversion rates between lead generation funnel stages (MQL → SQL, SQL → Opportunity, Opp → Win). If demand gen is doing well, you might see higher conversion from earlier to later stages (since leads are better nurtured and educated). Also, track sales cycle length for marketing-sourced deals versus others. Ideally, deals originating from demand gen content should close faster because the lead was warmer. A shorter demand generation cycle (time from first touch to MQL to SQL) means your funnel is running efficiently. If you notice bottlenecks (e.g., lots of MQLs stuck as “contacted, no response”), then you may need to adjust your approach or give sales better enablement to follow up.
  
• Pipeline Velocity & ROI: Pipeline velocity is a metric that combines average deal size, win rate, sales cycle, and number of opportunities to gauge how quickly revenue is coming. While more of a sales metric, improving it is often a goal of demand gen (because educating buyers should increase win rates and perhaps deal sizes). For ROI, measure the ultimate Return on Investment of your demand gen marketing. That can be at a high level – e.g., revenue from marketing-sourced deals / marketing spend. Or on a campaign basis if attribution allows – e.g., revenue from webinar leads vs cost of running webinars. An ROI above 1 (or above 100% if expressed in percent) means marketing is generating more revenue than it costs – a strong justification for your programs. However, note that some demand gen investments have longer-term payoff (like brand building), so their ROI might not be immediately evident in quarterly numbers. Communicate that to execs by combining short-term metrics with long-term leading indicators.
  

One caution: don’t get lost in metrics that don’t map to business goals. Vanity metrics like raw impressions or social likes might make us feel good, but the C-suite cares about pipeline, revenue, and ROI. As one LinkedIn study noted, 87% of B2B marketers struggle to measure long-term impact (4), so it’s easy to fall back on easy-to-measure stats. Resist that. Instead, focus on building a measurement framework that captures early-stage engagement and ties it to downstream results.

For example, you might create a dashboard that shows: content engagement (visits, time) → leads generated → pipeline generated → revenue won, with conversion rates at each step. This end-to-end view keeps you honest about what demand gen is delivering.

Lastly, use metrics to learn and iterate, not just to report. If a certain campaign yielded lots of leads but low pipeline, dissect why – perhaps the audience targeting was off, or the content attracted curious folks outside your buyer persona. If another campaign had fewer leads but high SQL conversion, analyze that success and replicate it. In 2026, with AI analytics available, you can even have algorithms surface insights (e.g., which combination of content and channel produces the fastest sales). Embrace those tools to continuously fine-tune your demand gen engine.

Best Practices for B2B Demand Generation in 2026

Demand generation is an evolving art, but some tried-and-true principles will keep your strategy on track. Here are B2B demand generation best practices to guide your efforts in 2026 and beyond:

• Focus on Quality Over Quantity: It’s better to have 100 highly engaged prospects than 1,000 cold names who barely know you. Modern demand gen prioritizes relevance, intent, and fit over sheer volume. In fact, B2B marketers are shifting away from the obsession with lead volume and instead zeroing in on the audiences they can actually convert, emphasizing relevance and trust. Always ask: would our sales team be excited to talk to this lead? If not, re-examine your targeting and content to attract higher-quality prospects. Smart segmentation (by industry, company size, etc.) and leveraging intent data help ensure you’re bringing in leads likely to turn into revenue.
  
• Offer Value First, Sales Second: Demand gen is a long game of building relationships. Don’t try to rush the close. Earn attention by giving value at every touch. This means sharing knowledge freely – ungated articles, useful tools, insightful newsletters – with no immediate expectation. By educating your market and helping them solve problems, you build goodwill that eventually translates into sales. One best practice mantra: serve before you sell. For example, instead of immediately booking a demo, you might offer a free audit or consultation call to give the prospect actionable advice (with no hard sell). This consultative approach pulls prospects toward you rather than pushing them. Empathy and generosity in marketing go a long way to differentiate your brand in B2B circles.
  
• Embrace Multichannel (Omnichannel) Campaigns: Your buyers move across devices and platforms – your marketing should too, seamlessly. Ensure your message is consistent and coordinated across email, social, search, events, and more. Also, connect the data: if someone engages on LinkedIn and later visits your site, and then joins a webinar, they shouldn’t feel like a stranger at each step. Omnichannel marketing shares data between channels to create a unified experience (e.g., your email knows what they downloaded on the site, your sales rep knows they asked a question during the webinar). Why is this so important? Because nearly three-quarters of B2B marketers using omnichannel have increased lead generation (6), versus fewer than half of single-channel users. Omnichannel strategies yield better lead quality, higher ROI, and improved customer experience. Best practice: break down silos – integrate your CRM, marketing automation, analytics, and any ad platforms so that you can track and respond to buyer interactions holistically.
  
• Leverage Data and AI Intelligently: We have more tools than ever – use them! Intent data, as noted, can highlight who’s in-market right now so you focus efforts there. AI can help analyze patterns in your best customers to find lookalikes, or optimize email send times, or even personalize content at scale. For example, AI-driven tools can segment your audience into micro-personas and tailor website content blocks to each – delivering a more personalized journey. They can also score leads more accurately by analyzing behavior patterns beyond simple rule-based scoring. Just be sure your use of AI/data doesn’t become creepy or overly automated at the expense of human touch. The sweet spot is using AI to augment your team’s decision-making (e.g., prioritizing accounts, suggesting content topics) and automate low-level tasks, freeing up humans to focus on strategy and creative engagement.
  
• Align Marketing and Sales (SMarketing): We’ve touched on this, but it can’t be overstated. Tear down the wall between sales and marketing. Create shared goals and dashboards. Perhaps implement a weekly or bi-weekly “revenue team” standup meeting to discuss pipeline, what’s working, and what’s needed. Sales should give feedback on lead quality; marketing should share campaign plans and insights on prospect behavior. When a big account engages with marketing content, sales should know immediately. Likewise, if sales discovers new pain points in conversations, marketing should produce content addressing them. This tight alignment ensures a smooth handoff for leads (no lead leaks) and a consistent story told to prospects from first touch to close. Companies with strong sales-marketing alignment (often called smarketing) see higher conversion rates and better ROI.
  
• Test, Learn, Optimize (Iterative Improvement): The best demand gen programs treat every campaign as an experiment. A/B test emails (subject lines, content offers), landing pages (headlines, CTAs), and ads (creative, copy) to systematically improve performance. Try new channels on a small scale and measure impact. For instance, test a pilot account-based direct mail campaign to 20 accounts and see if it lifts engagement compared to those that didn’t get mail. Use cohort analysis to compare how leads from different campaigns perform through the funnel. And don’t be afraid to fail small – not every idea will work, but each test yields data. The insight you gain is often more valuable long-term than a short-term win. Create a culture in your team of continuous optimization – celebrating learning as much as big wins. This mindset keeps you agile and ahead of the competition.
  
• Maintain Consistent Messaging and Brand Voice: Throughout your demand gen tactics, ensure a cohesive narrative. Your value proposition and key messages should echo across content, ads, webinars, and sales conversations. Repetition (with variation) builds memory. If one piece of content says “we help reduce cost,” and another says “we focus on quality not cost,” you’ll confuse prospects. Develop a messaging framework and content guidelines so that every demand gen touch feels like it’s coming from the same company with the same mission and personality. Consistency also builds trust; a prospect who sees a consistent, reliable message over 6 months is more likely to believe you’re a reliable partner. This includes visual branding too – use your brand colors, design style, and logos in content so that even subconsciously, prospects recognize it’s your company providing all this value.
  
• Nurture the 95% (Patience): A core principle of demand gen is recognizing that most of your target market isn’t ready to buy right now (recall the 95:5 rule) (10). That’s okay. Your job is to stay on their radar and nurture them until they are ready – whenever that may be. This requires patience and persistence. Don’t discard a lead just because they didn’t convert in 3 months or even 12 months. Keep them in your orbit with ongoing campaigns (unless they opt out). Some of our own clients at Martal have closed deals from leads that were in our nurture funnel for over a year – they engaged off and on with content, and when priorities aligned, they reached out ready to talk. If we had given up after a few touches, those deals would have been lost. So, play the long game. Keep adding value, and trust that a percentage of that 95% will raise their hand in the future (10), and when they do, they’ll come to the company that educated them all along – which is you.
  

By following these best practices, you’ll create a demand generation machine that is resilient, efficient, and effective. It will produce a pipeline reliably and adapt as markets change. The overarching theme is to be customer-centric (focus on their needs and experience) and data-driven (make decisions on evidence). That, combined with creativity and collaboration, is the recipe for demand gen success.

Before we wrap up, one more topic deserves attention: many companies choose to partner with experts rather than doing all of this alone. Let’s discuss when and how involving a demand generation agency can amplify your results.

Partnering with a Demand Generation Agency (Outsourced Demand Gen)

Building and executing a robust demand gen program is no small feat. It requires diverse skills (content, SEO, ads, automation, analytics), consistent effort, and often, a lot of time. For B2B firms that lack a large in-house marketing team or need to accelerate results quickly, outsourced demand generation can be a game-changer. Working with a specialized demand generation agency – like Martal Group or others – brings several advantages:

• Expertise on Demand: Agencies live and breathe demand gen across many clients and industries. They bring battle-tested strategies and playbooks to the table. Instead of reinventing the wheel, you tap into their accumulated knowledge of what works. For example, an agency might have refined email cadence timing or LinkedIn ad targeting tricks that you wouldn’t discover in-house without months of trial and error. They also have specialists for each facet (copywriters, SEO experts, campaign managers, SDRs), whereas your internal team might wear multiple hats. By outsourcing, you essentially hire an entire expert team overnight – without the overhead of recruiting and training them.
  
• Faster Time-to-Market: An external firm can often execute campaigns faster than a stretched-thin internal team. Need to launch a multi-touch ABM campaign next month? A good agency has the bandwidth and processes to make it happen on tight timelines. They act as an extension of your team, scaling up as needed. One example: a B2B tech company wanted to roll out an ABM pilot but lacked resources – by partnering with an agency, they launched in weeks instead of months (8). Speed matters in competitive markets; outsourcing can give you that agility.
  
• Cost Efficiency: This may sound counterintuitive because agencies aren’t cheap, but consider the costs of doing it all internally – salaries, benefits, tools subscriptions, learning curve time. With outsourcing, you pay only for what you need, when you need it. Many have flexible packages. In fact, a study showed a SaaS company with a SaaS demand generation agency cut costs by 50% and doubled lead volume versus building an in-house team (8). You avoid expenses like hiring a full staff for temporary campaigns or investing in marketing software that an agency already has. Essentially, you share the agency’s economies of scale with their other clients.
  
• Advanced Tech and Data: Demand gen agencies often have state-of-the-art tools (analytics platforms, AI-driven, outbound prospecting tools, intent data sources) integrated into their workflow. At Martal, for instance, we leverage a proprietary AI sales platform that analyzes 3,000+ intent signals to build laser-targeted outreach lists. Small to mid-size firms might not afford such technology on their own. By outsourcing, you gain access to these cutting-edge capabilities. Similarly, agencies have richer data – having run campaigns across sectors, they can benchmark your performance and optimize using broader insights.
  
• Full-Funnel Support: Good agencies don’t just dump leads on you; they help across the funnel. From initial strategy (identifying ICP and messaging), through content creation, campaign execution, and even lead follow-up/qualification, they cover the bases. Martal, for example, provides Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) on-demand who can follow up with leads and set appointments for your sales team – effectively acting as your outsourced SDR wing. This ensures that the demand gen campaigns actually convert into sales meetings and pipeline, bridging the gap between marketing and sales execution.
  
• Omnichannel and Global Reach: If you want to run truly omnichannel campaigns (email, LinkedIn, calls, ads, etc.) or target global markets, agencies can be very effective. They have established processes to manage multichannel outreach without dropping the ball – e.g., coordinating an email campaign with a LinkedIn message sequence and a follow-up call. They also often have multilingual team members or regional experts. Martal’s team, for instance, spans North America, Europe, LATAM, etc., allowing outreach in multiple languages and time zones. This kind of reach and coordination is hard to assemble in-house quickly.
  
• Objective Perspective and Creative Ideas: An external partner brings a fresh set of eyes. They can audit your current demand gen efforts and spot areas for improvement that internal folks might miss (sometimes we’re too close to our own business). Agencies also carry learnings of creative tactics from other industries that could differentiate you. Their broader perspective can spur innovation in your campaigns. It’s like adding an R&D lab for marketing growth hacks by leveraging outside brains.
  
• Scalability and Flexibility: Perhaps one of the biggest benefits – you can scale your engagement up or down as needed. If you’re entering a big new market or launching a product, you might ramp up demand gen via the agency for a few quarters, then scale back. Or if economic conditions tighten, you can pause or reduce scope without having to lay off an internal team. This flexibility is valuable in volatile markets. You effectively convert fixed costs into variable costs, paying for outcomes rather than maintaining a large standing team.
  

Of course, to reap these benefits, you need to choose the right demand generation and sales agency and collaborate closely with them. Look for partners that understand your industry, have a track record of success (ask for case studies or client references), and align with your culture (they should feel like partners, not just vendors). Ensure there are clear communication channels, shared KPIs, and transparency in results reporting.

At Martal Group, for instance, we pride ourselves on working as a seamless extension of our clients’ teams, providing not just leads but strategic guidance, omnichannel execution, and continuous optimization. Over a decade, we’ve helped companies from startups to Fortune 500s fill their pipelines with qualified opportunities. We apply many of the best practices discussed in this guide – from data-driven targeting, to personalized outreach, to leveraging AI for efficiency – as part of our Sales-as-a-Service model. The outcome? Clients can focus on closing deals while we keep their top-of-funnel engine running in high gear.

When should you consider outsourcing demand gen? If your in-house team is at capacity, if you lack certain specialized skills, if you need results faster than you can hire, or if you want to test new markets without heavy upfront investment – those are all good reasons. Even large enterprises often use agencies to complement their internal efforts, especially for entering new regions or executing on complex ABM programs.

In the end, whether in-house or with a partner, the goal is the same: create a predictable, scalable pipeline of interested prospects. Outsourcing is simply a means to accelerate and augment that outcome. In practice, partnering with an outside firm can amplify your marketing impact significantly, acting as an extension of your team, bringing in fresh skills and efficiencies, and cutting costs by up to 65% (9).

If you do partner with an agency, treat them as part of your team. Share your business goals, product knowledge, and customer insights openly. The more they know, the better they can represent your brand and drive results. A true partnership will yield far greater ROI than a transactional vendor relationship.

Conclusion – Fueling Sustainable Growth Through Demand Gen

B2B demand generation isn’t a one-time campaign or a single tactic – it’s an ongoing commitment to your future customers. It’s the webinars you host that spark an idea for a prospect six months later. It’s the insightful article that a buying team member remembers and forwards to their boss. It’s the steady drumbeat of value that builds subconscious preference for your brand even before an RFP is ever written.

Mastering demand gen means mastering the art of being present and useful across the buyer’s journey, long before and long after that buyer becomes a “lead” in your CRM. When done right, the effect is powerful: you create a pipeline that’s not only full, but full of educated, enthusiastic prospects. Sales cycles shorten, win rates increase, and marketing is no longer viewed as a cost center but as a predictable revenue driver.

As we navigate 2026, remember that the B2B companies who will thrive are those who prioritize customer experience and trust at every touch. Demand generation is your vehicle to deliver that experience at scale – by informing, engaging, and guiding your audience with authority and empathy.

If your organization is looking to elevate its demand gen strategy – whether you need fresh ideas, more hands on deck, or a complete program overhaul – don’t hesitate to seek expertise or partners to assist. The landscape is competitive, but with the right approach, you can position your brand as a leader that buyers flock to.

We’re here to help. At Martal Group, we’ve spent over a decade honing omni-channel demand generation and sales strategies for B2B companies worldwide. We understand the challenges and know what works – from crafting compelling campaigns to setting qualified meetings with your ideal clients. If you’re ready to supercharge your pipeline and drive sustainable B2B growth, book a free consultation with Martal. Let’s explore how we can design a demand generation program tailored to your goals and make 2026 your best year yet.

Ready to transform your demand generation outcomes? Book a consultation with Martal Group today and let’s discuss how to fill your pipeline with eager, qualified buyers. We’ll bring the coffee and the actionable insights – you bring your biggest growth ambitions. 

References

1. Dealfront
2. Salesforce
3. Salespanel
4. LinkedIn Marketing Blog
5. Cognism
6. Jones PR
7. Pipeline360
8. The Vertical Solution
9. Martal Group – ROI Calculator
10. UnboundB2B