If your marketing strategy isn’t delivering qualified leads, you’re essentially leaving money on the table. This is where B2B demand generation services come into help.

Demand generation is more than simply generating interest in your products or services. The true aim of any demand generation strategy should always be to generate quality leads for your business.

There are so many different types of demand generation services in the market. When choosing the right service for your business, you must know what questions to ask. So you will have the right information to make a decision. Here are 5 questions you must ask any B2B demand generation services.

Are They A Small Sales or Major Account Company?

In general, there are 2 types of demand generation companies:

1. Small Sale companies – More common. Work with smaller transactions (under $10,000) and shorter sales cycles.
2. Major account companies – Work with higher-priced items that are more complex sales processes. Understand the long sales cycles.

It’s important to know which one they are. Then, they will understand how your industry works, understand your customer profile, and the typical buyer’s journey.

What Demand Generation Techniques & Processes Are Used?

With demand generation, you don’t want a company that only focuses on tactics. They must have a well-planned strategy. There are several parts to this.

Inbound vs Outbound

The strategies can be divided into these 2 categories. Inbound is when customers reach out to you when they have problems to solve. Outbound is when you utilize targeted outreach channels to generate leads.

Both have their place in the demand generation strategy. Asset Digital Communications have both components in our offering. They are customized to the individual business needs in their campaign.

The Right B2B Demand Generation Services

There are many services offered by companies:

• Brand positioning
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Content Marketing
• Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
• Social Media Marketing
• Website Design
• Conversion Rate Optimization
• And many others

Every business is unique. Make sure to discuss with the company how they will tailor the strategies to your business needs.

Synergy With Your Sales Team

How will the leads be handed over to your in-house sales team? Some leads are ready for a sales call. But some may require more nurturing.

The goal here is to set clear expectations. You want to work with companies that are transparent with their services. Avoid those that give you vague answers.

What Technology Do You Work With?

In today’s digital age, there are so many software and apps used in sales and marketing. Well-rounded B2B demand generation services will have a full suite of tools to automate, track and manage the leads.

It’s important to find out how they will integrate with your own software. This is especially true for your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. Sometimes it would be best to work with a company that can suit the system you’re already using.

Having these questions ironed out would mean a smooth transition for handing off leads to your sales team.

What Are The Key Performance Indicators?

Tracking the right metrics is critical to knowing how well the campaign is performing. At the end of the day, you want to have more leads generated and sales appointments scheduled. But that is not the only key performance indicator (KPI).

There are other ones that will show how well each channel is working, what is working well, and which ones need to be improved. If something is not working, it can be fixed as soon as possible. This will set you up for long-term success with your campaign.

Demand generation services consist of many different channels. It’s a good idea to ask the agency what KPIs they will track for each component and how often they will be reported to you. If you don’t understand any metric, have them explain what they mean and what benchmarks they are compared against.

What is the Price of Your B2B Demand Generation Services?

This one is obvious. You definitely want to know the price of the services so you can determine your return on investment.

Many B2B companies are confused with the varied price estimates they get from agencies. Price is dependent on so many factors such as industry, the agency’s reputation, how qualified are the leads, and so on.

That’s why the price question is intentionally left to the last. First, you need to understand the company’s process and the quality of the leads you’re getting.

A qualified lead will be easier for your sales team to close. But cold leads need more work and time to nurture. To make a fair comparison, don’t simply look at the cost per lead. Instead, focus on the cost to acquire a new customer.

Conclusion

A B2B demand generation service provider is like a long-term partner who will walk down the journey with you. If you’re going to take the walk together, both you and the company need to start by facing the same direction.

Asking the right questions will help you find the service provider who is facing the same direction as your company. If you need help with getting leads, we are here to help. All you need to do is book a call with us.