Demand Creation & Employee Advocacy in Demand Generation

In this article, we delve into the transformative aspect of demand creation, where the focus lies on educating and supporting the audience.

We explore the strategies and approaches that businesses can employ to effectively create demand by empowering and educating their target audience.

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In general, marketers say that only 3% of your market is ‘in-market’ at any given time. That means that our lead generation or demand capture efforts are not engaging 97% of our audience. When we focus on progressing folks from the 97% into a sales process too early, we waste a lot of time and create a bad experience for our audience. Hence the low conversion rates for most B2B SaaS companies on content offer leads.

We want to take the 97% under our umbrella and build trust by educating and supporting them.

Demand Creation is generally focused on developing content for the 97% of your audience that isn’t currently in-market. Most important from a content perspective is the 60% furthest away from being in-market as Conversation Generation is the best avenue to support the middle 37%. Thus creating a moat where there is only one obvious choice to do business with when they are ready. These folks are at various stages of understanding problems that you can solve and being willing to solve them.

Demand creation goes beyond traditional marketing tactics; it centers on empowering the audience through education and support.

By providing valuable knowledge and resources, businesses can create a demand for their offerings based on the understanding that informed customers make better decisions. This approach not only builds trust and credibility but also establishes long-lasting relationships with the audience.

The Power of Education in Demand Creation

Education serves as the cornerstone of demand creation. By sharing relevant and insightful information, businesses can position themselves as trusted advisors and thought leaders. Through blog posts, articles, videos, webinars, and interactive content, we can educate the audience about industry trends, best practices, and solutions to their challenges. This fosters a sense of empowerment, making them more aware of the value that our category, brand, and products or services deliver.

Providing Value through Support

Supporting the audience is paramount in demand creation. By offering guidance, answering their questions, and addressing their pain points, we demonstrate our commitment to their success. We help them do their jobs better. This can take the form of personalized customer service, responsive social media engagement, or dedicated support channels. By providing exceptional support, we cultivate loyalty with the reassurance that we are here to help every step of the way.

Thought Leadership as a Demand Creation Strategy

Thought leadership plays a pivotal role in creating demand through education and support. By showcasing our expertise, industry knowledge, and innovative ideas, we become the go-to resource for our target audience.

Thought leadership can be established through speaking engagements, news outlets, industry publications, podcast appearances, and insightful content that challenges the status quo. This positions us as the authority and ignites the creation of demand for our unique perspectives and solutions.

Employee Advocacy and Demand Creation

Traditionally, employer advocacy refers to the active promotion and endorsement of a company by its employees. It involves employees voluntarily advocating for their employer through positive word-of-mouth, social media engagement, and sharing their experiences and expertise. The aim has been to amplify the company’s brand reputation but has been tantamount to employees liking and sharing company posts on channels like LinkedIn.

Employee advocacy is shifting to an effort to harness the power of your employees’ expertise, not only their reach, businesses can unlock significant opportunities by supporting their team members in building their personal brands. By enabling employees to establish themselves as experts in their respective fields, companies can expand their overall reach, enhance their expertise, build internal thought leaders, and elevate their employer branding impact far beyond traditional marketing channels.

Nurturing Personal Branding within the Company Culture

Fostering a company culture that values personal branding is the first step towards expanding reach and expertise. When employees are encouraged to develop their personal brands, they become empowered to showcase their unique skills, insights, and perspectives. By fostering an environment that supports personal growth, continuous learning, and self-expression, businesses create a space where employees are motivated to share their expertise and contribute to demand creation efforts.

Providing Resources and Support for Personal Brand Development

To enable employees to build their personal brands effectively, businesses must provide the necessary resources and support. This can include access to professional development opportunities, guides and frameworks, mentoring programs, and platforms to showcase their thought leadership. By investing in training and providing guidance on personal branding best practices, businesses empower their team members to leverage their expertise and expand their reach beyond the organization.

Amplifying Reach through Employee Thought Leadership

When employees are encouraged to share their expertise, the overall reach of the business expands exponentially. By actively supporting employees in publishing articles, participating in industry events, and speaking at conferences, companies can tap into new networks and attract a wider audience.

Employee thought leadership not only positions the individuals as industry experts but also elevates the company’s reputation as a hub of knowledgeable professionals.

Enhancing Employer Branding through Employee Advocacy

Employee advocacy plays a crucial role in shaping employer branding impact. When team members are empowered to build their personal brands, they become authentic ambassadors for the organization.

By encouraging employees to share their expertise on social media, contribute to industry conversations, and engage with professional networks, businesses establish a positive reputation and attract top talent. Prospective employees are more likely to be drawn to companies where employees are actively sharing their expertise and contributing to the industry.

Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing

Supporting personal branding initiatives also fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing within the organization. When employees are encouraged to develop their personal brands, they naturally engage with one another, exchange insights, and collaborate on projects. This collective learning environment enhances the expertise and capabilities of the entire team, enabling them to deliver exceptional results and further fueling demand creation efforts.

Unleashing the Power of Personal Branding for Business Growth

Supporting personal branding efforts among team members is a strategic move that brings immense benefits to businesses. By nurturing a culture that values personal growth, providing resources and support for personal brand development, amplifying reach through employee thought leadership, enhancing employer branding through advocacy, and fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing, companies unlock the full potential of their workforce. As employees build their personal brands, the business expands its overall reach, taps into new networks, and solidifies its reputation as an industry leader.

Let us empower our team members to develop their personal brands, creating a collective force that propels demand creation and drives sustainable business growth.

Building a Community of Learners and Advocates

Demand creation thrives within a community of learners and advocates. By fostering a space where the audience can connect, share insights, and learn from each other, we create a sense of belonging and foster engagement. This can be achieved through online forums, social media groups, and exclusive events. By nurturing a community, we not only empower our audience but also create demand through the organic spread of knowledge and positive experiences.

The Evolution of Demand Creation

Demand creation has evolved into an educational and supportive journey.

By embracing the role of educator and expert, businesses can create demand by empowering their audience with knowledge and resources. Through thought leadership, content, employee advocacy, and community building, we foster a deep connection that goes beyond transactions.

With this mindset, it becomes looking at all channels available to gain additional reach. Where is our audience consuming information and how can we connect with them? Through partners, content syndication, magazines, outdoors, events, etc.

Let us embark on this transformative approach to demand creation, where education and support pave the way for sustainable growth and mutual success.

Author bio

Brian has 15+ years as a marketing strategist and visionary leader with a track record of transforming the marketing function and propelling it to new heights for several SaaS companies as an advisor, consultant, and employee. He has spearheaded highly successful campaigns that captivated target audiences, optimizing the marketing funnel to maximize conversion rates, and accelerate sales cycles.

Brian Cohen is also the Co-Founder and CEO at StoryLab.ai. You can find more info about Brian on LinkedIn.