7 Tips for Choosing Your Perfect Demand Generation Partner

Do you want to attract and engage more prospects? Once you have them in the sales funnel, you can turn them into paying customers, but you need to have their attention to do so. Your solution is demand generation. Focus on the marketing funnel and allow a demand generation expert to bring the prospects to you.

It takes effort to select the perfect demand generation partner, and this guide shows you how:

• Define your objectives
• Look for relevant experience
• Assess strategies and tactics
• Analyze technology and tools
• Review the team’s experience
• Ensure communication and collaboration
• Consider budget and return on investment (ROI)

Find the right partner with these strategies. Let’s go!

1. Define Your Objectives

To search for the right demand-generation specialist, businesses must have specific marketing objectives. With clear objectives, they know what to achieve and can find a partner that aligns with their vision.

Do you need lead generation or demand generation expertise when creating your objectives? Here are some best practices for defining marketing objectives:

• Analyze current marketing campaigns, sales performance, and lead-generation activities.
• Determine the timeline for the objectives; are these short-term results or long-term goals?
• Align with sales and revenue targets.

2. Look for Relevant Experience

Businesses should work with a partner with relevant experience in their industry. These qualities ensure they understand the market, industry, and various demand generation strategies.

To find a demand generation specialist with relevant experience, follow these strategies:

• Look for experience within a specific industry or related sectors.
• Choose a partner with experience in a local market or local industries.
• Ask for case studies or client references. These gauge their expertise in generating demand and achieving measurable results.
• Verify specialization in demand generation rather than general marketing. Look for skills such as creating interest, nurturing leads, and driving conversions.
• Ask what key performance indicators (KPIs) they use to measure success. KPIs include lead quality, conversion rates, customer acquisition cost (CAC), and ROI.
• Look for a partner with a large client portfolio and a proven track record of success.

3. Assess Their Strategies and Tactics

Businesses must check an agency's demand-generation marketing strategies and tactics. This ensures they use white hat techniques. It also ensures they have a well-defined inbound and outbound marketing process. Ask about lead nurturing, content creation, and more.

A partner with local industry expertise can benefit small to medium-scale businesses. Assess a demand generation partner's strategies and tactics using these steps:

• Request a comprehensive proposal outlining their demand generation strategies and tactics. Check their approach, target audience identification, content marketing plans, lead generation techniques, etc.
• Review case studies and examples of past demand-generation campaigns.
• Ask whether they use a multichannel approach. This is a mix of social media, email marketing, and SEO. It also includes paid advertising to maximize reach and engagement.
• Check the quality and relevance of the partner's content. Include blog posts, whitepapers, e-books, infographics, and videos.

4. Analyze Their Technology and Tools

Successful demand generation uses time-tested strategies, reliable technology, and automation. Though the strategies may remain the same, the tools and platforms are constantly changing as the market evolves. Ensure your partners have access to the latest tools for marketing automation, performance tracking, and lead scoring.

These can enhance their capabilities for driving successful campaigns. Use these techniques to assess your prospective partner’s technology stack:

• Request an overview of the technology and tools they use for demand generation. It includes marketing automation platforms and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Ask about lead-tracking tools and analytics software.
• Ensure that the partner's technology stack is compatible with your existing systems.
• Check data security measures. Find out whether they follow regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
• Inquire about their reporting and analytics capabilities. They must provide regular reports on campaign performance, lead generation metrics, and ROI.
• Discuss testing methodologies, result interpretation, and processes for implementing changes. These changes should be based on data-driven insights.

5. Review Their Team's Expertise

An expert demand generation partner works with a skilled team. They are experts in content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and paid advertising. Having experience with social media and analytics is also a must. Part of hiring the best partner is verifying team expertise using these techniques:

• Ask for information about the team members who will work on the project. Inquire about their roles, qualifications, and experiences.
• Check for relevant experience in the industry or local markets.
• Check for specialization in various marketing aspects. These include content marketing, SEO, paid advertising, social media, and analytics.
• Inquire about continuous learning. Ask how they keep their team updated with industry trends and changes.

6. Ensure Communication and Collaboration

Communication and collaboration are essential to any effective partnership. Managers or business owners must check a prospect’s responsiveness and transparency. Good partners share their strategies, results, and progress with their clients.

Apply these strategies to assess communication and collaboration:

• Observe how they communicate during the initial meetings and discussions.
• Request a communication plan that outlines how they inform the project status. It includes schedules of regular meetings, progress reports, and contact points.
• Inquire about collaboration tools and platforms for seamless communication and project management.
• Discuss decision-making and how they involve their clients in the process.

7. Consider the Budget and ROI

Consider your budget and ROI when selecting the best demand-generation expert. While cost is essential, this should not be the sole determinant in choosing a specialist. Instead, focus on the value and ROI that they can provide.

Choose a partner with a competitive pricing structure. They should highlight significant lead generation and revenue growth results. Remember these when considering budget and ROI when finding a demand-generation partner.

• Determine a budget for demand-generation efforts. A set budget shortlists partners whose services fit within their financial constraints.
• Compare pricing structures and service offerings. Look beyond the initial costs and consider the quality of their services. Include expertise and its effect on lead generation and revenue growth.
• Inquire about the past ROI. Ask what the demand generation partner achieved with their previous clients.
• Consider the long-term value a demand generation partner can bring to the business.

Summing Up

Choosing the right demand-generation partner impacts a business's success. Take the time to research and compare options before deciding. Request proposals from short-listed partners and check their offerings before entering a long-term partnership.

Digital Authority Partners (DAP)  is an expert in demand generation. Partner with the best; contact DAP today!