In the marketing circles, much has been said and written about the major differences between driving business with demand generation vs. lead generation. Some marketers use the two terms interchangeably, while others make a comparison between the two.

1. Demand Generation & Lead Generation: Finding the Right Mix
In the marketing circles, much has been said and written about the major differences between driving business with demand
generation vs. lead generation. Some marketers use the two terms interchangeably, while others make a comparison between the two.
Therefore, before delving further on to this, it is important to define clearly the two terms.

2. According to Wikipedia, demand generation is “the focus of targeted marketing programs to drive awareness and interest in a
company's products and/or services” while lead generation is the “the process of creating sales leads which might convert into sale for
the company.” The two definitions clearly point out that the basic difference between the two lies in their focus. As the names
suggest, demand generation is all about generating demand through awareness while lead generation is all about generating sales
leads through inquiry.
In demand generation, the marketers employ a healthy mix of varied demand generation tactics covering the offline and online world.
This includes search engine optimization, viral marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, Pay per Click marketing, inside
sales / telemarketing, webinars, websites, press releases, landing pages and event management. Lead generation activities include
anything from cold calling, appointment setting and referrals to advertisements.
The fact of matter is lead generation and demand generation are two different concepts that help in driving business and increasing
revenue. Both the processes complement each other, therefore the sales and the marketing teams need to use both the processes in
tandem in order to bring in increased benefits. Just as Tyler Barnett, founder and CEO of full-service consumer and lifestyle public
relations firm, puts it ““Lead generation works far better when your target audience is already aware you exist, and already thinking
about engaging you for your services.” Hence, the strategy should be of employing both demand generation and lead generation to
bring in better results.
Today many of the marketers have understood the importance of using the two processes in tandem. Hence, demand generation now
involves all processes right from initial prospecting to delivery of sales qualified leads to the sales team. Since, the entire gamut of
lead qualification activities falls in the marketer’s court, marketers employ a variety of demand generation tactics to generate leads
and make them sales-ready.
Enterprises can achieve far better results if they collaborate with solution providers offering best of the breed B2B marketing
automation services. With a best of the breed marketing automation platform, the marketers can run their demand & lead generation
campaigns successfully and thereby build a robust sales pipeline.
Read more on - Strategies for Demand Generation, lead generation 2013