According to the 2018 Demand Generation Benchmark Survey, 70% of B2B marketers will invest more in demand generation this year. Demand generation, or demand gen, involves a variety of marketing techniques that build and nurture existing prospects and customers.
We all want quality leads, and demand gen focuses on identifying and juicing up campaigns that are yielding the leads that fit your ideal customer profile. When demand gen engines are successful, your sales reps can focus more on talking to prospects who are very likely to buy rather than those likely to result in a dead end. Demand gen helps to fill the gap between marketing and sales and contributes to a company’s path to growth.
When hiring a demand generation specialist, an organization should consider how to define the role of demand generation specialist as it pertains to the organization as well as the skills, responsibilities and qualifications the specialist need to be successful. If you’re looking to become a demand generation specialist, this is a great read as well!
A demand generation specialist is responsible for leading demand generation strategies and initiatives through multiple channels to drive acceleration of new buyers across an organization’s markets. The demand gen specialist must possess a certain set of skills to be successful in the role.
According to recruitment agency Robert Walters, demand gen specialists typically have a common set of soft and hard skills.
A demand generation specialist is typically responsible for several aspects of marketing. Technologyadvice.com has a great infographic that shows a typical day in the life of someone in a demand gen role. According to Payscale.com, typical responsibilities for this role include
These responsibilities are not all-inclusive. Depending on the needs of the organization, a demand gen specialist might also be responsible for other marketing activities, such as account-based marketing, or be involved with different channels, such as partner or channel marketing.
A demand generation specialist is usually a mid to senior role and requires certain qualifications. Here are some typical qualifications of a demand generation specialist we came across in our research:
Demand generation specialists thrive when they can combine their years of experience planning, executing and measuring different techniques to generate top-of-the funnel leads who “aren’t yet looking to solve a problem.” It’s important for them to use their expertise to understand the differences in customer profiles and how certain features in a campaign might appeal to customers and draw them in.
If you’re ready to hire and are looking for a sample job description for a new demand generation specialist, check out these resources:
It might be time for you to hire a demand generation specialist if you’re facing one of two scenarios: you’re not optimizing the use of your CRM and marketing automation platform or you’re looking to transition to a highly strategic digital marketing approach (Versique.com).
If this sounds like your situation, take advantage of all the resources presented above to hire your next demand generation specialist and consider using marketing intelligence tools that can help them accelerate demand generation.