Top 6 Demand Generation Strategies to Boost B2B Revenue

In a crowded market, cutting through the noise to create real interest is the goal. Old playbooks don't work like they used to, and buyers are more informed and skeptical than ever. This isn't just another list of generic tips; it's a practical guide to 10 proven demand generation strategies designed to drive revenue.

We're skipping the fluff and getting straight to what works. For each strategy, we'll give you a clear roadmap:

• Why It Works: A simple explanation of its value.
• Step-by-Step Tactics: Actionable instructions you can use today.
• Key Metrics to Track: The KPIs you need to measure success.
• Real-World Examples: Concrete scenarios to see the strategy in action.
• Scaling with Intelligence: How to use real-time account signals and sales briefs to amplify your efforts and execute with precision.

The goal is simple: provide a guide that connects high-level concepts to on-the-ground execution. This article is for sales leaders, marketers, and revenue ops pros who need effective demand generation strategies that deliver results. We'll cover everything from content marketing and ABM to social selling and paid ads, ensuring you have the tools to build a strong pipeline. Let's get started.

1. Content Marketing & Thought Leadership

Content marketing is all about creating and sharing valuable, relevant content to attract and keep a specific audience. When done right, it makes your brand a go-to resource for industry insights, not just another vendor. It's a foundational demand generation strategy because it builds trust and attracts high-intent prospects organically. Instead of pushing a product, you’re pulling in an audience by solving their problems.

Why It Works for Demand Generation

This strategy meets the modern B2B buyer where they are. Prospects do a lot of research on their own before they talk to a salesperson. By providing expert content like in-depth blog posts, original research, or tactical webinars, you engage them early. You educate them, help them define their problems, and subtly guide them toward your solution, all while building your company's credibility. HubSpot built its entire business on this principle, offering free, high-value marketing and sales education.

How to Implement This Strategy

• Map Content to the Buyer’s Journey: Create content for every stage. An SDR might share a top-of-funnel blog post on LinkedIn ("10 Ways to Improve Cold Outreach"), while an AE sends a late-stage case study ("How Company X Increased Pipeline by 40%").
• Focus on a Niche: Don't try to be everything to everyone. Drift, for example, owned the "conversational marketing" category by producing tons of focused content on that one topic.
• Prioritize Originality: Go beyond generic advice. Run your own surveys, interview internal experts, or analyze your data to create unique insights no one else has. This is what makes Salesforce's "State of Sales" reports so valuable.
• Repurpose Everything: Turn a webinar into a blog post, a series of social media graphics, and a short video clip. This maximizes the reach of your core ideas without starting from scratch every time.

2. Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) flips the traditional funnel upside down. Instead of casting a wide net for lots of leads, ABM focuses sales and marketing on a specific set of high-value accounts. The approach involves creating coordinated, personalized campaigns for each target company, treating each one like its own market.

Why It Works for Demand Generation

ABM is effective because it stops you from wasting resources on prospects who will never buy. By focusing on best-fit accounts, you ensure every marketing dollar and sales cycle has the highest potential return. It also aligns sales and marketing teams on a common goal, creating a seamless, personalized buying experience. Companies like 6sense use this strategy to find accounts actively looking for a solution and engage them with relevant messaging before competitors even know they're in the market.

How to Implement This Strategy

• Identify Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): Use firmographic, technographic, and intent data from sources like ZoomInfo or Apollo to build a list of target accounts that look like your best customers. Start small with a pilot of 10-20 accounts.
• Align Sales and Marketing: This is non-negotiable. Hold regular sync meetings to create account plans, define roles, and agree on how to measure success. Sales brings deep account knowledge; marketing runs the personalized campaigns.
• Execute Coordinated Plays: Create a multi-touchpoint experience. An AE might connect with a key decision-maker on LinkedIn while marketing serves them personalized ads and a custom landing page with a relevant case study.
• Measure Account-Level Engagement: Shift from individual lead metrics (like MQLs) to account-based ones. Track how engagement across the entire buying committee is progressing. You can find a deeper list of account-based marketing metrics to build a solid dashboard.

3. Email Marketing & Automation

Email marketing, powered by automation, is the engine that nurtures prospects from initial interest to being sales-ready. It uses platforms to send personalized, timely, and relevant messages to segmented audiences based on their behavior. Instead of generic blasts, this strategy delivers the right message at the right moment, guiding prospects through the funnel. It's a critical part of any modern demand generation strategy, bridging the gap between marketing's first touch and sales conversations.

Why It Works for Demand Generation

This strategy is great for building and maintaining relationships at scale. When a prospect downloads a whitepaper, an automated welcome sequence can educate them further and keep your brand top-of-mind. As they engage more, lead scoring can automatically flag them as "sales-ready" and pass them to the sales team. This ensures marketing efforts aren't wasted and sales gets qualified, educated leads. To boost your campaign ROI, check out some of the top email outreach tools.

How to Implement This Strategy

• Segment Your Lists: Group contacts by behavior (e.g., visited the pricing page), demographics (e.g., industry, job title), and engagement. This allows for highly targeted messaging.
• Create Persona-Specific Nurture Streams: Develop separate email workflows for each buyer persona. An email to a CTO should sound different from one to a Marketing Manager.
• Implement Behavioral Triggers: Set up automated emails based on specific actions, like a follow-up when a user views a specific case study.
• Use Lead Scoring: Assign points to leads based on their profile and actions. When a lead hits a certain score, automatically alert an SDR to reach out. This requires the right systems, which are key parts of a modern marketing technology stack.

4. Social Selling & LinkedIn Outreach

Social selling is using a brand's social media to connect with prospects, build rapport, and engage potential leads. For B2B, this happens almost entirely on LinkedIn, turning it from a networking site into a place for relationship-building and direct outreach. It's a key demand generation strategy because it lets sales pros engage prospects in a more authentic, less intrusive way than traditional cold calls or emails.

Why It Works for Demand Generation

This strategy meets buyers where they're already looking for insights and connections. Instead of a cold interruption, you become a familiar face and a credible resource. By consistently sharing valuable content and joining industry conversations, you build social proof. When you do reach out, it’s a warm conversation, not a cold pitch. The sales team at Gong has mastered this, actively sharing data-backed insights on LinkedIn and making their brand synonymous with sales excellence.

How to Implement This Strategy

• Optimize Your Profile: Your LinkedIn profile is your digital storefront. Use a professional headshot, a benefit-driven headline (e.g., "Helping Finance Teams Automate AP" instead of "Sales Rep"), and a summary that speaks to your prospect's pain points.
• Engage Before You Connect: Don't just send a connection request. Follow your target prospects first. Like and comment thoughtfully on their posts for at least a week to establish familiarity. This boosts acceptance rates.
• Personalize Every Message: Use a prospect's recent posts, company news, or shared connections as a reason to connect. Generic templates get ignored. Your first message should offer value, not just ask for their time.
• Build an Employee Advocacy Program: Encourage your whole team to be active on LinkedIn. Give them shareable content, key talking points, and training to amplify your brand's reach and credibility. For more tactical advice, see our deep dive into B2B prospecting on salesmotion.io.

5. Paid Advertising (PPC, Display, Social Ads)

Paid advertising means buying ad space on digital platforms to get your message in front of a specific audience. Unlike organic strategies that take time to build, paid ads offer immediate visibility on search engines like Google (PPC) and social platforms like LinkedIn. This is one of the most direct and scalable demand generation strategies for reaching high-intent prospects exactly when they're searching for solutions.

Why It Works for Demand Generation

Paid ads let you bypass the long wait for organic traction and put your solution directly in front of your target audience. For B2B, platforms like LinkedIn Ads let you target users by job title, company, and industry, so your budget is only spent on relevant prospects. Google Ads captures active demand by targeting keywords that signal a user is researching or ready to buy. This precision makes it an efficient way to generate qualified leads quickly.

How to Implement This Strategy

• Start with High-Intent Keywords: On Google Ads, focus your initial budget on "bottom-of-the-funnel" keywords that show purchase intent (e.g., "salesforce integration software" vs. "what is a CRM").
• Segment Audiences and Campaigns: Create different campaigns for different stages of the buyer’s journey. Run an awareness campaign on LinkedIn to a broad audience of relevant job titles, and a separate retargeting campaign to show case studies to people who've already visited your website.
• Design Dedicated Landing Pages: Never send paid traffic to your homepage. Each ad should lead to a custom landing page with a message that matches the ad's promise and has a single, clear call to action.
• Track Everything Meticulously: Use conversion tracking to see which ads and keywords are driving results. This is critical for optimizing spend and proving ROI. Tracking the right lead generation key performance indicators is a must for success.

6. Webinars & Virtual Events

Webinars and virtual events are online sessions that bring target audiences together for knowledge sharing and product demos. These events are powerful demand generation strategies because they capture an attentive audience for an extended period, allowing you to establish authority, educate prospects, and showcase your solution's value. They turn passive interest into a list of highly qualified, engaged leads.

Why It Works for Demand Generation

In a noisy digital world, webinars offer a direct line to your audience. Unlike a static blog post, a live event allows for real-time interaction through Q&As and polls, which deepens engagement and provides valuable feedback. It’s an ideal platform for demonstrating expertise and building trust at scale. For example, Gong's successful webinar series doesn’t just sell their product; it teaches the market how to think about sales, positioning Gong as an essential thought leader.

How to Implement This Strategy

• Solve a Specific Pain Point: Don't host a generic product demo. Frame your event around a challenge your audience faces, like "How to Overcome Q4 Sales Objections" or "Building a Scalable Outbound Engine."
• Promote Extensively: Your event's success depends on attendance. Use a multi-channel promotion strategy across email, social media (organic and paid), partner co-marketing, and your sales team's outreach.
• Engage Actively During the Event: Use interactive elements like polls and Q&A to keep your audience captivated and prevent them from multitasking.
• Plan Your Post-Event Follow-Up: The real work starts after the webinar. Send the recording to all registrants, create segmented follow-up cadences based on engagement, and share key takeaways as social media snippets or blog posts.

7. Referral & Partnership Programs

Referral and partnership programs are demand generation strategies that use existing relationships to generate new business. Instead of acquiring customers through cold outreach, you tap into the trusted networks of your current customers and partners. This approach generates high-quality leads through warm, incentivized introductions.

Why It Works for Demand Generation

This strategy is built on trust, the most valuable currency in B2B sales. A recommendation from a peer carries far more weight than a marketing message. Leads from referral programs are often more qualified, have shorter sales cycles, and have a higher lifetime value. Dropbox famously grew its user base by 3900% in 15 months by offering extra storage space to both the referrer and the new user, proving that the right incentive can create exponential growth.

How to Implement This Strategy

• Make Referrals Frictionless: Create a simple, one-click referral process. Provide customers with a pre-written email or social post they can easily share. The less work for them, the better.
• Provide Clear Mutual Incentives: Offer a compelling reason for both the referrer and the new customer to engage. This could be a discount, a cash bonus, or a free upgrade.
• Develop Partner Enablement: For channel partners, provide materials like co-branded slide decks, battle cards, and training. Equip them to sell your solution as effectively as your own team.
• Establish Clear Terms: Define commission structures, payment terms, and lead qualification rules upfront to avoid confusion. To get the most from your partnerships, guides like these on the 10 best affiliate marketing strategies for SaaS can provide a solid framework.

8. SEO & Organic Search Optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in organic search results for relevant keywords. It's a long-term strategy that focuses on earning free, high-intent traffic by providing valuable content that people are searching for. Unlike paid ads, which stop when you stop paying, a strong organic presence is a durable asset that consistently attracts qualified leads, making it one of the most cost-effective demand generation strategies.

Why It Works for Demand Generation

SEO targets users at the exact moment they are actively looking for solutions. When someone searches for "best CRM for small businesses," they're not just browsing; they are evaluating options. Ranking for that term puts your brand directly in their path, establishing credibility before they ever talk to a competitor. Companies like Ahrefs and Moz have built massive audiences almost entirely through SEO by creating comprehensive guides that dominate search results.

How to Implement This Strategy

• Target Commercial Intent Keywords: Focus on keywords that signal a user is looking to buy, such as those including "software," "platform," "pricing," or "alternative." Use tools to find terms with a good balance of search volume and difficulty.
• Build Topical Authority: Don't just write one blog post on a topic. Create a "cluster" of related content that covers a subject from multiple angles. For example, if you sell sales software, create content on sales coaching, pipeline management, and forecasting, then link them all together.
• Earn High-Quality Backlinks: Backlinks from reputable websites act as votes of confidence for search engines. Earn them by creating original research, guest posting on industry blogs, or developing unique free tools that others will want to cite.
• Prioritize Technical Health: A fast, mobile-friendly, and easily crawlable website is non-negotiable. Make sure your site's technical foundation is solid so your great content can be properly ranked.

9. Influencer & Industry Partnerships

Influencer and industry partnerships involve collaborating with recognized experts and complementary brands to amplify your message and build credibility. This strategy borrows the trust and authority that partners have already established with your target audience. Instead of shouting into the void, you get a warm introduction from a voice your ideal customers already respect. This is one of the most effective demand generation strategies for cutting through market noise.

Why It Works for Demand Generation

This approach fast-tracks trust. B2B buyers are skeptical of brand claims but listen to recommendations from peers and industry figures. When an influencer or partner co-signs your solution through a joint webinar or a co-authored report, their audience is more likely to view your brand favorably. It’s powerful third-party validation that can instantly fill your top-of-funnel with a relevant, pre-qualified audience.

How to Implement This Strategy

• Identify Aligned Partners: Look for influencers or companies whose audience perfectly matches your ideal customer and whose values align with your brand. The goal is authenticity, not just reach.
• Start Small and Build: Begin with micro-influencers or smaller non-competing tech partners. These relationships are often more genuine and have higher engagement. A joint blog post or a LinkedIn Live session is a great starting point.
• Define Clear Mutual Value: A successful partnership benefits both sides. Clearly outline the "what's in it for them," whether it's co-marketing exposure, content for their audience, or a revenue-sharing agreement.
• Co-Create High-Value Assets: Pool your resources to create something neither of you could easily produce alone, like a comprehensive research report, a multi-part webinar series, or a joint case study.

10. Conversational Marketing & Chatbots

Conversational marketing is a demand generation strategy that uses real-time, one-on-one conversations to capture and qualify leads. By using tools like chatbots and live chat on your website, you can engage prospects the moment they show interest, replacing passive lead forms with interactive dialogues. This approach shortens the sales cycle by immediately connecting qualified buyers with sales reps, turning your website into an active selling tool.

Why It Works for Demand Generation

This strategy meets modern buyer expectations for speed and personalization. Instead of forcing a high-intent visitor to fill out a form and wait, you engage them instantly. This lets you qualify leads 24/7, book meetings for your sales team automatically, and provide a better customer experience. Companies like Drift pioneered this, showing that a well-placed chatbot could significantly increase lead conversion by removing friction from the buying process.

How to Implement This Strategy

• Start with Specific Goals: Deploy chatbots on high-intent pages (like pricing or demo) with the clear objective of qualifying visitors and booking meetings. On support pages, the goal might be to answer common questions.
• Personalize the Conversation: Use data to tailor the chat experience. A chatbot can greet a returning visitor by name or trigger a unique conversation for a prospect from a high-value ABM campaign.
• Create a Human Handoff: Ensure a seamless transition from a chatbot to a live sales rep when a visitor is identified as a qualified lead. This prevents frustration and capitalizes on peak interest.
• Test and Optimize Flows: Continuously analyze conversation data to find drop-off points and improve chatbot scripts. A/B test different opening questions and calls-to-action to maximize conversions.

10-Strategy Demand Generation Comparison

From Strategy to Execution: The Role of Intelligence

We've covered a full toolkit of ten powerful demand generation strategies. Each one offers a different way to capture attention, nurture interest, and create a qualified pipeline. But the real difference between a good program and a great one isn't just the tactics you choose—it's the intelligence that powers them.

The best revenue teams know these strategies aren't separate channels but connected parts of a larger engine. The common thread is a deep, dynamic understanding of your ideal customer. What challenges are they facing right now? What internal changes are creating new priorities? What market shifts are forcing them to re-evaluate their tools? Answering these questions is the key to being relevant.

The Shift from Manual Research to Automated Intelligence

For too long, finding these critical insights has been a manual, time-consuming process. Sellers and marketers spend hours digging through news articles and LinkedIn profiles, trying to find a compelling reason to engage. This approach is inefficient and often misses the most important signals that indicate a company is ready to buy.

The future of high-performing demand generation relies on moving beyond this manual work. The goal is to operationalize intelligence, turning raw data into actionable insights delivered directly to your revenue teams. This is where automation and AI become strategic advantages, not just buzzwords.

Key Takeaway: The bottleneck in modern demand generation isn't a lack of strategies; it's the slow, manual process of gathering the account intelligence needed to execute them effectively.

Activating Intelligence Across Your Go-to-Market Plays

Think about how this shift changes the strategies we've discussed:

• Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Instead of a static list, your ABM campaigns can be triggered by real-time events. A target company just announced a new product line? That's a Salesmotion signal that triggers a personalized multi-channel sequence focused on scaling their go-to-market efforts.
• Content & Thought Leadership: Your content calendar is no longer based on guesswork. By analyzing trends across your target accounts, like a surge in hiring for "data security" roles, you can create hyper-relevant content that addresses their most pressing needs.
• Social Selling & Outreach: Your SDRs and AEs can stop using generic connection requests. Armed with an intelligence brief, they can reference a recent executive hire or a company's expansion, providing immediate context and value in their very first message.

This intelligence-driven approach ensures that every touchpoint is informed, relevant, and timely. It’s the difference between shouting into a void and having a meaningful conversation. Mastering these modern demand generation strategies means mastering the flow of information that fuels them, ensuring your team always has the right message for the right person at the right moment.

Ultimately, building a powerful demand generation engine is about creating a system that is both strategic and agile. By embedding automated intelligence at the core of your operations, you empower your entire revenue team to execute with precision, personalize at scale, and consistently generate the high-quality demand that drives predictable growth.

Ready to stop guessing and start executing with precision? See how Salesmotion automatically uncovers critical account signals and delivers them directly into your CRM and Slack, empowering your team to act on the "why now" for every single account. Explore Salesmotion today and turn your demand generation strategies into a powerful, intelligence-driven revenue engine.