Decoding the ROI Challenge: Rising Stakes for B2B CMOs in Lead and Demand Generation

The dynamic landscape of B2B marketing is fraught with escalating pressures and expectations on Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs).

With over a decade of experience as an influencer marketer and working with a number of CMOs, I’ve witnessed a significant shift taking place over the last 24 months.

It’s no longer good enough to design and drive marketing initiatives, but crucially about quantifying their return on investment (ROI).

But let’s admit something up front:

B2B purchases often involve substantial financial stakes, and multiple decision-makers, and occur over extended timeframes (longer sales cycles).

This makes demonstrating ROI a challenging task, especially when it comes to the areas of lead generation (lead gen) and demand generation (demand gen).

So let’s identify the differences between the two so we can isolate how ROI is measured for each.

Lead gen and demand gen are often intertwined in conversation by marketers but serve distinct roles in the marketing ecosystem.

Let’s break it down.

Lead gen focuses on capturing interest in a product or service to develop a sales pipeline via a product giveaway, free information giveaway, webinar, or some other tactical mechanism.

In contrast, demand gen is about creating a desire for a product or service, aiming to drive awareness and interest at the top of the marketing funnel.

Demand gen activities include podcasts, blog articles, sponsored articles, press releases, influencers, and social media.

The key to b2b demand gen is letting it take the time to do its work.

Given their unique objectives and timelines, measuring ROI for lead gen and demand gen initiatives can be like comparing apples and oranges.

As a CMO, it’s vital to remember this because the ROI on a successful demand gen campaign is not normally immediate, yet it significantly contributes to brand awareness and positioning.

On the other hand, a lead gen initiative can yield quicker results by filling the sales pipeline with potential customers.

Juggling these strategies is part of your role as CMO.

The key is to track and evaluate them separately, understanding the unique contributions each makes to your overall business objectives.

Patience is crucial here, particularly with demand gen.

The seeds you sow today in creating market demand for your product or service may not bear fruit immediately, but when they do, the impact is profound and often long-lasting.

This is why long-form content published by influencers is important. Content like podcast episodes, blog posts, articles, interviews, ebooks, and videos is all searchable and findable for months, even years.

Your buyers can find content that talks about your company, consume it, get informed, and learn about it and how it serves the marketplace through a third-party authority in your space.

As these demand gen leads come through your funnel, their quality is often superior because the buyer learned about you through their own search and choice to consume that content.

When buyers are ready to contact your company, they are interested in your solution.

So be persistent in refining your strategies by taking note of where leads are coming to you from, and how buyers are learning about your company, your solutions, and services.

Use every tool at your disposal – CRM systems, data analytics, customer feedback (the most important) – to measure the impacts of your lead gen and demand gen efforts.

Remember, each interaction, campaign, and content piece plays its part in driving your business growth.

So, the next time you’re feeling the pressure to demonstrate ROI, remember: This is a long game.

We’re not only driving immediate sales. We’re also building relationships, nurturing leads, and paving the way for sustained business growth by informing, educating, and helping our buyers overcome challenges.

The true ROI of B2B marketing lies not in immediate results but in the ability to generate lasting success that is repeatable.

By keeping the big picture in mind and focusing on the unique contributions of lead gen and demand gen, we can articulate our value.

We can show our impact not just in dollars and cents but in the lasting effect we have on the business increasing the customer base in size and quality.

After all, the real measure of a CMO’s worth lies not in the immediacy of results but in the sustainability of business success.

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