In a broad sense, demand generation equals marketing and aims to raise product awareness and increase product demand.
Lead generation addressing the later stage of the marketing funnel and has a goal of capturing customer contact information for the sales team to work with or further nurturing.
Outline
Bit more theory on lead generation vs. demand generation difference
Demand generation aka marketing
American Marketing Association defines marketing as:
the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
Global marketing campaigns aim to create and increase product/service awareness among clients.
Here is a recap of Paid digital marketing channels for business.
Lead generation
Lead generation is a method of potential clients database aggregation via fill-out forms and website tracking. This strategy aims at sales and operates to lead clients through a sales funnel.
Examples:
- E-books, PDF brochures and web seminars, which require filling out a submission form to download a material
- Drip email campaigns
- Landing pages with registration forms/calculators/etc
- Lead quizzes, etc
For more in depth guide and examples see this Lead generation guide
It helps you distinguish your audience from random visitors. Those who willingly share their information with your business are likely to be more interested in your product, be more alert to your “ad-voice” and CTA.
Not all leads created equal, though. Check out this article on lead qualification process.
Do you have to choose between lead generation and demand generation?
Nope, they address different consideration stages (buyers journey). First, you tell your story to the right prospects via marketing tools, then you convert them in leads via lead generation techniques and pass to the sales team.