Demand generation

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Demand generation is the focus of targeted marketing programs to drive awareness and interest in a company's products and/or services.^[1] Commonly used in business-to-business, business-to-government, or longer business-to-consumer sales cycles, demand generation involves multiple areas of marketing and is really the marriage of marketing programs coupled with a structured sales process.^[2]

There are multiple components of a stepped demand generation process that vary based on the size and complexity of a sale. These components include, among other things: building awareness, positioning relevance, supporting validation and mitigating customer evaluation. Useful demand generation methodologies include AIDA (attract Attention, maintain Interest, create Desire, get Action), developed by E. St. Elmo Lewis, an American advertising advocate.