In the world of B2B marketing, there is a key duality in the way we sell and the way we market our brands. On one hand, we need to sell at scale across tens of thousands of business decision makers. And on the other hand, we need to build individual relationships that close a sale. As such, your demand generation efforts need to create that initial trust that your sales team can leverage to drive deal flow and revenue.

Here are 3 Keys to designing a Demand Generation Program that generates trust.

Key #1: PersonalizationIt’s assumed that personalization is one of the simplest aspects of demand generation. Have a database, a marketing automation or email platform and presto, you have a personalization program. But, personalization is far more complicated than a person’s first name in an email. Personalization requires a segmentation strategy, a communications plan, and a distribution approach.

Primarily, a solid demand generation strategy will have a segmentation strategy that influences what you communicate, to whom you communicate, and the method you communicate. And personalization takes this a step further by putting it in the language of the recipient of the communication. This is what makes the right kind of personalization so powerful. It takes empathy to build a relationship. This empathy must be communicated within your communications.

Key #2: EngagementToo many demand generation programs, just pump out emails over and over again. But email drip campaigns to landing pages is your brand barking at your customers. This isn’t engagement. To build engagement the conversation must be bi-directional. That is a true conversation.

To drive engagement in your demand generation efforts, ask questions. Not just ask to click a link to watch a video or schedule a call with a rep. But ask open ended questions and gather the answers. For example, a great question is, “What’s your biggest marketing challenge in the next quarter to grow your business?” (Answer that question here). These types of questions create the seed of a discussion. The seeds can grow into insights for sales. And one day into revenue for your company.

Key #3: Language & VernacularYour experience is probably very similar. We all get cold emails that proclaim that a certain company is the best lead generation firm ever. “We provide [some number] of leads to firms just like yours.” Then they make the simple mistake of listing a bunch of companies that aren’t in your industry or aren’t relevant to your business. I see this mistake repeatedly.

Or the other common error is brands not using industry terms in their communications. But the way you say something is just as important as what you say. Every industry sector has its own vernacular. This is a reflection of that industry’s culture. Your communications must include this industry-speak to connect to the reader. It’s a shorthand that creates trust.

All 3 of these trust-building approaches require heavy lifting from your demand generation team. They all require significant data and segmentation implementations and a commitment to working with subject matter experts for content and communication approaches. This is difficult and a challenge to implement in any organization.

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