Demand Creation versus Capture
In today’s B2B landscape, balancing demand creation and capture remains a significant challenge for marketers. At the heart of this debate is the question of how best to engage potential customers early in their journey, while ensuring readiness to convert those actively seeking solutions. This report draws insights from a recent discussion between leading marketers, who shared their experiences and strategies in tackling this crucial marketing balance.
Hosts
Joaquin Dominguez was joined by marketing experts to discuss the topic.
Guests
Nicky Davies, Director of Marketing EMEA, Protolabs
Tom Driscoll, Senior Performance Marketing Manager, GWI
Erika Hakala, Head of Demand Generation, Speechmatics
Demand Creation vs. Demand Capture: An Ongoing Battle
The conversation began by addressing the inherent tension between demand creation and capture, with Nicky Davies reflecting on the shifting landscape of marketing priorities. Her team, like many, once focused heavily on demand capture, driven by the need for measurable KPIs and leads. However, recent years have seen them ramp up their demand creation efforts, particularly in response to the diminishing returns of traditional lead-focused tactics. Nicky stressed the importance of stakeholder conversations to illustrate the long-term benefits of demand creation, noting that immediate results from such activities are rarely visible.
Erika Hakala added that at Speechmatics, a scale-up in the voice AI industry, the balance has shifted towards prioritising demand creation. Initially, her team focused equally on both demand creation and capture, but over time, 70-80% of their efforts now go into generating new demand. However, this shift has required careful stakeholder management, ensuring buy-in from those less familiar with the long-term payoffs of demand creation.
Tom Driscoll shared how GWI experienced a unique scenario where their demand creation efforts were highly effective, driven by the production of high-quality reports and infographics. However, this led to a lack of immediate leads and conversions. His focus since joining has been to refine their approach to demand capture, particularly through more strategic investments in paid search and remarketing. Tom emphasised the continuous nature of this balancing act, likening it to a cycle where businesses may need to pivot back and forth between the two approaches depending on their immediate needs.
"We excelled at demand creation with high-quality content, but lacked immediate conversions. Balancing this with focused demand capture, like paid search and retargeting, has been key to turning awareness into tangible results." — Tom Driscoll, GWI"
The Role of Data and Intent Signals
The panel agreed that data plays a critical role in informing both demand creation and capture strategies. Nicky explained that Protolabs, being an e-commerce-driven manufacturer, relies heavily on data to measure and track engagement. However, the challenge often lies in processing vast amounts of data to extract actionable insights. She highlighted the importance of distinguishing between different levels of engagement, such as request for quotes versus lower-intent activities like information requests.
Erika echoed this, noting that intent data is valuable in guiding targeted efforts, particularly in narrowing down target accounts. However, she cautioned against relying too heavily on intent signals, as they do not always provide the clarity needed to make strategic decisions. Erika’s team at Speechmatics has found success in leveraging intent data for more informed retargeting, using platforms like LinkedIn to layer additional filters over broader targeting lists.
Tom reinforced the value of CRM data in refining their targeting approach. For GWI, intent data alone isn’t enough to drive meaningful results. Instead, they’ve found success in combining intent signals with CRM insights and LinkedIn’s clean targeting capabilities. This enables a more focused approach, reducing wasted ad spend while maintaining strong engagement with key decision-makers.
"Data is essential in shaping both demand creation and capture strategies, but the challenge is turning vast amounts of data into actionable insights. It’s about understanding the difference between high-intent actions, like quote requests, and lower-engagement signals." — Nicky Davies, Protolabs
The Impact of Attribution and Stakeholder Management
Attribution remains a critical, yet complex aspect of demand generation. Nicky noted that the rise of multi-touch attribution models allows marketers to better understand the customer journey, but also increases the complexity of measuring success. With Protolabs’ ability to track every interaction in their e-commerce platform, the challenge becomes how to prioritise touchpoints that most significantly impact conversion.
Erika expressed excitement over the advancements in marketing reporting, particularly in tracking customer journeys. Speechmatics is beginning to implement tools that help visualise these journeys, providing clarity on which touchpoints are contributing to pipeline growth. This is a vital development for managing stakeholder expectations, especially when long-term investments in demand creation are involved.
Tom added that GWI is similarly focused on improving attribution models, particularly to account for the influence of top-of-funnel activities. He pointed out that traditional metrics like clicks and impressions are inadequate in capturing the full picture of demand creation’s impact. Instead, there is a growing need to focus on pipeline growth and revenue generation, ensuring that marketing efforts are aligned with business outcomes.
Effective Demand Generation Tactics: What’s Working?
In discussing specific tactics, Erika highlighted the value of thought leadership ads, which have proven highly effective in establishing Speechmatics as a credible authority in their field. She noted that while video ads have not been as impactful for demand capture, they remain an essential tool for raising awareness and engaging technical audiences. Erika’s team continues to experiment with different formats, such as AI-powered newsletters and industry-specific content, to find the right mix for their audience.
Nicky shared that Protolabs has seen success with advocacy-based approaches on LinkedIn, where they target smaller, more engaged audiences through personalised messaging. This sniper-like approach, combined with traditional sponsored content, allows them to reach key decision-makers without overwhelming their audience with generic messaging. She also mentioned Reddit as a valuable channel for reaching niche engineering audiences, despite its challenges in scaling effectively.
Tom discussed GWI’s reliance on LinkedIn for both demand creation and capture, particularly through gated content and lead generation forms. His team has worked hard to refine their targeting, focusing on high-intent keywords in Google Ads to capture users when they are actively seeking solutions. The combination of top-of-funnel activities like thought leadership with strong demand capture tactics has allowed GWI to maintain engagement across the entire customer journey.
"The ability to visualise customer journeys through advanced marketing reporting is a game changer. It helps us see which touchpoints drive pipeline growth, making it easier to manage stakeholder expectations and justify long-term investments in demand creation." — Erika Hakala, Speechmatics
Conclusion
Balancing demand creation and capture remains one of the most critical challenges in B2B marketing. As the panel discussed, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and strategies must be continually adapted based on data, market conditions, and internal stakeholder buy-in. By leveraging intent data, refining attribution models, and experimenting with new formats, businesses can ensure that they are not only generating demand but also effectively capturing and converting it into revenue.
The key takeaway from this discussion is that marketers must remain agile, constantly testing and refining their approaches. Whether it’s targeting key personas on LinkedIn or using intent signals to inform retargeting, the most successful strategies are those that are flexible enough to evolve with changing market dynamics.
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