In B2B demand generation, much has changed over the last 20 years. Where we once focused on controlling the sales process, we now focus on understanding the buyer’s journey, since it is the buyer who’s driving the bus. But at the end of the day, it’s still about people buying from people. You can have all the technology in the world, all the marketing automation on the planet, the best CRM at your fingertips … but never forget that it is a human being or team of human beings who will make the ultimate buying decision.

1. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 1CATALYST WHITE PAPER
A New Guide to Effective
B2B Demand Generation
BY: JEFF CLEARY | MANAGING DIRECTOR

2. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 2
Never forget that it is a human
being or team of human beings
who will make the ultimate buying
decision.
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY
THE SAME
In B2B demand generation, much has changed over the last 20 years.
Where we once focused on controlling the sales process, we now focus
on understanding the buyer’s journey, since it is the buyer who’s driving
the bus. Easy access to information online often negates the need for the
buyer to engage with the salesperson until late in the decision-making
process. Several studies even claim that buyers don’t engage with sales
until after their buying preferences are already established. All of this puts
a significant damper on our ability to influence prospects when they are in
the early stages of consideration.
This shift represents a sea change in the way B2B buyers and sellers
do business together. However, there are still key aspects that have not
changed. For example, we’ve known for years that a buyer’s journey is
not linear. More often than not, entry into the sales cycle is spurred by a
specific business event, such as a particular competitive situation, a new
regulatory requirement, or the need to drive revenue and/or bottom line
efficiency. Often these decisions are not anticipated nor planned for.
As in the past, the buyer wants to make the best informed decision with
the least amount of risk. And, as in the past, the seller strives to be the
trusted partner who exceeds the buyer’s expectations.
What’s especially held firm: At the end of the day, it’s still about people
buying from people. You can have all the technology in the world, all the
marketing automation on the planet, the best CRM at your fingertips … but
never forget that it is a human being or team of human beings who will
make the ultimate buying decision. Every outreach communication and
every engagement effort must always keep that in mind.
So where does all that leave us?
THE EVOLUTION OF DEMAND GENERATION
In our experience (more than 26 years), there were two distinct phases
that preceded today’s demand generation environment.
1. Response management
2. Lead generation
Let’s talk a little bit about what those phases were.
We now focus on understanding
the buyer’s journey, since it is the
buyer who’s driving the bus.

3. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 3
THE EARLY DAYS (PHASE 1): RESPONSE MANAGEMENT
For the purposes of this discussion, let’s define “response management”
as the process of collecting and qualifying advertising and PR responses.
In the early days of the World Wide Web, progressive B2B marketers
quickly figured out how to use the Internet to enhance outreach to their
target audiences. The strategy was pretty straightforward and pretty
linear: Advertising and PR would drive prospects to a landing page or
microsite where product/service information could be requested and/
or downloaded. Even then, best-in-class marketers knew it was a good
strategy to create an interactive environment that offered their buyers
added value. It was a way to thank prospects for their inquiry, learn more
about their interests and ask a few qualifying questions.
When a prospect registered and downloaded content, a trained telesales
representative was alerted, in real time. A call was made to the prospect,
usually within 30 minutes, positioned as a service call, to see whether
the prospect had what she or he needed and whether the rep could offer
additional help. That call set the stage for a conversation in which we
could learn more about the prospect’s company, his or her interests, and
the prospect’s role in the purchase process. This data was captured, then
vetted by both sales and marketing to better understanding the prospect’s
needs and level of interest. This was the first step in creating the human
connection that is the foundation of all successful selling.
This process also made the marketing people happy, because the
information captured became the basis of the prospect database. At the
time, most B2B databases were nothing more than a customer billing file
(name, address, phone, etc.). Prospect data beyond basic firmographic
data didn’t exist and/or was poorly maintained. The quality of the data
captured through this process set the stage for more targeted outreach.
By today’s standards, this process was pretty primitive, but it worked.
There was no “lead generation” per se. Contact was reactive at best, and
telemarketing was primarily response fulfillment.
Then we as B2B marketers got a bit more sophisticated … and introduced
more formalized lead generation methods.
THE MID 2000s (PHASE 2): LEAD GENERATION EVOLVES
By the early 2000s, the combination of the database with variable data
print was making headway, and it brought an unprecedented degree of
relevance to print communication. Direct and digital marketing profes-
B2B marketers got a bit more
sophisticated … and introduced
more formalized lead generation
methods.

4. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 4
sionals developed robust campaigns that:
• Leveraged response and qualification data to target more effectively
• Utilized a high level of personalization in the messaging
• Deployed compelling offers, both personal and business-related
• Used a systemic, multi-touch approach
Typical marketing programs would begin with dynamic initial direct mail
communication, followed by email and telesales. Although response
options were present in all of the direct mail and email communications,
the primary goal was to “warm up” the prospect and make him/her receptive
to the telesales call.
What was the real value in this multi-step process, beyond presenting the
benefits of their solution? Ongoing engagement between the buyer and
seller. In an environment with an extended sales cycle, the earlier that di-
alogue begins, the better. As we know, the ability to shape the prospect’s
thinking about a future purchase is a huge sales advantage.
But it could have been better. This approach was very effective at engaging
prospects who were “in market.” That singular focus on the top of the
funnel yielded near-term results … but did little to cultivate future sales.
Marketing attempted to remedy the situation by deploying content based
on assumptions about prospects who weren’t yet ready to engage with
sales. But it was done with a narrow view of the prospect. The one thing
that was lacking was the understanding of the buyer’s journey. Specifically,
what they were thinking, feeling and doing throughout the buying process.
Without this degree of knowledge, marketers deployed content that “felt
right” to the marketer … but didn’t address the real needs of the buyer. It
simply was not as relevant as it could or should have been. The majority
of marketing spend was focused on identifying the “in market” prospect
and a minimal amount on the rest of the funnel. That approach needed to
be reversed.
FAST FORWARD: DEMAND GENERATION TODAY
More than ever, marketing today is measured on business outcomes, not
on marketing metrics. It’s not acceptable to exceed the goal for leads
and miss the revenue target. The upside is, it forces marketing and sales
to embrace a singular goal. And that’s the way it should be. Even in the
past, those organizations whose marketing and sales approached the
challenge collaboratively succeeded more often than not.
One thing that was lacking was
the understanding of the buyer’s
journey. Specifically, what they
were thinking, feeling and doing
throughout the buying process.

5. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 5
Today’s B2B demand gen has to be focused on:
• Driving potential buyers through their purchase journey
• Maintaining a quality sales funnel
• Creating opportunities
To do this effectively, you must understand the buyer’s journey. Without a
deep understanding of the buyer’s journey, your results will be limited and
you will likely end up spinning your wheels.
STEP 1: UNDERSTAND THE BUYER’S JOURNEY
The first step in understanding the buyer’s journey is mapping it. And this
effort requires extensive and effective research into the target audience.
Often, it will entail connecting with multiple influencers and decision
makers. Your goal is to identify where your company can most effectively
influence a buyer’s decision within that journey.
What are the steps of the journey? A recent Gartner, Inc. study (May 2015)
brings a contemporary definition to the question. Gartner outlines four
phases in the journey:
1. Explore — Buyers identify a need or opportunity and begin looking for
ways to address it. Much of this is self-directed research via the web.
2. Evaluate – Buyers take a closer look at options uncovered while
exploring. In addition to continuing self-directed research, buyers may
engage with peers and vendor sales may take place.
3. Engage – Buyers initiate further contact with vendors to help continue
on the path toward purchase.
4. Experience — Buyers use a solution, often in a pilot or proof of concept,
to develop perceptions of value.
Keep in mind that the buyer is looking to make the very best informed
decision for their company. It’s not just a features/benefits calculation.
It’s “who can I trust?” No amount of online research can fully answer that
question. (In fact, online research may often accelerate, not postpone, the
need to connect with the seller.)
Without a deep understanding of
the buyer’s journey, your results
will be limited and you will likely
end up spinning your wheels.

6. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 6
STEP 2: DEVELOP PERSONAS
Developing B2B buyer personas is a critical step in understanding who
your buyers are. They also create tighter alignment across your different
departments, according to Referral SaaSquatch, a B2B software platform
consultant. According to them, these are some of the persona traits you
should consider: personality, story, needs, and values. The idea is that
once you’ve better defined your ideal customer, you can better market to
and sell to them.
Why is this step important?
1. 71% of companies who exceed revenue and lead goals have documented
personas vs. 37% who simply meet goals and 26% who miss them.
Source: Buyer Insights Benchmark
Source: “Tech-go-to-Market: Effective Sales Interactions Guide Buyers Forward through Insights and Added Value,” Hank Barnes and
Tiffani Bova, Gartner, Inc.
This is reinforced in the following chart:
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL B2B MARKETING ACTIVITIES
On average, business buyers say direct interactions with providers influence
their purchasing decisions more than anything else.

7. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 7
Technical Decision Maker: The Transformational Leader
• CIO
• Technical decision maker
• Develops IT strategy and roadmap
• Leads technology team that evaluates technology options
Key Attributes
40-55 years old: Masters in Science, Executive MBA; at least 15 years experience in
enterprise leadership roles
Attitude Leader, business savvy, frugal, skeptical of vendor claims
Job Focus Creating enterprise wide change, shifting perception of technology from utilitarian to strategic
Values
• Leadership: Ability to see and convey the “big picture”
• Knowledge and expertise: Broad IT knowledge but not interested in technical details
• Innovation: Follows latest trends; seeks proof of how others have applied new technologies
• Expectations: High expectations of IT team and vendors/solutions to make strategic
roadmap a reality
Fears Making bad purchase decision, tarnishing reputation
Internal Influences Board of directors, CEO, CFO
Motivators Bonus structure, ego, industry recognition
Source: Referral SaaSquatch
STEP 3: USE YOUR DATA AND ANALYTICS
You’re probably already doing some basic segmentation. And you may
already be using marketing automation within a CRM environment. But
there are a few other smart ways to use data and analytics to determine
how to implement your marketing and sales efforts.
Where most companies fail is in limiting their analytics efforts to basic
targeting, rather than expanding their use to include:
2. Marketers who use personas and map content to the buyer’s journey
enjoy 73% higher conversions from response to marketing qualified
lead (MQL). Source: Aberdeen Research
3. Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than non-
customer-centric organizations. Source: Deloitte & Touche
The following is a sample of a properly developed B2B buyer persona:

8. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 8
• Identifying their best prospects – doing a customer value analysis to
determine who your most valuable customers are, who are likely to
become the most valuable customers, and whom to curtail spending
on. Often companies who go through this exercise discover that their
A-list prospects aren’t who they thought they would be. Going through
this process is not only valuable for marketing, it is extremely helpful
to the sales force, who tend to pursue the lowest-hanging fruit –
known prospects or prior customers — who may or may not be the
ones most likely to buy. And finally, it focuses marketing and sales on
the same targets
• Leveraging learnings to segment their communications messaging
and approach
• Understanding where buyers are in the customer journey toward
purchase (which should also drive your content strategy)
The real value of using your data and analytics lies in discovering where
you don’t want to spend your dollars. It gives your team focus. Armed
with this knowledge, both sales and marketing can be more efficient and
convert more sales.
STEP 4: DEVELOP CONTENT. LOTS OF CONTENT
Content is what drives engagement between buyer and seller. In numerous
studies, buyers indicate that content has a significant impact on the final
decision.
Content needs to address all phases of the buyer’s journey. Because
interaction can occur at any phase, you must have the right content for
the right time in the journey. (See “The Content Grid v2,” Eloqua)
The importance of relevance cannot be stressed enough. And unless you
understand the buyer’s journey and where they reside at any given time,
you cannot create and target inbound (or outbound) content effectively.
Your data simply will not give you this qualitative view.
Impress1 sums up the role of content marketing as “providing information
to customers and prospects in order to build trust, develop brand, and
ensure your brand is seen as an expert in the subject matter.”
We take this a step further: Content marketing needs to drive buyer/seller
interaction. We often hear that content is purely an inbound marketing
play. In many instances that’s true. But, don’t minimize the ability of
quality content to drive an effective outreach effort. For example, an
insightful research study that addresses a core industry challenge can be
a very effective outreach tool in the hands of a skilled marketer. It gives
you the opportunity to be proactive vs. reactive.
The real value of using your data
and analytics lies in discovering
where you don’t want to spend
your dollars.

9. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 9
STEP 5: FUNNEL AND OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT
THE ROLE OF THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
It is the role of the marketing department to create a seamless experience
from your CRM to your marketing automation to your website to your lead
generation activities.
But as in any data-driven environment, this process needs to be managed.
We believe this process warrants the need for a hybrid role: The Business
Development Manager (BDM).
CONTENT AND CONTACT
The BDM bridges the gap between marketing and sales and unifies your
entire demand gen program. It is a particularly important role today, given
the changes in many field sales organizations: fewer staff functioning at a
higher level, with a focus on consultative selling.
Your BDM and your field sales force work as a team. They understand
the targets, the content strategy and the contact methodology. There is a
clear definition of a qualified opportunity.
On a routine basis they decide how each inbound response or identified
outreach target is to be handled. Together, they determine the correct
approach to move the prospect through the journey and the sales process.
One team. One voice, making the buyer’s experience seamless.
The BDM has tactical responsibility for the management of sales funnel
data, from the status of individual prospect records to the weekly results
dashboard. He or she interfaces regularly with marketing to share results,
needs and feedback from the field. He or she is your “feet on the street,
eyes on the prize.” He or she shares the same revenue goals as marketing.
With complete transparency, marketing and sales both understand where
their efforts are in relation to the shared goal.
The role of the BDM is especially critical now, with more complex sales
cycles and smaller sales forces who need to be more efficient. The BDM
keeps the sales force focused on the right things at the right time, so they
can more effectively lead more prospects through the buyer’s journey and
even shorten the selling cycle.
The functional role that bridges
the gap between marketing and
sales.
MARKETING
SALES
BDM:
CONTEXT
+
CONTACT

10. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 10
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Let’s sum it up. What does it take to succeed in demand generation today?
1. Focus on engagement:
a. Understand the buyer’s journey
b. Develop personas
c. Use analytics
d. Develop content for each stage of the funnel
2. Leverage:
a. Content
b. Data
c. Analytics:
i. CRM
ii. Marketing automation
3. Organize marketing and sales into a singular force:
a. Shared revenue goals
b. Shared accountability for engagement
4. Utilize BDM as a tactical bridge:
a. Between marketing and sales (internal)
b. Between prospects and sales (external)
c. In collaboration with field sales
HOW TO CONTACT US
Comments? Questions? Discussions? I would be
happy to address them, call Jeff Cleary at
585.453.8309 or email: jcleary@catalystinc.com.

11. A New Guide to Effective B2B Demand Generation Page 11
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Cleary is managing director of Catalyst, a 26-year-old
marketing agency based in Rochester, New York, where he
oversees all agency business-to-business relationships.
Jeff specializes in developing data-driven strategies for lead
acquisition, retention and lead nurturing, particularly for capital
equipment manufacturers, workflow providers and their partners.
A founding member of the American Telemarketing Association
(now part of the Direct Marketing Association), he is considered
a pioneer in the field of B2B marketing. Outside the office, Jeff
serves on the board of one of the nation’s largest community
college foundations and stays active by working on his golf swing.
ABOUT CATALYST
Catalyst (www.catalystinc.com) is a marketing agency that helps
businesses develop compelling ways to engage their customers at every
stage of the pipeline. We do this by using analytics to identify best cus-
tomer targets and empowering the sales force to focus on those custom-
ers. We then apply intellectual curiosity and inquisitiveness to create the
right content and messaging to drive customers toward purchase.
We call it Science + Soul.
It’s a powerful combination that improves our clients’ marketing, because
it aligns the company’s sales process with the customer’s buying needs
and measurably increases revenue.
Headquartered in Rochester, New York, our B2B clients have included
Kodak, Kodak Alaris, Océ Business Systems (now a Canon company),
Hewlett Packard, Heraeus Kulzer, Ricoh, Sanofi, Xerox, Xeikon, Johnson
& Johnson Orthoclinical Diagnostics, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Pitney
Bowes, Carestream Health, and many others.
800.836.7720 | www.catalystinc.com | info@catalystinc.com Facebook Twitter LinkedIn © 2016 Catalyst