This is a great question! Demand generation marketing and content marketing should work hand-in-hand to achieve broader marketing objectives. When identifying KPIs and metrics to measure demand generation and content marketing together, you should consider the type of content being distributed and the channels through which it's being distributed. This will help determine your KPIs. For example, a blog post may not have the same KPIs as a gated piece of content or a video. The channel mix of promotions will also factor into KPIs. Is this a larger integrated marketing campaign that will require a more extensive mix of promotions and budget? Or is this a smaller campaign, perhaps targeted at a specific/smaller audience, that won't require as much external distribution and promotion? Once you understand these components, you can determine your KPIs. Here are some general KPIs to consider: * Number of site sessions to a blog post * For gated content: Conversion rates, form fills * Number of video views * MQLs, SQLS, sourced opps and/or influenced opps from the content being promoted (how many deals/opps were generated or influenced by this content) * Impressions * Share of voice * SEO metrics - keyword rankings, organic search traffic to the content

As a DG leader, you play a critical role in supporting Sales by driving the acquisition and conversion of prospects into leads and converting them into customers. Here are some hard and nice-to-have skills (the list isn't extensive) Hard skills: Vision and experience building a multi-channel demand gen strategy - Having a good understanding of the levers that are available to you is necessary to build out your plan. This includes understanding your target persona so you can address their pain points, behaviors, and the channels they like to consume content. Data driven decision-making - This skill has become very important as finance and executives are interested in ROI and the results of your programs, so being comfortable around metrics/numbers and the ability to have deep inspection of funnel conversions will help you diagnosis and evolve your strategies. Strong cross functional collaboration - In this role, you are often the go between with Sales, Product Marketing, and Content teams. Strong communicator - Getting buy-in and alignment are important, so if you are able to provide the strategy, successes, and challenges to executives, they will more likely support your requests for resources. Nice-to-haves: Deep technical proficiency with marketing tools - basic knowledge is adequate Advanced graphic design skills In-depth product knowledge Sales-specific skills as you won't be negotiating or closing deals.

When I think about measurement gone wrong, my first question is typically about the marketer, not the KPI. All KPIs can be useful, assuming your measurement is scalable (i.e., it doesn’t take a week to do the analysis) and you are using them appropriately (i.e., context is everything). That said, here are some metrics that I generally find less material to understanding the health of the business: 1. Impressions/Followers/Engagement: In a world overrun by bots, ad impressions, social media followers, and engagement metrics have become less relevant. You’d be surprised how many companies with massive social media followings built their audiences by purchasing cheap likes from engagement farms. 2. Frontend Email Metrics: Between email preview panes skewing results and well-documented issues stemming from privacy updates introduced in iOS 15, open rates have become far less relevant in recent years and are no longer sufficient to understand if your message is resonating. 3. CPL & Raw Lead Metrics Without Context: Lots of marketers fall into the trap of driving down CPL at the expense of lead quality. There's no faster way to lose the trust of your sales colleagues than flooding them with low-quality leads & expecting them to convert.

I personally started my career as an entry level contractor at Salesforce, where I worked for 17 years and had 12 different roles. By the time I left, I was a Senior Vice President overseeing a large department that consisted of multiple functions and business units. My high level advice for anyone is to stay curious and slightly uncomfortable – because that will keep you learning and engaged. For recent graduates looking to start a career in Demand Generation, the key is to embrace continuous learning and adaptability. Demand Generation is a multifaceted field that touches many areas of marketing—paid media, content, email, field marketing, and analytics—offering exposure to a wide range of skills. This variety makes it an excellent starting point for those eager to develop a well-rounded marketing foundation. Early in your career, be open to taking on tasks beyond your immediate job description. In an entry-level role, saying yes to new challenges—whether it’s campaign execution, data analysis, or content development—can accelerate your growth. The more you immerse yourself in different aspects of Demand Generation, the more career pathways you create for the future. Since Demand Generation is both strategic and executional, building both soft and hard skills is crucial. Develop analytical skills to understand campaign performance, but also refine communication and collaboration skills to work cross-functionally. Being proactive, resourceful, and willing to experiment will set you apart. Finally, seek mentorship and stay curious. Follow industry trends, ask questions, and leverage every opportunity to learn from experienced marketers. Over time, this broad experience will help you identify your strengths and areas of interest, positioning you for long-term success in marketing. By staying open-minded, taking initiative, and continuously learning, you’ll set yourself up for a thriving career in Demand Generation and beyond.

The most common I would say are company size, company industry, Geo, recent funding, hiring, acquisitions, tech install. Then on lead title, job function, seniority.

* Own: * Lead volume and quality (MQLs, SQLs). * Campaign performance (CTR, conversion rates). * Pipeline contribution and ROI of demand gen efforts. * Don’t Own: * Pure revenue metrics (owned by sales). * Customer retention and expansion (owned by customer success). Focus on the metrics you directly influence and partner closely with sales to ensure alignment.

Aligning digital marketing to the sales funnel stages is essential for driving growth and ensuring that marketing efforts effectively support revenue generation. It starts at the top of the funnel, the focus is on creating awareness and generating interest among potential customers. This is where digital marketing plays our most important role, by utilizing strategies like SEO, content marketing, social media campaigns, and paid ads to reach new audiences. At this stage, it's crucial to create valuable, educational content that addresses audience pain points and positions your brand as a solution, nurturing prospects into the consideration phase. As prospects move down the funnel into the middle and bottom stages, your marketing should shift towards nurturing and helping the rest of the buyer group evaluate solutions, this is VITAL, you have many stakeholders when your product is enterprise. For example, targeted content like case studies, comparison guides, or personalized emails can help guide prospects through evaluation. Additionally, given that B2B purchases often involve multiple decision-makers, it's important to create content that speaks not just to the primary contact but also to other influencers in the organization, such as IT, finance, or operations teams. This ensures that your messaging resonates with all stakeholders involved in the buying decision and moves them collectively towards conversion.

I would prioritize paid search and co-marketing. Here's why: 1. While paid search can get very expensive, you can learn a lot from this channel that can then help you optimize other channels. I love paid because it's very easy to measure performance. I can see what prospects are clicking on, how many are converting to leads, and then what the overall CAC is (spend divided by customer sign ups). In addition to this, I can learn a lot about how to optimize my funnel. Ad copy can be optimized, landing page design can be optimized, even form fields can be optimized. Best thing is all of this CRO improvement will raise the performance of the other channels I've invested in. 2. The reason why I like co-marketing is because it's the opposite of paid advertising: it's cheap! Co-marketing is a fantastic way to generate net new leads cost effectively. Co-host a webinar with a company that serves your target customer. Then in exchange for you promoting it to your mailing list, ask them to promote it to theirs. After the event, agree to share the registration and attendee lists. You will have a lot of net new leads to nurture and work.

Congratulations on this exciting opportunity! What a wonderful opportunity and an exciting ride that you're about to embark upon. As someone who has been in a similar position, here’s some of my advice: 1. Don’t underestimate the work culture. Demand Generation is a structured discipline, often relying on data, metrics, and a systematic approach to driving leads and revenue. Your colleagues with creative or brand-focused marketing backgrounds might find this way of working unfamiliar. Take time to understand the existing culture and their style of work—how decisions are made, how success is celebrated, and how teams collaborate. 2. Know that you live in a bubble. As a Demand Generation expert, you bring specialized knowledge, but you may quickly realize others in the organization don’t fully grasp the terminology, concepts, or value of what you’re building. Before you launch your programs, invest time in educating stakeholders and peers. Provide presentations to explain what Demand Generation is, how it works, and how it aligns with the company’s goals. Show teams what success could look like with concrete examples from similar businesses or industry benchmarks. 3. Take everyone on a journey, but know that time is against you. It’s essential to bring colleagues along, especially other parts of the Marketing organization as well as cross-functional partners like Sales, Product, and Customer Success. Build rapport, seek input, and actively campaign for their buy-in. But don’t wait for perfect alignment before getting started—prioritize quick wins to build momentum. For example, launch a pilot campaign targeting a low-hanging fruit segment and share the results to demonstrate early success. 4. Communicate often and clearly. Your role and its impact may not be immediately apparent to everyone. Regular updates—whether through team meetings, email updates, or dashboards—are critical to keeping stakeholders and colleagues informed. Share not just your activities but also your progress against goals. 5. Emphasize the critical nature of your work. Demand Generation is the lifeblood of pipeline creation, and your programs will directly impact revenue. Frame your role as a key partnership with Sales to fuel business growth. Use data to illustrate this connection, such as projecting how your campaigns will contribute to pipeline targets or revenue growth. Position Demand Generation as one critical component to the company’s success—without it, scaling will be nearly impossible. 6. Set up strong foundations. Before diving into tactics, focus on laying the groundwork. Define clear goals and KPIs, establish alignment with Sales on lead definitions and qualification criteria, and ensure your tech stack (e.g., CRM, marketing automation) is ready to support scalable programs. 7. Celebrate small wins and learn from failures. Building something from scratch is a marathon, not a sprint. Celebrate milestones like your first campaign launch, the first MQL that converts to an opportunity, or the first deal influenced by marketing. These moments will help rally the broader team around your efforts. At the same time, learn to fail fast. Be prepared for setbacks and treat them as learning opportunities. Your success in your new role will set the tone for how the company views Demand Generation in the long run so stay curious, adaptable, and focused on driving impact.

I measure my success in a role in a few different ways. First, am I hitting my targets? KPIs, goals, etc as aligned and agreed upon by the business. Think of these as quarterly or yearly metrics that you build plans against, execute, and deliver results. If I’m not hitting my targets this is where I spend the bulk of my energy. Second, am I building relationships and cultivating a company culture and set of values that I can be proud of? The how of getting work done is so important and it can set employees apart from each other especially when leadership looks at opportunities for advancement among employees with the same caliber of performance. Being thoughtful about investments in these areas, not only makes work more enjoyable; you’ll also come to value and look for these traits in future opportunities. Third, where are my gaps and how am I going to work on addressing them? Getting regular feedback on performance and areas of opportunity is essential to measuring your success in your role and the difference between the next level up if you're eyeing a promotion. It’s important to have regular conversations with your manager about where you want to improve and what projects, tasks, presentations, etc will help stretch you to build those skill sets.