When you start a new position as a Demand Generation Leader, what are your first 3 steps in identifying the best channels to leverage to drive demand at that company?

Have a beginner's mind. 

What worked in the past might not work in your new position (or it may? But you have to test it first before implementing something full blown). The challenges you have faced leading other teams are not going to be the same set of challenges you will face in your new role. I will think about my conversion path and buyer's journey before I even think about what go-to-market channels I need to build or optimize. 

Step 1: I would start off by listening to all the functional leads in your new company (sales, product, support, ops). I will then sit down with the data science team or someone from ops to help you draw out the exact conversion, purchasing and upsell funnel for your prospects and customers. 

Step 2: Identify from a marketing perspective when the key events happen (ie. web conversion, sales opp win/loss, what causes someone to convert, when upsells happen, what causes attrition...you get the point). Then figure out where the bottlenecks are that are preventing your users from taking the action you want them to take. 

Step 3: Once you have a good grasp on your bottlenecks and conversion point then you can start thinking about (in priority order) how these channels can be used to drive conversions and sales: 1) website/SEO, 2) email/marketing automation, 3) paid digital strategy, 4) sales alignment/training, 5) content buildout 6) webinars/events. 

1. DG team -- it's important for me to take a quick glance at the numbers but more important to get a better, fuller, picture from the team. What in the last 6 months has been going on? What's worked, what's not worked, and very important to me: what did you work on that you enjoyed?

2. Start from the bottom of the funnel: Revenue. Track revenue in SFDC then work my way up the funnel; which channel(s) contributed to this deal? Which keyword(s)? What touchpoints did the champion visit before turning into an opp?

3. Google my closest competitors. Am I showing up? Are they bidding on my keywords? Do they have a competitive landing page against me? What are people on G2 saying about me compared to the competition? If they bid aggressively on me -- they see me as a threat let's make sure we are fighting back. If they are not -- I'm probably eating their lunch -- I better show up on every keyword and review. If not -- that's low-hanging fruit. 

Stepping into a new role as a Demand Gen leader requires a strong  understanding of the core business model, go-to-market strategy and revenue process, first and foremost. 

Here are the top 4 things I would focus on (in addition to understanding the business) as quickly as possible:

Understand business goals and link them to your initial marketing plan: The first step should be understanding the overall business and marketing goals in terms of leads, signup, opportunities, pipeline, etc. Speak with key stakeholders, review strategic documents, and identify which key performance indicators (KPIs) are reviewed weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc. If you don’t have goals in place for what you are managing, create them. This will provide a foundation for all future marketing decisions and help you identify which channels are most likely to help achieve these goals.

Analyze past and current marketing efforts for insights: Objectively review and analyze past and current marketing efforts, including the channels that have been used and their performance. Look at metrics like customer acquisition cost (CAC), return on ad spend (ROAS), conversion rates, and customer lifetime value (CLTV) for different programs. This will give you insights into what has worked well in the past, and where there may be opportunities for improvement or new strategies to test. Understanding how your new company has arrived at the current state of performance will help you navigate and plan for future growth more effectively. 

Isolate your ideal customer profile to prioritize your marketing investments - To choose the right channels, it's crucial to understand who you buyer is (your ideal customer profile) and where they spend their time. Conduct customer research by reviewing sales calls (Gong makes it easy to do this!) and quarterly business reviews.  Meet with product marketing to review persona documents. Talk to the customer success leaders on the biggest problems you solve for your customers. Understanding the core customer will help you be much more successful in B2B marketing due to how specific marketing often needs to be to position your solution. 

Launch something new - Whether a new campaign, program updates, or refreshed marketing offer, you should focus on putting a few small wins on the board within the first 60 days of a new role and align with others to share the success. 

Now you should have a clear understanding of what the business goals are, what has worked in the past, and where your target audience is. As a new leader, your focus is to grow the business -- and that this should be an iterative process - you will need to test different approaches, measure your results, and adjust your strategy as needed.

Here’s what I think are the first three steps in identifying the best channels to drive the right demand:

1. Audit the lead source/channel for every closed-won customer from the past quarter. While other channels might drive more demand, this report will show you the channels that are bringing in the highest quality prospects. You are going to want to invest in these channels first. 

2. Compare your current channel mix to your competitor channel mixes. This might show you key channels that your company has yet to invest in. I usually find that every industry is unique in terms of what works and what doesn’t. Taking a look at where your competitors spend their time and money might lead you down the right path quicker. 

3. Survey your sales reps. They have had numerous conversations with prospective customers and usually the first question they ask is “how did you find our company?” Their feedback will help you identify the offline or hard to attribute channels that drive demand for your business. For instance, you might think a lead came in through a branded search term but that branded search was actually prompted by a third party podcast listen. 

Every business is different, and the optimal approach will vary depending on your go-to-market strategy, target audience, and goals. Nevertheless, these three steps can be universally applied.

Step 1: Get a lay of the land. Review your reporting and metrics to determine what has worked and what hasn't. Ask questions to understand why these metrics are important.

Step 2: Understand your target audience. To effectively reach your customers, you need to know where they are and what problems they are trying to solve.

Step 3: Identify channels. Once you have a clear understanding of your customers' needs and what has worked in the past, you can identify the best channels to reach prospects. Talk to your colleagues to gain insights into successful strategies.

1. Audit existing channels: What is working, why, and what is not working? Why? Gather data on the performance of each channel, including metrics like conversion rates, cost per lead, and return on investment (ROI). Determine gaps.

2. Understand your UVP and target audience: Gain a deep understanding of the company's UVP and target audience. Speak with customers, and listen to calls to identify the key characteristics, pain points, and channels they use to get information and be informed.

3. Understand your industry and competitor landscape: Research the industry and competitive landscape in which your company operates. Look for any gaps or untapped opportunities that you can leverage to gain a competitive advantage or potential conferences and associations with partners.
   
   Bonus Step: Experiment & Repeat above.