You may think leads and demand are the same thing, but they’re not.
A lead is the result of successfully capturing demand. But before someone becomes a lead, they first need to know your business exists, understand what makes you different and trust that you’re the right choice for them. If they don’t, they won’t be searching for you, clicking your ads or making an enquiry.
That’s where branding and demand creation come in.
Branding is all about building sustainable, targeted demand, attracting more of the clients or customers your business is best placed to help. Rather than simply generating more enquiries, they increase the likelihood that the right people think of your business when they’re ready to buy.
As we’ve discussed in previous articles, branding and performance marketing (or lead generation) shouldn’t operate in separate silos. Branding establishes your position, communicates your value and creates familiarity long before someone needs your product or service. Performance marketing captures that demand when they’re ready to act.
One without the other creates problems. Strong lead generation without strong branding often produces a high volume of poorly qualified enquiries. Strong branding without an effective way to capture demand can leave sales opportunities on the table. The most successful businesses invest in both.
Signs you have low market demand
There’s a difference between when a customer thinks “I need to buy some new trainers” and “I need to buy new Nikes”. In the first, they know they have a need but don’t have a preference; in the second, they identify a specific brand. And ultimately, that’s what branding is about: placing you at the front of their minds so that, when the time comes, they select you rather than search for options.
Traditionally, brands have measured this infiltration of consumers’ minds through surveys, but there are far quicker methods to gauge how well your brand is achieving this outcome.
Branded Google searches
When you understand how many people are searching for your brand versus how many discover you, you can see how strong your brand recognition and preference are. If when you get close to the numbers, you see that there are relatively few branded searches (ie., they’ve used your name in the search), then that is a sign you may have a demand problem.
Direct website visitors
Your website’s traffic stems from many sources, and one of them is, what we call ‘direct’. A direct website visitor is someone who manually entered your website’s URL into their browser and then visited your site.
By comparing the number of direct visitors against other sources, you will be able to understand just how well-known your brand really is. Too few, and you’ve got some work to do.
Poor quality leads
If you’re experiencing a consistently high proportion of poor-quality leads- for example, they are too small, too big, focused on the wrong type of benefit or feature, or in a completely different industry to what you specialise in- then this is a strong sign that your brand perception isn’t aligned with who your business is best placed to help.
Low volume of leads
Whether you rely on referrals, organic leads or you’re implementing performance or lead-generation campaigns, the market’s response (or lack of) is an important signal.
Ultimately, two identical businesses could be spending the same amount on Google Ads or SEO but achieving vastly different results because one is already well known, trusted, and the market understands its proposition.
If you’re experiencing low-volume leads and poor-quality leads, that’s a sure sign that you need to invest in your own demand creation.
Practical ways to increase demand
First of all, it’s important to note that demand for your brand isn’t infinite. Depending on a multitude of factors such as market size, pricing strategy, product differentiation, and competition, your potential will be defined.
Looking at demand purely from a brand marketing perspective, there are a few key areas you’ll need to focus on.
Clear positioning
First of all, define who your product or service is really for. And by this I mean, drilling down into profiling, not just a broad generic industry group. So you’d be defining your target audiences, the role each plays in the decision-making process, what’s important to them (price vs features vs service etc), their pain points and key messaging for each.
Similarly, you’ll need to understand and define your unique selling proposition. This meaningful differentiator could be quality, pricing, innovative features, or something else, but what’s critical is that it aligns with something your target audience(s) genuinely care about.
It is then critical for your brand message to be consistent across all touchpoints to help build memorability and trust.
Creating awareness
It doesn’t matter if you have the best product on earth, but if nobody knows about it, it’s hard to generate sales.
Awareness building comes in many shapes and sizes, but ultimately it is driven by ‘how to best reach your target audience’. Depending on the industry, product or service, it could include social media, sponsorship, PR, educational content, community involvement or advertising.
Building trust
It’s one thing to be aware; it’s another to like and trust something. Your ability to drive demand for your brand will largely depend on how well you can win someone over. This can be supported by case studies, testimonials, reviews, helpful blogs, and public speaking, and is ultimately cemented by consistency.
Harness advocacy
Retention is far more efficient than acquisition; therefore, looking after your customers is vital. Advocacy can be as simple as delivering on your promise, but it can also involve providing excellent customer service, unique experiences, referral programs, or social proof.
And the great thing is, good news travels fast, so your brand will benefit from even more word-of-mouth, helping drive demand even further.
Become the business your customers think of first
Lead generation is important, but it’s only one part of the equation. If your business is constantly chasing the next enquiry, tweaking ad campaigns or relying on discounts to drive sales, it’s worth asking whether the real issue is a lack of demand rather than a lack of leads.
The businesses that consistently outperform their competitors aren’t necessarily the ones spending the most on advertising. They’re the ones that have invested in becoming known, trusted and remembered. By the time a customer is ready to buy, the decision often feels obvious because the brand has already done the hard work.
If you need help growing your demand, get in touch.
