Nearly half of organizations with top-performing demand generation programs anticipate exceeding revenue expectations

Alexander Group, the leading revenue growth consultancy to Global 2000 companies, today unveiled the results of its 2023 Demand Generation Performance and Investment Insights research. As competition across industries continues to intensify, demand generation strategies are evolving to support heightened revenue growth. The research shows that 70 percent of participating organizations reported a shift from “last” touch to first touch, linear, position-based or decay-based attribution models. These organizations report more efficient, more productive demand generation performance than ever before, with an overall average revenue growth rate of 6–10 percent. The findings, which were collected from organizations with top-performing demand generation programs, include a unique look into demand generation and marketing priorities moving into 2024.

“alignment of segmentation and ideal customer profile (ICP)”

“We’re seeing emerging maturity of leading organizations’ demand generation activities, giving them a significant advantage when it comes to capturing market share and growing revenue in the months and years to come,” said Kevan Savage, Principal, Marketing Practice at Alexander Group. “Investment in demand generation is currently higher than ever, and we expect continued growth in this area as organizations realize the many benefits of modern marketing strategies.”

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Key takeaways from the research include:

• Demand Generation Investment is Growing: Respondents report a shift in demand generation activities, increasing overall demand generation investment by +55% in FY23 and adding a variety of winning strategies to their toolboxes. These include leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and search engine optimization (SEO) for mid-funnel demand-focused educational content, as well as introducing programmatic personalization and account-based marketing. In addition, these organizations report 10–20%+ pipeline yield stemming from cross-functional paid partnerships, roundtables and virtual forums.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration Drives Marketing Success: Marketing, sales and revenue functions are becoming more and more intertwined, leading to greater organizational gains. Marketing organizations in particular are deploying more functional contribution and sources to pipeline (38%), enabling heightened cross-functional collaboration and accountability alongside sales and revenue teams. Furthermore, 80% of participants reported “alignment of segmentation and ideal customer profile (ICP)” as a top priority to drive growth across functions. As customer experience becomes more multi-faceted, defined by multiple touchpoints across several channels, organizations must also adopt a more multi-faceted, cross-departmental approach.
• Qualified Demand is on the Rise: Organizations are increasing overall marketing qualification levels relative to demand generation investment levels, with a +53% jump from FY22 to FY23. Respondents cite value creation from deeper and stickier cross-functional relationships, prioritizing quality over quantity.
• Marketing Revenue Generation and Returns are Up: Marketing organizations are delivering more closed revenue to demonstrate greater return on investment levels related to demand generation—an increase of +35% in FY23. These investments need to be well-balanced and optimized to justify incrementality, which is why 80% of respondents assess overall marketing performance to inform investment levels at least monthly, while 65% formally assess demand generation investments based on performance of pipeline size and revenue contribution.

“Leading organizations are already delivering increased ROI related to demand generation—and this is just the beginning,” said Savage. “As we continue to assist clients with organizing and optimizing their marketing departments alongside optimization of demand generation activities, this research will serve as a backdrop to improve performance and investment profiles.”

Research Methodology

Alexander Group compiled these findings by surveying C-suite, marketing and sales leaders from more than 250 companies across eight industries (business services, distribution, financial services, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, media and technology) to uncover their current demand generation habits and performance.

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