Demand Generation vs Lead Generation
Explore the differences between demand gen and lead gen, and how to use both
You’ve probably heard the debate.
Some argue that demand generation is the future. Others swear that lead generation is the ultimate revenue engine.
The reality?
You need both.
The key is knowing how they work, when to use each one, and how they complement one another across the buyer journey.
What is demand generation?
Demand generation is a top-of-the-funnel strategy focused on building awareness, trust, and interest in your solution.
Before they’re ready to buy.
And even before they enter your sales funnel.
The name of the game is warming up the room before you ask anyone to stay.
Some common demand generation tactics are:
- Brand storytelling – Sharing the “why” behind your company
- Ungated content – Offering value without requiring emails
- Thought leadership – Publishing expert takes on LinkedIn, podcasts, and blogs
True to its name, demand generation isn’t about immediate conversion. It’s all about creating demand for your solution, getting prospects to think, “Hey, this brand gets me.”
And if people don’t know your solution exists and the problems it can fix, you’ll struggle to turn prospects into leads.
Key characteristics of demand generation
- Casts a wide net to build awareness
- Works over the long term through multiple touchpoints
- Uses content to create interest before a prospect enters your funnel
What is lead generation?
Lead generation focuses on capturing contact information and guiding prospects toward a purchase.
It’s the bridge between interest and trust.
Some common lead generation tactics include:
- Gated content (ebooks, guides, interactive mini-games)
- Email sequences
- Demo requests
- Webinar sign-ups
By identifying and pulling prospects into your ecosystem, lead generation’s goal is to start a conversation and nudge them down the funnel.
Key characteristics of lead generation
- Targets people already aware of the problem or your solution
- Aims to convert interest into sales opportunities
- Relies on capturing emails and nurturing leads through your funnel
Example
Imagine a fast-growing startup invites a well-known industry thought leader to try their platform. The expert publishes several LinkedIn posts highlighting how the platform solved common pain points. That’s demand generation.
Later, the startup runs a targeted campaign for anyone who engaged the thought leader’s posts. People go to the platform’s website and sign up. That’s lead generation.
Differences between demand gen and lead gen
The main difference between demand generation and lead generation boils down to this:
Demand generation focuses on increasing your brand awareness while lead generation tries to turn brand-aware prospects into customers.
| DEMAND GENERATION | LEAD GENERATION |
| Make prospects aware of a problem | Offer to solve the problem |
| Increase your brand authority | Highlight the benefits of your solution |
| Use free resources | Use gated resources |
| Engage a wide audience | Focus on capturing quality leads |
That said, there are a few other key differences that make each strategy more distinct.
Goal
Since demand generation is all about creating interest in your solution (even before prospects are ready to buy), it helps you stay top of mind and build lasting awareness across your market.
Beyond just raising awareness, demand generation can also:
- Revive dormant interest by re-engaging past customers or leads who’ve fallen off the radar
- Expand your audience by reaching out to new prospects and existing contacts unfamiliar with your full offering
- Build brand authority by positioning your company as a trusted voice in your space through thought leadership, innovation, and helpful resources
- Drive lead generation by feeding your funnel with warm leads
- Educate and nurture buyers about problems and how your solution helps
Even if someone isn’t ready to buy, demand generation ensures they’ll know who to turn to when the need arises.
Lead generation, on the other hand, works to capture interest and convert demand into measurable pipeline. It typically kicks in after demand generation’s done its job – when a prospect starts showing intent.
Aside from generating revenue, lead generation also helps you:
- Build your lead database by bringing in fresh, qualified contacts to fuel your pipeline
- Improve trust and loyalty by personalizing outreach to build stronger, solution-focused relationships
- Gain customer insights by tracking engagement and behavior to refine your messaging and targeting
- Move high-intent leads down the funnel by quickly following up after high-intent actions
Ultimately, lead generation transforms awareness and interest created by demand generation into real pipeline and closed deals.
Engagement
Demand generation grabs attention through content that delivers value across multiple ungated channels, including:
- Blogs
- Podcasts
- YouTube
- Social media
Good content builds credibility and starts conversations before any asks are made. Oftentimes, demand generation content solves a problem without any strings attached (even filling out a form).
Lead generation works to keep conversations going by offering greater solutions, showcasing your product’s value, and making a direct call to action.
Both strategies build engagement, but at different stages of the buyer journey.
Impact
Demand generation is your brand’s way of teaching before selling. It avoids friction, positions your team as experts, and creates trust at scale through high-quality, ungated content.
The more consistently you educate and lead with value, the more authority you build – and the more likely prospects will seek you out when they’re ready.
Lead generation tries to transform that interest into action. This often occurs through the use of gated content (ebooks, guides, interactive surveys), forms, and email sequences. Gated content should go deeper and deliver even more value since prospects are trade their data in exchange.
| WHEN TO FOCUS ON DEMAND GEN | WHEN TO FOCUS ON LEAD GEN |
| You’re in a new market or launching a new product | You have existing demand |
| You’re selling a high-ticket or complex solution | You have a proven offer |
| You want long-term growth | You need measurable pipeline growth |
| Your audience isn’t problem-aware yet | Your audience is solution-aware and ready to compare options |
How to merge demand gen and lead gen for better results
Demand generation and lead generation serve different purposes, but the magic happens when they work together, in sync with your audience’s buying journey.
The first step is understanding where each fits in your funnel:
- Demand generation lives at the top of your funnel – You build awareness and interest by getting prospects to recognize a problem and see your brand as a solution.
- Example: A prospect visits your home page after watching your CEO speak on a podcast.
- Lead generation kicks in when awareness turns into intent – You capture contact information and push prospects deeper into your funnel.
- Example: The same prospect signs up for a webinar after checking out your landing page.
Think of demand generation as planting the seeds while lead generation is harvesting the crops.
If you focus only on demand, you’ll struggle to turn traffic into sales.
And if you focus only on lead generation, you’ll burn your target market before they trust you.
The best approach?
Starting with demand generation to build brand trust, then following up with lead generation to convert high-intent buyers.
Bringing demand generation and lead generation into alignment
Without solid demand gen, your lead generation is inefficient and expensive. And without lead gen, your sales team won’t be able to convert interest into revenue.
That’s why demand generation solves this upfront by delivering value through content, social proof, and education, whether it’s via email, blog posts, or other sales channels.
But to get both to work together, you need:
- A lead scoring system so you know when someone is ready for a CTA
- Clear content strategies for high-intent and low-intent audiences
- Multiple distribution channels (e.g. podcasts for demand gen, lead lists for lead gen)
- Alignment between marketing and sales so qualified leads get handed off smoothly
And if the delicate balance is off?
You get:
- Unsatisfied prospects
- High acquisition costs
- Sales/marketing misalignment
- Poor productivity
When (and how) to use demand generation
There are many reasons why people don’t pull the trigger and make a purchase.
The price is too high. They don’t understand how your product will solve their pains. Or… they don’t know your solution exists.
You’ll want to consider using demand generation when:
- You want to connect with your audience
- Why: You launched something new or your audience is evolving
- How: Use targeted display ads and organic content to educate and build awareness
- You need to build credibility
- Why: Prospects don’t know how you compare to competitors
- How: Give proof that your product works with testimonials, awards, endorsements, case studies, and other social proof
- You’re not sure which channels work best
- Why: Your message isn’t reaching the right people
- How: Analyze your current customers to see which content and channels drove engagement, then double down on what works
- You’re launching a new product or entering a new market
- Why: No one knows you exist yet
- How: Use thought leadership, social content, and strategic buzz to generate awareness and trust
When (and how) to use lead generation
Once demand is established, it’s time to shift your focus to capturing and converting qualified leads who are flashing signs of buying intent.
You’ll want to consider using lead generation when:
- You’re ready to capture inbound interest
- Why: Prospects are looking for solutions
- How: Create ebooks, case studies, and free tools that deliver enough value so prospects hand over contact details, then promote them on high-traffic channels and follow up with email sequences
- Pro tip: You can use website visitor identification tools like AiSDR to run targeted campaigns around high-traffic blog posts. This lets you deanonymize and retarget visitors, like those who visit high-intent blogs but leave without submitting a demo request or filling out other contact forms on your website.
- You want to expand your reach efficiently
- Why: New audiences trust known brands
- How: Co-host webinars or partner with brands that target the same audience but offer complementary products
- You want to increase referrals and organic sharing
- Why: People buy from people (and like benefits)
- How: Offer discounts or perks for sharing and team up with influencers and brand ambassadors to promote your product
