ABM and demand gen are often seen as competing strategies. Here is how to decide which approach is right for your business.
Few debates in B2B marketing run longer than ABM versus demand generation. The truth is that the right answer depends on your business — and most companies benefit from a combination of both.
What is Demand Generation?
Demand generation creates awareness and interest across a defined target market using content, paid media, SEO, and outbound outreach. It works best when your ICP is broad and you need consistent top-of-funnel volume.
What is Account-Based Marketing?
ABM flips the funnel. Instead of generating leads at scale, you identify a defined list of high-value target accounts and run personalised, multi-channel campaigns to penetrate those accounts. It works best when deal sizes are large and your ICP is well-defined.
Which Should You Choose?
If your average deal size is below 25 lakhs or your sales cycle is under 30 days, demand generation will likely give you better ROI. If you are targeting named enterprise accounts, ABM deserves serious investment. Many of our clients run both: a demand gen engine for top-of-funnel volume and an ABM layer for their top 50 dream accounts.