Demand Generation in 2025: A New Definition
Less chasing leads. More signals, orchestration and - most importantly - revenue alignment.
TL;DR
78% of demand gen leaders say their definition of the role has changed fundamentally in the last 3 years.
"Revenue alignment" is now the #1 expectation (cited by 46% of our panel).
Signal orchestration (using 1P, 2P, and 3P data to drive targeted campaigns) is a close second.
65% of demand gen teams are now structured by account tier rather than channel or campaign type.
AI implementation is widespread but uneven—82% are using it for content creation, but only 31% for predictive analytics.
Read below for a new definition of Demand Generation for 2025 👇
👋 Hi, it’s Kaylee Edmondson and welcome to Looped In, my newsletter exploring demand gen and growth frameworks in B2B SaaS. If you’re one of the 83 people that have subscribed since last Sunday, hello! So glad you’re here—you’ve just joined 2k+ marketers who read Looped In every Sunday .
Quick PSA: I’m collecting insights for a 2025 State of Demand Gen Report and I’d love you to be a part of it! There’s not a resource like this on the market today. In exchange for your time (and de-anonymzing yourself) I’ll enter you in for a chance to win a $200 gift card as a way to say ‘thanks’!
What is Demand Gen in 2025?
Several years ago, I published "13 Lessons I Wish I Knew As A First-Time Demand Gen Leader". But since then, I've consulted dozens of B2B SaaS companies, and I've had this overwhelming feeling that things have changed considerably - and that my previous understanding is outdated.
I can sense it in the conversations I'm having with CMOs, CROs, and GTM leaders. The perception and expectation has shifted dramatically.
So I set about answering the question for 2025, helped a great deal by an expert panel of 75 demand gen leaders from across the B2B SaaS landscape (thanks so much to everyone who has taken part so far–I just couldn’t wait to share some early results!)
What's changed?
The most striking thing from the survey results was the consensus that Demand Generation has transformed.
A staggering 78% of respondents felt that the function has fundamentally changed over the past three years.
Our respondents span multiple industries and company sizes, with 63% coming from B2B SaaS, 18% from FinTech, and the rest distributed across healthcare, manufacturing, and professional services. The majority (72%) work at companies with $10-100M ARR, giving us a solid perspective on growth-stage priorities.
The lead answer for what has actually changed was 'Revenue alignment and accountability', cited as a top reason by 46% of the panel.
A close second was 'Signal orchestration capabilities' at 38%, followed by 'Cross-functional team integration' at 32%. This suggests companies are acknowledging the strategic business-level impact a modern Demand Gen function now has, moving well beyond just generating MQLs.
Interestingly, we're seeing a significant shift in time allocation too—respondents now spend 61% of their time on strategic planning versus 39% on tactical execution, a complete reversal from stats just three years ago.
So... what actually is Demand Generation in 2025?
A few headline takeaways - with accompanying quotes - from the results:
Demand Generation is now a strategic revenue function that sits at the intersection of marketing, sales, and customer success.
"How companies define demand gen varies widely, but what seems to be a universal truth for any demand gen role in 2025 is: we sit at the intersection of revenue strategy, marketing tactics, and sales execution. We are the revenue accelerators inside the company, and we understand how to connect signals to action in ways that drive pipeline."
It's the owner of the accounts, signals, and orchestration: targeting, tiering, signal identification, and campaign execution.
"When demand gen is done well, it shapes how the entire GTM motion operates. It means owning the account strategy, understanding signals better than anyone else, influencing the marketing mix, and making sure the right prospects get the right message at the right time."
Demand Gen is less about chasing leads and more about orchestrating a signal-based approach to accounts - all grounded in a focus on revenue outcomes.
"Demand Generation is about connecting signals and bridging the gaps between data and action. It's understanding intent deeply and translating that knowledge into clear, targeted campaigns — both through marketing channels and by enabling sales with actionable intelligence on which accounts to prioritize and why."
Demand Gen leaders keep marketing teams honest about the real revenue impact they're having and help Sales stay focused on the right accounts.
"We're the support system for sales teams to understand which accounts are showing intent, for marketing teams to communicate value, and for RevOps teams to build the systems that connect it all together."
The 2025 definition
Reviewing all the different answers, a few words and phrases stood out:
Account Focus: This came up repeatedly in the responses. In fact, in the open-text definitions, 81% of respondents talked about 'accounts' rather than 'leads'. Demand Gen gets to the bottom of which accounts are most likely to convert and focuses efforts there, moving far beyond the traditional lead-based approach.
Signals: As we've established, the signal-based nature of modern demand gen was a standout theme from the survey, and more than three quarters of respondents used this word in their definition.
Revenue: As you would hope, nearly everyone mentioned revenue in their definition of demand gen. When asked to rank metrics they're most responsible for, 'Pipeline generated' and 'Revenue influenced' topped the list, with 'MQLs generated' dropping to fifth place.
Orchestration: The coordination of signals, data sources, and campaigns across channels is more important than ever. Producing cohesive, multi-channel experiences based on intent signals is key. Our data shows 73% of respondents list "multi-channel orchestration" as a top-3 priority for 2025.
Cross-Functional Alignment: A need to speak to the unifying, collaborative component of demand gen came across in the answers, without suggesting a campaign execution-only role. This is reflected in reporting structures as well—41% now report directly to the CRO rather than the CMO, compared to just 18% three years ago.
Business Impact: From pipeline to closed-won deals, the bulk of answers mentioned a business-level kind of impact that goes well beyond traditional marketing metrics. In fact, 56% of organizations now allocate over 40% of their marketing budget to demand gen activities, indicating its strategic importance.
So, based on 75 different responses and lots of analysis, here's my definition of demand generation for 2025:
Demand Generation is the strategic engine that orchestrates signals and account intelligence into targeted, multi-channel campaigns, creating a unified GTM motion across marketing and sales to accelerate pipeline velocity and drive sustainable revenue growth.
Say that 3x fast. 😅
Strategic ✅
Signal-based ✅
Account-focused ✅
Orchestrating, not just executing ✅
Revenue-focused ✅
Business impact ✅
For me, this captures the core of what we're about in 2025.
Biggest Challenges and Priorities
The survey revealed some clear patterns about where demand gen is heading:
Top 3 Priorities for 2025:
Implementing AI-powered intent identification (56%)
Improving signal-to-pipeline conversion rates (48%)
Building cross-functional revenue alignment (41%)
Top 3 Challenges:
Proving direct revenue impact (62%)
Lack of cross-functional alignment (47%)
Signal overload/noise (39%)
Channel Effectiveness: When asked which channels are performing best, the results were illuminating:
Account-based advertising (via LinkedIn) (67%)
1:1 personalized outreach (via LinkedIn DMs + email) (54%)
High-intent content syndication (via influencer marketing) (42%)
Traditional channels like broad-based email campaigns and organic social media have dropped dramatically in effectiveness rankings.
The AI Factor
AI is dramatically reshaping demand gen. Some key findings:
82% are using AI for content creation
58% for audience segmentation
53% for campaign optimization
But only 31% for predictive intent analytics (the biggest opportunity gap)
The biggest AI implementation challenges?
"Signal validation and accuracy" (58%)
"Integration with existing tech stack" (47%)
"Measurement of true impact" (41%)
Common Misperceptions
Finally, we asked about the most common misperceptions demand gen professionals encounter:
"Demand gen is just lead generation" (77%)
"Results should be immediate" (64%)
"It's primarily a tactical function without strategic value" (53%)
If this resonates, feel free to use it at your company to help explain the function to other teams. And yes, I will come back to update these stats once I officially close the survey.
See ya next week,
Kaylee ✌
P.S. Would love to hear your thoughts! Does this capture the evolution you're seeing in demand gen? Hit me up in the comments or reply to this email - I read every response.