The B2B marketing world loves false choices. ABM or demand gen? Quality or quantity? Enterprise or SMB? Here's the truth: the fastest-growing B2B companies use both. They just know when to use which.

The Great B2B Marketing Debate Settled

Let's end this debate once and for all with real data:

Companies Using Only Demand Gen:

• Average growth rate: 15-25% YoY

• CAC: £2,500-4,000

• Sales cycle: 3-6 months

• Win rate: 8-12%

Companies Using Only ABM:

• Average growth rate: 12-20% YoY

• CAC: £12,000-20,000

• Sales cycle: 6-12 months

• Win rate: 20-30%

Companies Using Both Strategically:

• Average growth rate: 40-60% YoY

• Blended CAC: £4,000-6,500

• Sales cycle: 2-4 months (demand gen), 4-8 months (ABM)

• Win rate: 12-18% (demand gen), 25-35% (ABM)

The winners don't choose. They orchestrate.

When to Use ABM vs Demand Generation

Use ABM When:

• Deal sizes exceed £80K ACV

• You have 6+ stakeholders in the buying process

• Your total addressable market is under 10,000 companies

• Sales cycles typically run 6+ months

• You need to displace incumbent vendors

Use Demand Gen When:

• Deal sizes are under £40K ACV

• You have 1-3 stakeholders

• Your TAM exceeds 50,000 companies

• Sales cycles are under 90 days

• You're creating a new category

Use Both When:

• You have multiple product lines

• You're expanding from SMB to enterprise (or vice versa)

• You need short-term revenue AND long-term growth

• You want to dominate your market

The Hybrid Playbook: How to Run Both

Layer 1: Foundation (Months 1-3) Start with demand generation to:

• Build brand awareness

• Generate quick wins

• Fund ABM investments

• Learn what resonates

Layer 2: Expansion (Months 4-6) Add ABM for high-value targets:

• Identify top 50-100 accounts

• Use demand gen learnings for messaging

• Coordinate sales and marketing efforts

• Track account engagement

Layer 3: Optimisation (Months 7+) Integrate both approaches:

• Use demand gen to identify ABM targets

• Use ABM insights to improve demand gen

• Create account-based demand generation

• Measure blended metrics

Real Examples of Hybrid Success

Example 1: Marketing Tech Company

The Situation:

• Selling to both SMBs (£15K ACV) and enterprises (£150K ACV)

• Limited budget to choose one approach

• Needed quick revenue and long-term growth

The Strategy:

• Demand gen for SMB segment (70% of budget)

• ABM for top 100 enterprise accounts (30% of budget)

• Used SMB wins as case studies for enterprise

The Results:

• 200 SMB customers in year 1 (£3M ARR)

• 10 enterprise customers in year 1 (£1.5M ARR)

• Enterprise case studies accelerated SMB sales

• Year 2: Flipped ratio to 50/50 as enterprise scaled

Example 2: Cybersecurity Startup

The Situation:

• Competing against established vendors

• Needed to build category awareness

• Also needed flagship enterprise clients

The Strategy:

• Demand gen for security teams (education focus)

• ABM for Fortune 500 CISOs

• Content strategy serving both audiences

The Results:

• 3,000 qualified leads from demand gen

• 15 enterprise opportunities from ABM

• 2 Fortune 500 logos in year 1

• Used enterprise logos to accelerate demand gen

The Metrics That Matter for Each

Demand Generation Metrics:

• Cost per lead (CPL)

• Lead velocity rate

• Marketing qualified leads (MQLs)

• Content engagement rates

• Pipeline velocity

ABM Metrics:

• Account engagement score

• Stakeholder coverage

• Account penetration rate

• Deal velocity by account

• Revenue per target account

Blended Metrics (The Real Gold):

• Customer acquisition cost by segment

• Lifetime value by acquisition channel

• Revenue mix (land vs expand)

• Market share growth

• Net revenue retention

Common Mistakes When Running Both

Mistake 1: Separate Silos

• ABM team doesn't talk to demand gen team

• Different messages to market

• Competing for same budget

• Solution: Weekly alignment meetings

Mistake 2: Wrong Resource Allocation

• 90% budget on ABM for 10% of revenue

• Or 90% on demand gen when enterprise is the growth path

• Solution: Match investment to revenue potential

Mistake 3: Measuring Wrong Metrics

• Judging ABM by lead volume

• Judging demand gen by enterprise logos

• Solution: Fit metrics to strategy

The Tech Stack for Hybrid Success

Core Platform:

• CRM (obviously): Salesforce or HubSpot

• Marketing automation: Marketo or Pardot

• ABM platform: 6sense or Demandbase

Demand Gen Tools:

• Content management: WordPress

• SEO: Ahrefs or SEMrush

• Paid advertising: Google Ads, LinkedIn

• Email: Outreach or Apollo

ABM Tools:

• Intent data: Bombora or G2

• Personalisation: Mutiny or Intellimize

• Direct mail: Sendoso

• Account intelligence: ZoomInfo or Clearbit

Measurement Layer:

• Attribution: Bizible or Attribution

• Analytics: Google Analytics + Tableau

• Account scoring: MadKudu or Infer

Your Hybrid Implementation Roadmap

Quarter 1: Demand Gen Foundation

• Launch content engine

• Build email nurture flows

• Start paid acquisition

• Generate initial pipeline

Quarter 2: ABM Pilot

• Select 25 target accounts

• Develop account-specific content

• Coordinate sales plays

• Measure engagement

Quarter 3: Integration

• Use demand gen to identify ABM targets

• Create account-based content

• Implement multi-channel orchestration

• Unified reporting

Quarter 4: Scale

• Expand successful programmes

• Kill what's not working

• Plan next year's mix

• Optimise resource allocation

The Bottom Line on ABM vs Demand Gen

It's not about choosing between ABM and demand generation. It's about using each where it works best. The fastest-growing B2B companies have figured this out:

• Demand gen fills the funnel

• ABM lands the whales

• Together they dominate markets

Stop debating. Start orchestrating. Your competitors already are.

Ready to build a hybrid strategy that accelerates growth? Let's design your custom playbook.