Top 6 Demand Gen Courses
Were you searching for the top demand generation courses on Google? I sure was. I googled and googled and googled.
Guess what? It's a new field in the sphere of marketing so there currently aren't many demand gen courses. Luckily, I have compiled a list of the top demand gen courses that you should consider right here. No more googling, just a little bit of reading (or scanning).
If you were searching for demand generation courses, you likely already understand what it means. A really quick overview:
- Demand generation is a marketing strategy that seeks to create awareness for a product or service among potential customers. By generating demand, leads eventually reach out to you when they require your services.
- This strategy is the current frontrunner in marketing strategies and any new (digital) marketer should have knowledge of it.
- We have a full deep-dive article on what demand generation is if you’re looking for more information.
The Courses: 6 courses + 1 extra
Content Marketing Mastery by Udemy
- 22 lectures, 2 hours total length
- 14,99 euro’s
- Online (on-demand) access
- Certificate upon completion
We begin with a course on content marketing, which in essence covers many of the principles of demand generation.
This course does not require previous experience or knowledge, simply "an interest in content marketing". It is meant for marketers, website or business owners, bloggers, and anyone wanting to learn content marketing.
The course consists of 4 chapters. First, the course provides an introduction to content marketing and its advantages. Then, the course dives into content marketing strategy - the organisation towards execution of content marketing. Thirdly, the course breaks down the different steps in the content creation process. Lastly, it discusses content promotion, measurement and content ROI.
Through this course, you can learn all about content marketing. It helps you understand how to use content to convert more sales and leads. It also explains the role of content in lead generation and aids you in developing a content marketing plan.
Digital Marketing Specialization by Coursera (offered by University of Illinois)
- 7 modules, can be completed in 3 months at 10 hours per week
- Online, on-demand (flexible schedule)
- Comes with a Coursera subscription, which is $74 per month, so on average it should cost $222
- For beginner marketers, no previous experience required
The Digital Marketing Specialization course by Coursera covers a broad set of topics. One of these topics is demand generation. Because it covers such a broad set of topics, it’s also a much more time-intensive course. So if you are looking for just demand generation, it might be somewhat cumbersome to take this course.
It does however offer great insight. The course consists of 7 modules, covering a wide framework of information.
Beginner marketers will find this course great because it does not require any previous experience. The course is on-demand, so you can divide the 10 hours per week however you personally like. It is also recommended to follow the course in order, so we can't evaluate the usefulness of the course as a standalone piece.
The course comes with a Coursera Plus subscription, which is $74 per month. If you (or your company) happen to have this, it’s worth evaluating this option. If you stick to the recommended 10 hours per week, you will finish the course at a total price of $222.
Mastering Demand & ABM by Forrester
- 6 chapters of 1 - 3 hours each
- For marketing teams as a cohort-based experience (online education for groups who are together in real life)
- Enrolling is possible once each month
- The whole course is $2350
Customer obsession to accelerate growth - that is what Forrester stands for. Forrester is a well-recognized brand within marketing, giving us good hopes for this demand generation course.
Their Mastering Demand & ABM course consists of six chapters, which are each around 1 - 3 hours. It focuses on audience-centric content. It also covers the steps needed to build and run a demand generation or account-based marketing operation.
The course is meant for marketing teams and is organised as a one-time cohort-based experience. Enrolling is possible once each month and the whole course costs $2350.
Demand Generation Fundamentals by Pavilion
- For anyone
- Pavilion membership at $150 per month or $1375 per year needed (for individuals, costs as a team need to be requested)
- Unknown length
- To be followed online, on-demand
Pavilion is a platform which promotes community-powered learning for high-growth leaders. One of these high-growth leaders is Jeff Reekers, the designer of this course and CMO at Aircall. He has had huge success scaling up this business and nowadays he also advices other high-growth companies. Definitely a man with the right knowledge and experience to design such a course.
The course is a nice entry into demand generation. It is an Associate-level course, however, this refers to the type of membership and not the experience needed. The course begins with the basics of demand generation before diving into frameworks, models and analysis.
You need a Pavilion membership for this course, which costs $150 per month or $1375 for individuals. For team pricing and more information, you have to get in touch with Pavilion.
Cognism Demand Generation Playbook
- For anyone
- 3 modules, 3 videos each, 5 more modules to be added in September and October 2023, videos range from 2 - 20 minutes
- To be followed online and on demand
- Free
Cognism is a sales intelligence platform and has proven itself as one of the best at it during 2023. Cognism offers high-quality informational content and people consider them a valuable authority in the field. They offer one of the few courses that specifically focus on Demand Generation.
It starts at the complete fundamentals of what Demand Generation is and builds towards a framework. This course is well-suited for both beginners and those more experienced in digital marketing. The course currently consists of 3 modules which each include 3 videos.
They are releasing 5 more modules over the course of September and October in 2023. The videos from the first 3 modules range from 2-20 minutes. Overall, it's difficult to predict how long it would take to complete the entire playbook until all 8 modules are released. You can access the playbook on demand and follow it whenever and wherever you like.
HubSpot Academy’s Inbound Marketing Certification
- For marketing managers, inbound professionals and business owners
- 7 lessons, 24 videos, 7 quizzes, 4 hours 54 minutes duration
- Free
- Online and on-demand
Although this course doesn’t specifically tackle demand generation, inbound marketing is very closely related. Some people see inbound marketing as a part of demand generation. Others say inbound marketing is more marketing-centric while demand generation is more sales-centric.
HubSpot describes inbound marketing as “a customer-centric approach that attracts and connects you with your ideal customers by solving their problems and creating valuable experiences”. We see this as very close to the definition of demand generation, which is why we have included this course here.
HubSpot Academy, one of the leading platforms in marketing courses, hosts the course. Many industry experts recognize HubSpot Academy certificates and thus consider them valuable. The course targets marketing managers, inbound professionals, and business owners. Therefore, you need some prior knowledge on the topics covered.
The topics covered in this course are quite diverse. The course teaches you how to create content that educates and nurtures the audience in their buyer journey. It also discusses how to create relevant content for your target audience. Finally, they provide recommendations on improving marketing processes and using automations and AI.
The course consists of 7 lessons, 24 videos and 7 quizzes. It is completely free and lasts 4 hours and 54 minutes in total.
Extra: Demand Metric
To end this list, we have included a bonus - Demand Metric. On this website, you can find a range of information on demand generation. It includes free playbooks, matrixes and e-workshops as well as a membership that gives you access to paid content.
- Some free content, some paid content (membership starts at $97 / month)
- Frameworks, playbooks, matrixes etc.
Conclusion
And there it is, an end to your endless Google searches. This blog should include a course that suits you and your wants in educating yourself on the topic of demand generation. Whichever one of these you choose, it should lead you to great insights.
Soon, we will also be using the Cognism course to freshen up our knowledge and stay ahead in the marketing game. We will be sharing our thoughts and reviews through Instagram and LinkedIn so make sure to stay tuned!
