Demand Decoded: Marketing, Demand Generation & Business Growth

Hosted by Blend

Business Marketing

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Episodes

150

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-GB

About the show

Decode the secrets of successful B2B digital marketing with Demand Decoded, the podcast hosted by Blend, a B2B growth engineering company. Our show focuses on breaking the mould of traditional B2B marketing tactics, providing actionable insights that you can use to transform your marketing into a revenue-generating machine. With a team of experts from Blend across marketing, sales and leadership as our main hosts, we delve into the latest trends and strategies to help you become a better marketer. We cover topics like: - Lead generation vs. demand generation - B2B marketing strategy - Digital marketing tactics - Creating demand - Marketing attribution - Outdated and ineffective marketing strategies - Content marketing - GTM and revenue alignment - Scaling growth in PE-backed businesses So, if you're ready to take your digital marketing strategies to the next level, tune in to Demand Decoded and decode the secrets to B2B marketing success.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 26, 2026Episode 14351 min

Make Your GTM Team the Biggest Driver of Value Creation

Most marketers in PE-backed businesses can’t explain how their work drives PE value creation through its three levers: EBITDA growth, a higher exit multiple and paying down debt. Dan and Josh show where sales and marketing teams make the biggest difference, and when. They start with the first 100 days, when PE firms look for revenue that doesn’t need a sales cycle, such as price increases, tighter discounting, upfront billing and cleaner CRM reporting. Then the focus shifts to expanding your existing customer base and building qualified pipeline instead of reporting vanity metrics, including why big trade show spend so often produces leads but no pipeline. On the exit multiple, they explain why quality of revenue, forecast accuracy and consistent inbound demand count for more than one standout campaign or star seller. Why? Because a PE firm is buying a repeatable process, not a hero. They finish with how commission structures and payment terms affect cash. Essential listening for marketing and sales leaders in PE-backed businesses, or those preparing for investment, who want to speak the language of value creation. What we cover: What the three levers of PE value creation are, and why multiples are unpredictable How PE firms lift EBITDA in the first 100 days without a sales cycle Why a 10% price increase is often worth the risk of losing customers Why expanding existing accounts is the fastest route to EBITDA growth Why marketing in a PE-backed business must report pipeline, not likes or leads Why a small booth at a big trade show won’t build your brand How forecast accuracy and founder reliance shape your exit multiple How paying multi-year sales commission upfront drains cash meant for debt Chapters: (00:00) Intro (02:58) The three levers of PE value creation (07:44) Quick wins in the first 100 days (18:14) Expansion, pipeline and trade shows (28:25) Efficiency metrics as a shared language (31:18) How to raise your exit multiple (41:24) Sales commission, cash and debt (45:54) Two things to fix next week Click here to get your free AEO visibility audit Click here to subscribe to the new Demand Decoded YouTube channel . Click here to see how we can help you drive demand for your business .

October 19, 2026Episode 14256 min

The Revenue Metrics Your Boss’s Boss Is Judged On

You probably understand your CMO’s metrics. But the revenue metrics your CRO, CEO and board are judged on are a different scorecard, and knowing them, from pipeline velocity to the Rule of 40, shows how your work moves the numbers leadership cares about. Josh walks Dan through the numbers, from net revenue retention and forecast accuracy to pipeline velocity, with benchmarks for what good and great look like. He also explains why CAC must include every sales cost, not just marketing spend. Then it’s on to the investor’s view. Josh shows how debt boosts fund returns, why cash conversion and days sales outstanding matter, and why the value creation bridge should rely on EBITDA growth rather than multiples that rise and fall with the market. Essential listening for marketing managers who want to understand how leadership and investors judge performance, and why decisions get made the way they do. Click here to get your free AEO visibility audit Click here to subscribe to the new Demand Decoded YouTube channel . Click here to see how we can help you drive demand for your business .

October 12, 2026Episode 14135 min

The Predictable Pipeline Playbook: From Lucky Quarters to Repeatable Growth

A strong quarter feels great until nobody can explain where it came from or how to repeat it. Predictable pipeline is what turns those lucky quarters into repeatable growth, and gives leadership a number they can plan hiring, budget and sales targets around. In this solo episode, Dan explains what pipeline predictability really means: a number, a tolerance range and a track record. He shows why hitting your target once isn't enough, and why even beating your forecast by too much counts as a miss. From there, he walks through the CRM foundations that make pipeline forecasting reliable, three layers of pipeline source data, and how self-reported attribution and split funnel analysis reveal which channels create pipeline that converts. He also shares how to choose the one to three channels to bet on, set test windows that match your sales cycle and use decision rules to avoid tactic hopping. Essential listening for marketing and growth leaders who want a pipeline number they can trust, plus a quick exercise to see where they stand this week. What we cover What predictable pipeline means: a number, a range and a track record The CRM hygiene that undermines pipeline forecasting Three layers of pipeline source data, including self-reported attribution Using split funnel analysis to find the sources that convert Setting test windows and decision rules to stop tactic hopping A one-hour exercise to see where your pipeline comes from today Click here to get your free AEO visibility audit Click here to subscribe to the new Demand Decoded YouTube channel . Click here to see how we can help you drive demand for your business .

October 5, 2026Episode 14025 min

Half the Customers, Record Growth: Why We Started Turning Away Inbound Leads

Generating plenty of inbound leads but not seeing pipeline turn into revenue? The issue may sit further upstream than your sales team. In this solo episode, Amanda McGrath, Blend's Director of Growth Consulting, shares what she learned moving from customer success into new business sales, and what it revealed about lead quality, ICP and the link between marketing and sales. With up to 12 new inbound enquiries a week, opportunities stacked up and it became hard to spot the best fit leads. The fix was hard triage: ruling out poor fit enquiries before discovery calls even happen. Amanda explains why win rate is a downstream symptom of positioning and ICP decisions, and how redefining Blend's ICP around private equity backed businesses improved both triage and the quality of sales conversations. She also covers why the service instinct to say yes to every brief can backfire in sales, and why expertise is what prospects really buy. A useful listen for marketing managers who want their demand generation to create better fit pipeline, not just more leads, and a clearer view of what happens after the handover to sales. Click here to get your free AEO visibility audit Click here to subscribe to the new Demand Decoded YouTube channel . Click here to see how we can help you drive demand for your business .

September 28, 2026Episode 13942 min

The 5 LinkedIn Formats Getting Reach Right Now (And Why They Work)

If your LinkedIn strategy still revolves around the company page, your content is reaching very few people. Organic company page reach has fallen sharply, while personal profiles now take the lion's share of the feed and earn far higher engagement. So which LinkedIn post formats are driving reach and engagement right now? In this solo episode, Dan draws on recent algorithm research to break down the five formats performing best on personal profiles: unpolished images and selfies, scripted conversations built on real tensions, raw product demos, original data and LinkedIn articles. He explains the algorithm signal behind each one, from early comments to saves and sends, and why a slightly wonky event photo will beat an infographic that took a day to design. He also covers how to stop these formats tipping into cliché or performative posting, where smaller teams can find original data, and why LinkedIn articles are becoming a route into AI search citations. A practical listen for B2B marketers building personal brands across their business who want LinkedIn engagement that turns into lasting trust, not just impressions. Click here to get your free AEO visibility audit Click here to subscribe to the new Demand Decoded YouTube channel . Click here to see how we can help you drive demand for your business .

September 21, 2026Episode 13835 min

UNBOUND 2026 Unpacked: The Loop, Demand Decoded Live, and the Attribution Problem Nobody's Solved

Dan's back from HubSpot's Unbound with a recap full of energy, insight and practical takeaways, starting with Demand Decoded's first ever live show recording on the main stage. He breaks down the panel he ran with HubSpot's Kyle Denhoff and Asja Frost on The Loop, HubSpot's framework for modern B2B marketing, built around expressing, tailoring, amplifying and evolving your message. Dan shares why dropping gated forms from LinkedIn content can multiply your reach, and a sharper way to judge whether your strategy is really paying off. He also unpacks the biggest opportunity that came up in conversation after conversation on the show floor: bringing marketing, sales and finance data together into one source of truth, and what that unlocks for teams who take it on. He wraps up with the standout ideas from the event itself, including the activation that had queues forming at the booth all week. Great listening for any marketer after fresh inspiration and practical ideas for their next event or marketing strategy. Click here to get your free AEO visibility audit Click here to subscribe to the new Demand Decoded YouTube channel . Click here to see how we can help you drive demand for your business .

September 14, 2026Episode 13750 min

What PE-Backed Companies Get WRONG About GTM Transformation

When private equity buys your business, everything about your go-to-market has to change, and most marketing and sales leaders aren't ready for it. In this episode, Dan is joined by Josh, who brings hands-on experience from both sides of PE deals, to break down what a private equity-backed GTM transformation actually looks like once the deal closes. They explain why recurring revenue suddenly becomes the only metric that matters, how CAC payback period reveals whether your go-to-market model is capital efficient, and why marketing needs to hold the line when finance tries to force attribution into a simple formula. They also cover why disconnected marketing and sales systems put your job at risk during due diligence, and why over-investing in Google Ads because it's "measurable" often leads to bad decisions. If you work in marketing or sales at a PE-backed B2B company, or think you might be acquired soon, this is a practical look at the mandate you'll be operating under, the metrics your board will actually care about, and how to prepare before the pressure hits. Essential listening for anyone navigating go-to-market under private equity ownership. Click here to get your free AEO visibility audit Click here to subscribe to the new Demand Decoded YouTube channel . Click here to see how we can help you drive demand for your business .

September 7, 2026Episode 1361 hr 11 min

The AEO Playbook Rebuilt: What's ACTUALLY Getting Results

Most B2B marketers are still guessing when it comes to AI search. Some are pouring effort into listicles that never get cited. Others don't realise that promoting bigger competitors in "best of" lists can push their own brand out of the answer entirely. In this episode, Dan and Phil unpack how large language models actually retrieve information, including the "fan out" process that determines what gets cited and what gets ignored. They break down real examples from Blend and its clients, covering listicles, pillar pages, PPC landing pages, and product-led blog content, showing exactly which structures are earning citations right now and why saturation levels change the right approach for different markets. They also cover how to measure AEO properly, and why YouTube is fast becoming a critical citation source. Essential listening for any B2B marketer trying to move beyond guesswork and build an AEO strategy backed by evidence, not assumption. Click here to get your free AEO visibility audit Click here to subscribe to the new Demand Decoded YouTube channel . Click here to see how we can help you drive demand for your business .

August 31, 2026Episode 13533 min

Why Your Demand Gen Isn't Converting to Pipeline (5 Signs to Check)

Pipeline not moving? Most marketers reach straight for the campaign, blaming channels, budgets, or creative. Dan argues that's almost never where the real problem sits. In this solo episode, Dan runs through a five point diagnostic for working out why demand generation isn't converting into pipeline, checking each stage in the order a buyer actually experiences it rather than jumping to tactics. The five checks cover product market fit, the inseparable trio of positioning, messaging and audience, mental availability and multi channel distribution, website conversion, and the handoff from marketing to sales. Along the way, he shares a real example from Blend's own LinkedIn ads strategy and a case study showing how fixing the sales handoff lifted lead to conversation rates by 50%. Essential listening for any B2B marketer staring at underwhelming pipeline numbers and instinctively blaming the wrong thing. Click here to get your free AEO visibility audit Click here to subscribe to the new Demand Decoded YouTube channel . Click here to see how we can help you drive demand for your business .

August 24, 202638 min

REPLAY: Demand Gen 101: Steal This Playbook

We're resharing this episode of Demand Decoded because we think it's worth watching again. Looking to improve demand generation in your business, but not sure where to start? In this episode of Demand Decoded, we strip things back to basics and explore a comprehensive approach to enhancing demand generation across all stages of the buyer journey. From initial demand creation to final conversion, tune in for practical, actionable advice on improving demand gen. Click here to get your free AEO visibility audit Click here to subscribe to the new Demand Decoded YouTube channel . Click here to see how we can help you drive demand for your business .

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