Wednesday, August 20, 2025 by Shelley Hirst

Look at any growing tech company and you’ll find marketing faces the same thing: a pile of expensive tools, platforms and dashboards promising to generate leads, automate outreach, and optimise spend.

Yet pipelines are under pressure, deals are slower, and budgets are being scrutinised more than ever, but the disconnect isn't lack of ambition, it's about execution. Owning best-in-class tech doesn’t mean it’s delivering best-in-class results. And it rarely does when teams are spread thin, data is stuck in silos, and there’s no time to orchestrate all the moving parts.

To build a proper demand engine, one that turns awareness into opportunity into revenue, you need more than tools. You need strategic alignment, consistent execution, and access to audiences that are already leaning in.

That’s not something most early-stage or channel-led businesses can build without spending £350K+ a year whien you include all the necessary component parts headcount, data, content, media, and outreach.  And for established vendors looking to optimise channels to market, they need to know what they're getting back is worthy of going in their CRM.

Pointing the finger

It’s easy to point fingers at the tech, the market, or even the team. However, the deeper issue is structural: businesses attempt to impose enterprise-grade expectations through startup-level resourcing and budgets.

It doesn’t work because it can’t. Not at the scale, pace, or cost that modern sales and marketing demands.  So the question shouldn't be "what more can we do?", it should be "do we have to?

Change the setup, not just the software

Instead of trying to duct-tape another point solution to the stack, or add more staff, what if you connected directly into a pre-built system that already:

  • Reaches rapidly growing communities engaged IT and Security buyers every week
  • Is expanding across the UK, EMEA and the US
  • Integrates multichannel content
  • Scores every interaction for attribution and intent
  • Converts interest into qualified, ready-to-talk leads

That’s what Market Activation™ does.

It’s not another tool you need to learn. It’s a fully operational demand engine you plug into. One built to perform, not just report.

40%
% Average weekly open rate
70%
% Average weekly CTOR
500%
% Minimum ROI

Stop building, start doing

Our clients get the impact of a £350K/year marketing function with the skills, data, systems and outreach needed to create a consistent pipeline of high-intent leads for less than a quarter of the cost of doing it themselves or using disparate outsourced support.

How?  Because we’ve invested in all the parts, so you don't have to. and it works.

You get:

  • A strategy and guaranteed ROI for investment
  • A proven content presentation and buyer progression formula
  • Sales-ready leads from warm, engaged buyers, interested in your brand
  • Transparency throughout the process – you see what we see.

And we do it without you needing to hire, brief, manage or guess.

If your pipeline feels like it should be doing more, it probably should. But the answer isn’t another campaign or another dashboard, it's a different way of doing the old things better.

 
>Guide: MQLs To Closed Deals  Get the guide

Guide: MQLs To Closed Deals

Struggling to turn marketing leads into real sales? 

This guide breaks down what’s missing in the processes and what to do about it. Discover the difference between demand and lead generation, avoid common pitfalls, and build trust with buyers from first touch to close.   

Download now and sharpen your go-to-market strategy.

>Market Activation Overview  Get the playbook

Market Activation Overview

Demand-as-a-Service™ gives you instant access to a proven, high-performing go-to-market system.

Reach already engaged IT and Security buyers, generate qualified and intelligence-backed leads, and scale across regions.  It’s fast, flexible, and built to deliver the results your team needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Market Activation differ from Demand Generation?
Demand Gen builds broad awareness and interest over time (e.g., whitepapers, webinars).
Market Activation identifies in-market buyers (via intent data, behavioural signals) and immediately engages them with tailored outreach (nurture tracks, one-to-one advisor sessions, community invites).
Market Activation talks about “Demand-as-a-Service”? What’s included in this?
Engagement Engine: Continuous, multi-channel publishing (articles, webinars, newsletters) to sustain interest
Demand Engine: Targeted outreach (email, ads, sponsorships) that scores clicks → qualified leads → sales-ready appointments.
Performance Dashboard: Real-time visibility into open rates, CTOR, CPL and lead progression via our online sales portal.
What role does The Amigos Network play in Market Activation?
Early Detection: Community discussions surface real-world challenges and project signals before formal RFPs.
Content Amplification: Thought leadership shared in The Amigos Network drives deeper engagement and social proof.
Peer Validation: Prospects get candid feedback from peers on your solutions, shortening the evaluation cycle.
Pipeline Catalysis: Warm introductions and referral paths within the community fuel high- intent conversations.
How do B2B communities like The Amigos Network fit into the sales process?
  • Top-of-Funnel: Build credibility through community content and events.
  • Mid-Funnel: Leverage peer case studies, expert Q&As, and live demos to answer deep technical questions.
  • Bottom-of-Funnel: Invite high-intent members to advisory councils or private 1:1 sessions, often the final nudge before purchase.
How does The Amigos Network create Intent Data?
  1. Interesting content: We originate, curate, and syndicate different types of content we know our audiences want to engage with and tell them it’s there.
  2. Sponsored content: We use sponsored content to drive engagement with individual brands.
  3. Promotion: We promote that content via multiple channels such as email, social media, YouTube, and so on.
  4. Identification: We ingest company-level engagement signals and combine it with known contacts that may be researching key topics.
  5. Segmentation: Members are bucketed by level of intent (high, medium, low) plus ICP fit and company size.
  6. Activation: High-intent members receive prioritised community invitations (events, focus groups, product deep-dives) to accelerate deals.
Is buying intent data worth it when you’re part of The Amigos Network?
Yes, if you blend purchased intent data with community signals and nurture streams, it makes a powerful mix, but it is not necessary for this programme.
  • Purchased data highlights who’s in-market.
  • Community engagement reveals what questions they’re asking, so your nurture can be hyper-relevant.
  • Result: A 2–3× lift in meeting acceptance and pipeline velocity vs. cold outreach alone.
Is buying intent data worth it?
It turns out that intent data is one of the best ways to find and target in-market buyers who match your ideal customer profile (ICP). Intent data shows at a company level who's actively interested in a product or service area. Depending on your investment, it will determine whether you can get named individuals.
Why would I buy intent data?
As a starting point to onward prospect engagement and pipeline building for the future. The best use of it comes from entering it into marketing nurture until such point it becomes a sales-ready opportunity.
Is intent data good for sales teams?
It depends. If it’s seen as a fast-track to dropping it into a sales queue, then ROI will be poor. It is valuable if given to marketing to nurture first and pass it through when it becomes high-intent, rather than “just showing an interest.”
Is it better to buy or create intent data?
Buying it is one approach, but it’s what you do next with it that counts. Dropping it into a sales queue and expecting a potential buyer to be asking “where do I sign” is unlikely to happen, especially for strategic or big-ticket purchases. Buying basic intent information should be the first step in a long-term nurture process designed to build an ongoing pipeline in a joined-up marketing and sales approach.
Is purchased intent data alone enough to fast track to sales?
No.
How should Sales and Marketing collaborate on intent in The Amigos Network?
  • Marketing owns the nurture tracks, community invites, educational content, and event promos.
  • Sales intervenes only at “high-intent + active community engagement” thresholds, with account-specific demos and peer introductions.
  • Outcome: Fewer wasted calls and a higher win rate on truly qualified opportunities.
How do we measure success for Market Activation in The Amigos Network?
  • Engagement Metrics: Community log-ins, event attendance, content downloads.
  • Intent Conversion: % of intent-scored members who join private roundtables or request demos.
  • Pipeline Velocity: Time from first community touch to opportunity creation.
  • Revenue Impact: Contribution of community-sourced deals to overall bookings.
What key metrics and ROI can be expected?
  • Average Weekly Open Rate: 40%
  • Average Weekly Click-to-Open Rate: 70%
  • Average Cost-per-Lead: £45
  • Minimum ROI: 500%
  • Average Dwell Times: 1 minute 45 seconds
These benchmarks illustrate strong engagement and cost efficiency versus standard digital campaigns.

About Market Activation™

There's truth when they say "it's not what you've got, it's how you use it"

You might have great products, strong partners, and a solid plan and team to back it up, but if you’re not turning that into real conversations and real pipeline, what’s the point?  

Whatever your size or ambition, we built Market Activation with you in mind.  It's powerful, flexible, and actually built by people who know the channel, because we’ve lived it. Whether you’re trying to boost direct sales, give your partners a serious edge, or just get to market faster without wasting time or budget, we’ve got the engine.

The only question is, how do you it to run?