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What Are Some Best Vertical Marketing Tactics?

Posted by Anonymous on 5/1/2012 at 7:29 PM ET 250 Points

We're a recruiting software company, and my boss wants to try and attack another vertical to generate more business.

He wants to go after small manufacturers, and I'm trying to come up with a plan to best execute it and would really appreciate anyone's help. They do marketing pretty oldschool - mostly just outbound marketing techniques. I'm trying to get them to develop an inbound/content marketing strategy, but they're slow to accept change. So right I have to deal.

Here's my plan:

1. Harvest a list of companies
Through SIC codes, generate a list of good prospects that need help hiring. (purchased list)

2. Reach out to companies
This is the part I need the most help with! With the purchased lists, we need to get emails of key people involved in the hiring process. This is the hardest part we have - calling to get their information. We're going to try and get their email by inviting them to a webinar (geared to small manufacturer hiring). But it's still hard to generate a good list of emails from them. No one wants to give out their email anymore.

Any help with this part would be more than appreciated!

3. Host the webinar
Give an educational webinar on hiring that will help them and then do a demo at the end of the webinar to show them the software (with case studies) and try and make some sales.

4. Follow up after the webinar
Send out some whitepapers to attendees and try to schedule a sales call. For those that don't attend, send a link to the recording for a point-of-touch.

Then launch a few personal emails over the next couple months to nurture them. Also make sales calls following the webinar.

Other:
We're also looking to find industry events coming up that they would attend. We're also looking at publications as well, and other speaking engagements as well.

Any help, tips, or ideas to help me out with this would be more than appreciated!

Thank you so much -

Posted by mbarber on 5/1/2012 at 8:00 PM Accepted

Hi Devan. It's a bit hard to give you some good advice without knowing where in the world you are, because given your boss' desired target market, this would make a significant difference.

For instance if you are based in the US then pursuing small manufacturers is a shrinking market at best. The manufacturing sector in the US had shed around 15% of all manufacturing jobs in the decade leading UP TO the GFC. It has since shed another 15% of those remaining during that timeframe.

Those jobs are NOT coming back

Same applies for places like Australia, much of the UK and some big chunks of Europe

Add in the increasing push towards automation and robotics and you have a target market on the precipice.

If you're in Asia however, you're likely facing a growing market, though automation is also going to impact that area at some point too

There is however a glint - small manufacturers may be more resilient and are likely to be the first group to increase employment as needed. BUT in no way will they require the huge numbers laid off by senior management (who've been smart enough to pay themselves a bonus for sending all those jobs off shore).

What then of your potential? Strained and challenging

Okay so if you do go down this path I'd be more inclined to go personal and target the CEO/MD/Pres directly by letter and phone call - the ol'fashioned way that works well. I'm not so convinced of the webinar idea for this target market (and I say this as someone who works ALOT with small manufacturers across a range of industry sectors, OEM and supply chain). You want to be able to face to face these people and build up personal relationships and connections.

I'd be more inclined to run this as a face to face sessional than an online format - I know the webinar has less expense involved and can cater to a wider geographic locale. Just offering my experience here.

make sure your sessions are either early morning (8-9am) or mid evening (6-7pm or 6.30-7.30)

I'd hand the white paper out at the session. If you do run the webinar approach then include the link to the whitepaper on the day as part of that webinar. Make sure however that it is a true whitepaper not just an advertising blurb.

As to industry events - almost all manufacturing sectors in the world have Manufacturing Industry Groups - they run private and public sessions - all you have to do is ask them how you can get involved

Best of luck
Marcus Barber
Posted by CarolBlaha on 5/2/2012 at 1:29 AM Accepted

First, how by SIC codes can you determine which companies need help hiring? Have you determined which markets might have same universal issues-- and you are addressing that? Or?

Its not that they don't want to give their email, it's just that webinars are very overused. Especially with a software demo on the back end, perceptioin is it's another informorcial You sign up and learn nothing. I agree with marcus, hit this group one on one, face to face if possible. Take a consultative sales approach. I'd create a blitz campaign to talk to them yourself.

Now, a webinar with some CEU's might be a different story. This would only work with those who have professional status where CEU's are required.
Posted by maria on 5/2/2012 at 12:09 PM Accepted

dperine,

As far as your number #2 above, I would use LinkedIn. Through Linkedin you are able to find a good amount of contact information about a prospect and reach out to them.

You can also, set up your webinar under "Events" on LI. We have been using and training our clients on the LinkedIn best practices and they have had good success with it.

There is no reason why you wouldn't as well.

Maria
facebook.com/incitecreative
Posted by carrie77 on 5/12/2012 at 8:46 AM Moderator

Hi Everyone,

I am closing this question since there hasn't been any activity in 10 days.

Thanks for participating!
Carrie (Production Editor)

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