Using a Vertical Marketing Strategy to Turn Your Prospects Into Customers

When using a vertical marketing strategy, you focus your content creation and distribution efforts on your businesses highest type of buyers in order to attract them into your funnel and convert them.  And in today’s world, the buyer has the power. The vast amount of information that is accessible via an internet search makes it easier for the buyer to make choices about software solutions without ever having to pick up the phone and call a partner. When they do eventually call the partner it’s to determine why that partner is better to work with than another. And if you have not clearly articulated what you do, for whom you do it, and how you do it, you risk being just another name on the list of resellers.

So what are YOU going to do about this?

Vertical Marketing Strategy

First you should start off by defining WHAT you focus on. ‘Industry’ is too broad. But when you position yourself as an expert in a specific vertical solution, it opens up more opportunity for you than ever before– whether you specialize in craft breweries, frozen food distribution, perishable goods distribution or non-governmental organizations.

Establishing Trust

You can only establish trust with prospects if you speak their language and show that you understand the key levers of their business, their pains and how they operate. You can’t do this by sitting on the sidelines. You have to immerse yourself and once you’ve done that, selling will be much easier. In a previous blog I wrote about developing messaging for verticals and then going deeper by developing persona based messaging. If you stick to this messaging framework and clearly articulate your value within the vertical your prospects will be more likely to work with you. Imagine their surprise when they pick up the phone to talk to you and you can talk to them on their terms – immediate credibility

So, How Do You Get There?

Not only do you need to ensure that your entire staff knows the language of your targeted vertical, you need to ensure you have the appropriate content to send to these prospects. Start by creating a spreadsheet outlining a list of all external and internal resources available to you. Identify content that is readily reusable or may need a makeover.

• Identify your gaps and formulate a plan to address the gaps:
  • Internal resources
  • Outsourcing
  • Associations, vendor portals, etc.
• Identify vertical resources that can add credibility to your website such as media sources, trade show presence, news items.
• Include logos of alliances you have in the vertical on your website.

 Blow Your Prospects Away

Creating persona specific content will show that you understand the dynamics and needs of your vertical prospects. A vertical focus requires that you create a diverse set of content – white papers, articles, video, blogs, social media posts, etc. Whether a piece is aimed at the informational needs of a CEO, CIO or mid-level marketing manager, it’s important that content targets each of these positions.

For example, if you KNOW that CEOs consume most of their information via mobile devices, ensure that your content is optimized for mobile display. The same goes for various roles within the organization. Often it’s the users who are looking to solve their pains – make the information accessible to them and easy for them to share. Don’t hide it behind a form or make it proprietary, share it!

Vertical Marketing, Who Decides Your Content?

You can probably list a number of partners (perhaps even your competitors?) who ‘own’ categories of vertical marketing customers because they have taken the leap and invested in winning them over. You don’t decide what content to share, your website visitors do.

The Partner Marketing Group can help you create the content and the plan that will push your prospects over the edge. Give us a call and let’s get started. To learn more, contact us at 605.574.9432 or email info@ThePartnerMarketingGroup.com.