Marketing for Where You Want to Be – 5 Proven Ways to Get Leads & Grow

www.clearedgemarketing.com

Marketing for Where You WANT TO BE 5 Proven Ways to Get Leads & Grow

Presented by: Leslie Vickrey, CEO & Founder

May 14, 2014

Confidential Information. Copyright ClearEdge Marketing 2014.

Webinar Series

Your Presenter, Leslie Vickrey

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• CEO and Founder of ClearEdge Marketing, an agency specializing in outsourced marketing solutions for IT services firms 8+ years in business Serving clients across four continents Staff from coast-to-coast (30+) 8-year TechServe Alliance marketing partner

• 18 years managing marketing operations or providing consulting services for companies such as Spherion, Harvey Nash, TechServe Alliance, Bartech, CRi, Aon Hewitt RPO and Fieldglass

• Co-founder of ARA—a mentoring organization for attracting, retaining and advancing women in tech (www.aramentors.com)

CEO & FounderClearEdge Marketing

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Today’s Agenda

• What You Are Up Against: The Challenges• Most Effective (and Efficient) Ways to Get Leads:

• Target Account Campaigns• Website Optimization• Events• Social Media• Smart PR

• Q&A

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CHALLENGES IT & Engineering Services Firms Face

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Competition for Talent

+ U.S. IT jobs grew13 percent from 2002 to 2013, while the number of people who graduated with IT degrees dropped 11 percent in that same time frame (CareerBuilder).

Rise of Online Staffing

+ SIA estimated gross billed revenue in Online Staffing to be $1 billion globally in 2012 and forecasts 40 percent annual category/ segment growth for the next two years.

Limited Resources

+ Mid-size firms typically have small sales and recruiting teams, which limits time for strategic planning and work.

Limited Budgets, Tough Buyers+ While job growth was up in April,

employers remain cautious in their hiring.

OPPORTUNITIES for IT & Engineering Services Firms

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Skills Shortage

+ High demand for IT in several skills areas—big data, mobile, security and cloud services. Employers need help accessing these skills quickly.

Recruitment Tools Perplex+ Job search and talent sourcing mediums have exploded (social, mobile, etc.) making it more critical for businesses to employ talent experts . Employers want and need help.

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5 Proven Marketing Approaches that Spark Opportunity & Fuel Growth

TAPS & INCENTIVE PROGRAMSRight or Wrong for Your Business?

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Poll #1

Does your firm have a formalized lead generation

program?

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1. Target Account Programs, Sales/Recruitment, Employee

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• Target Account Programs Select a narrow, vetted prospect list Spend 4-6 weeks targeting this short list with marketing

materials and contact

• Sales/Recruitment Incentive Programs Sales Incentive Programs and Recruitment Incentive

Programs Award sales and recruitment staff for achieving and/or

exceeding lofty targets over a set period

• Employee Referral Programs Provide incentives to contactors and staff for referring top

candidates

Arm Your Sales & Recruiting Staff

Target Account Programs: TAPs

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“CUSTOMERS EXPECT EXPERTISE.While the right skill match is the number one factor in placement success, clients rank knowledge of their industry as second in importance to ensuring a successful placement.”

TAPs offer companies a fun, engaging platform for explaining their expertise.

Inavero Insight

• What Is It? A scheduled weekly mail-based or drop-in

program for targeted accounts 4-8 weeks, depending on target and

service/solution Branded Components: A weekly postcard and

giveaway tied into a campaign theme Calls-to-Action: Get appointments, landing

pages playing new role for solutions-based campaign, including online advertising (LinkedIn)

TAP Benefits

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• Targeted & Concentrated• Puts business development team in front of key decision

makers • Allows teams time to focus on specific businesses and needs

• Training for Your Sales Team • Arms sales staff with purpose and materials • Offers a training tool for new sales staff eager to learn the

business

• ROI Is Easy to Measure• Offers a simple way to measure marketing message

effectiveness• Plan on a 30% return (if program and best practices

followed!)

TAP Sample: Campaign Overview – Outreach Cycle

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Prospect

Build Awarene

ss

ScheduleMeeting

Close Deal

Touch Item Follow-up

Touch 1

Fold-over Direct Mail Introduction Piece:

How Far Will You Go to Source Java Development Talent?

Follow-up call & e-mail

Touch 2HTML Email:

How Hard Will You Work To Build Your Java Dream Team?

Follow-up call & e-mail

Touch 3

Drop-off Notecard + Low-end Giveaway

How Quickly Can you Access the Java Development Talent You Need?

Follow-up call & e-mail

Touch 4HTML Email:

How Much Will You Sacrifice to Hire Skilled Java Resources?

Follow-up call & e-mail

Touch 5

Drop-off Notecard + High-end Giveaway

How Long Will You Wait for Java Development Resources?

Follow-up call & e-mail

Fold-over Direct Mail Introduction PieceHTML Emails

Drop-off Notecards + Giveaways

SAMPLE TAP: Campaign Schedule

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MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

July 2013

14 15 16 17 18Kick off call/Rep Training

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21Touch Point 1 – HTML Email

22 23 24 25LAUNCH! Push First HTML Email to List

26Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

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28 29Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

30Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

31Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

1Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

2Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

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August 2013

4Touch Point 2 – Notecard & Giveaway

5Prep Packages – Giveaway & Notecard

6Deliver Package

7Deliver Package

8Deliver Package

9Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

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11 12Follow-up Phone Calls & Personal Emails

13Follow-up Phone Calls & Personal Emails

14Follow-up Phone Calls & Personal Emails

15Follow-up Phone Calls & Personal Emails

16Follow-up Phone Calls & Personal Emails

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18Touch Point 3 – Notecard & Giveaway

19Prep Packages – Giveaway & Notecard

20Deliver Package

21Deliver Package

22Deliver Package

23Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

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25Touch Point 4 – HTML Email

26Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

27Push Second & Last HTML Email to List

28Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

29Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails

30Follow-up Phone Calls & Emails. END CAMPAIGN.

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TAP SAMPLE: Mailer (local message)

TAP SAMPLE: Metrics Report

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Critical Success Factors TAPs

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• Executive buy-in and oversight• List quality

Target “real” buyers of your services

• Sales buy-in• Creativity • Track/share results and ROI• Going all the way in terms our outreach

Making all the calls, all the visits.

Make the 5th Call

70% of the population needs at least 5 contacts before they'll trust you

enough to grant you an appointment.

TAPs: Right or Wrong for YOUR Business?

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• Can your business create and concentrate on a narrow, targeted list of strong prospects?

• Do you have a sales team with the discipline and reliability to follow a carefully designed outreach program?

• Are you willing to put some investment into a creative program that will catch the eyes and ears of top prospects?

Employee Referral Programs

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• What Are They? A program that rewards

employees in cash or prizes for referring new talent to the business

Employee Referral Program Benefits

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• Expands the Resources Fueling the Talent Pipeline• Talented people are often friends and family

with other talented people• Insiders have insight into who will work well

within the culture

• Ties Staff or Consultants Closer to the Business• Employees get to take part in bringing new

talent to the business

• Reminds Staff of the Value of Talent• Businesses that are always on the hunt for

talent, value people and value their culture

Critical Success Factors: Referral Programs

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• Simplicity. If it’s too hard to refer and get rewards, no one will participate

• Communication! Program must be regularly shared with entire business to ensure new staff are aware and constant reminders in place

• Monitoring. If referral programs aren’t working, it’s important to know why and adjust

Make It Simple

Referral Programs: Right or Wrong for YOUR Business?

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• Will your business be diligent in following up on referrals and rewarding them?

• Is your business willing to invest in giving contractors referral bonuses or awards?

• Does your business have effective ways of communicating with former and current contractors to make the referral program widely known?

• Do you have the systems in place to track referrals and compare the success to other candidate attraction/placement strategies?

Sample Referral Programs

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WEBSITE OPTIMIZATIONRight or Wrong for Your Business?

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What Is Website Optimization?

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• Ensuring a Sharp, Responsive Design This is more than how the website looks—it’s also about ensuring it performs for users across

a wide range of devices: computers, tablets, phones, smart TVs, etc.

• Enabling Strategic SEO Ensuring the website can be found through the search engines’ and online resources key

audience use to find information, products/services, jobs, etc.

• Creating, Maintaining Engaging, Fresh Content Providing informative content across the entire site and through a variety of mediums:

videos, blogs, whitepapers, case studies, news releases, social media, etc.

Poll #2

Is your website responsive?

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What Is Website Optimization?

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• Ensuring a Sharp, Adaptable Design This is more than how the website looks—it’s also about ensuring it performs for users across

a wide range of devices: computers, tablets, phones, smart TVs, etc.

• Enabling Strategic SEO Ensuring the website can be found through the search engines and online resources key

audience use to find information, products/services, jobs, etc.

• Creating, Maintaining Valuable, Fresh Content Providing informative content across the entire site and through a variety of mediums:

videos, blogs, whitepapers, case studies, news releases, social media, etc.

Sharp, Responsive Design

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• A good, professional we site is the “cost of entry” in business today

Poor websites will limit business, partnership and recruiting opportunities

• Websites that do not adapt with technologies and users limit your audience

• Mobile-able websites are critical for engaging with job seekers

77% of job seekers use mobile job search apps – Beyond.com Career Network Survey

3 out of 5 job seekers have searched for jobs on their mobile device in the past year – Glassdoor.com Survey

Optimized Web Design Example

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Strategic SEO

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• SEO = Search Engine Optimization The art and science of getting online

content traffic from listings on search engines through your…

Web content Links Blogs Social media

• The Benefits of Strong SEO More visitors Higher rankings Increased engagement (downloads,

purchases, comments, likes, etc.)

Engaging Content

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• Original Content Content that is unique to your

expertise and business will attract an audience

SME blogs, articles

• Testimonial Content Content that demonstrates your

business’ success and abilities is critical

Case studies, testimonials

• Multimedia Content Websites that tap into multimedia

(video, social, chat, etc.) are more engaging to users today

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Engaging Content Samples: Surveys & Reports

Critical Success Factors in Web Optimization

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• Willingness to Invest. A good website requires time, resource and investment.

• Ongoing Content, SEO Work. A website is dynamic and must remain so to succeed.

• SMEs. The very best websites rely on original content contributions (blogs, posts, articles, videos) from subject matter experts. Ghost writers can help ensure regular cadence.

Go Beyond the Basics

Website Optimization: Right or Wrong for YOUR Business?

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• Do you communicate on your website to with prospects, job seekers, partners and clients?

• Does your website work (responsive) across various devices?

• Is your content fresh and engaging?

EVENTSRight or Wrong for Your Business?

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Using Events to Reach Prospects & Candidates

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• Event Marketing Opportunities Create events for clients/prospects

and/or candidates Learning lectures, lunches,

etc. Networking events Career fairs (don’t forget

about virtual – Twitter chats, Google Hangouts, Facebook, etc.)

Skill-set driven meet-ups Sponsor and/or present at events

Tech trade shows (host a client event day before and/or during)

Engineering trade shows User groups, SME groups Career fairs Community events (charity,

sports, education, etc.) Partner events

Created Event Example

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Created Event Example

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Placements in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Mashable, eWeek, Huffington Post, live Tweeting – social/PR strategy

Sponsored Event Example

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Critical Success Factors in Event Marketing

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• Event-Business Alignment. Is the event a good culture and audience match for your business?

• Balancing Event Content with Marketing Efforts. Marketing and sales need to be secondary to the event (unless it is a recruitment event—Career Fair)

• Originality. Success at events hinges on your ability to creativity break through the noise and connect with prospects and candidates.

Engage

Event Marketing: Right or Wrong for YOUR Business?

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• Are there unique event marketing opportunities in your region or area of expertise?

• Does your organization have SMEs able to present/share knowledge with passion?

• Are you leveraging social tools to host cost-effective recruiting events and engage in conversations?

SOCIAL MEDIARight or Wrong for Your Business?

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Poll #3

Is your business using social media to reach candidates?

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Poll #4

Is your business using social media to reach clients?

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Using Social Media to REACH Prospects & RECRUIT Candidates

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• Identify, Listen to and Engage Talent and Prospects Treat social media like a lead generation tool Making social candidates with skilled

IT/Engineering professionals is critical talent database building today

• Target, Target, Target+ Use social media sites and their tools for

narrowing audiences to improve recruiting and marketing spend

+ Learn which social media sites are most important to your clients, prospects and candidates and use them.

+ To find jobs?+ To find talent?+ To find services?+ To gain knowledge?+ To network?

How to Do Social Media Right

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• Have a STRATEGY Determine who you want to reach and where Choose your sites/tools (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook)

• Allocate THE RIGHT Resources If interns or admins are in charge of social media, ROI may not be reached Make SMEs your top voices and ambassadors on social media

• MEASURE Success/Failures & ADAPT Sales = new business leads Recruiters = new candidate resumes

Social Media Campaign & Engagement Example

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• Multi-channel campaign promotion (email, all social channels)

• Pushed LinkedIn (#3), Twitter (#6) and Facebook (#9) as top referring sources to website

• Overall traffic increase during campaign period

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TAP SAMPLE: Social Listening & Engagement Turns into TAP & ROI

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TAP SAMPLE: Social Listening & Engagement Turns into TAP & ROI

Social Media: Right or Wrong for YOUR Business?

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• Can leaders within your organization serve as social media thought leaders?

• Will your business be able to keep pace (check regularly for comments, posts, tweets, etc. and respond)?

• Is your ATS (job postings) integrated with your social?

• Will you be committed to posting content that is valuable to your users? Job listing and event notices for candidates? Market insights, event updates for prospects and clients?

PRRight or Wrong for Your Business?

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Using PR to Engage Prospects & Candidates

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• Be Practical Share good news: Community events,

acquisitions/mergers/funding/growth, new hires and charitable giving updates will win you fans and take little time

• Leverage Your TechServe Alliance Resources

Newsletters, surveys, etc. All information you can use to share with clients and

candidates

• Use Social Media Tweeting and posting can be a smart PR strategy and

a great way to build relationships with tech savvy reporters

National PR Example

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Local PR Examples

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Multiple Hits, One Program – Cook Systems, FastTrack’D

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Social PR Examples

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Live Tweet:Events & Twitter Chats

Recognize other People & Companies

PR: Right or Wrong for YOUR Business?

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• Do you participate in events in the community that could be communicated in a good news story?

• Are you currently leveraging social media for community and media outreach?

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It’s Your Turn…Questions? Comments?

Need Help? Contact Us Any Time!

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Leslie Vickrey, CEO & FounderClearEdge MarketingTel: 312.731.3149

E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @lvickrey@clearedgemktg