After a brief summer hiatus, we’re back with the next edition of the Marketing with Intent newsletter, purpose-built for Microsoft partners.
In this edition, we look at verticalisation, a term given to proactive efforts towards a specific vertical or company industry.
We’re seeing a slow shift, with more and more partners going after specific segments of businesses – which, to be honest, is a relief. You can’t do all things to all people. That’s why verticalisation is so key. Not to mention, it allows you to build a practice and tailor messaging in a way that specific verticals understand from the get-go.
Is verticalisation a key part of your GTM efforts? If not, maybe it will be after reading this edition.
I hope you enjoy it!
Why is verticalisation so important?
Gone are the days when throwing something at the wall would make it stick. The competitor landscape is fierce and the differentiation between two Microsoft partners is pretty hard at times. Remove a logo and you could easily mistake one for the other.
So, with that in mind, verticalisation is absolutely key.
I’ve long argued that more and more businesses will look for referenceability as a key trust signal when they look to procure services. And I strongly believe that referrals will become less and less effective. Don’t get me wrong, a referral will get you a warm introduction – but I do think people want to know that you truly ‘get’ their business – you understand more than complex technology. They want you to understand how external factors might cause complications – the legislation you need to be mindful of – how simple supply chain issues can cause chaos.
If you follow the path of verticalisation, you’ll naturally become embedded within those key verticals, which will absolutely enhance your understanding of challenges and therefore allow much more natural conversations to take place between you and a prospective customer. If you can build confidence in your knowledge of their space and the technology in play, you’re pretty dangerous – and will definitely win more deals.
The risks of the one-size-fits-all approach
I’m pleased to say that fewer partners tell me they “don’t have a particular industry focus in mind” when it comes to engaging with Resultful for marketing support.
In some ways, having a lack of focus is easier for us to get off the ground – we can be general (and generally vague) about the benefits of technologies and customer challenges. But we’ll struggle to drive results.
Think about it – if you’re selling bedding and you tell people that you sell bedding, you might get a lot of people coming to your website, but your conversion rate will be shocking. Your drop-off will go through the roof, and you’ll be left wondering why nobody is buying. But the reality is that people visiting your site have something in mind – it might be bedding for kids, bedding with high thread count or the best Egyptian cotton known to man. Not to mention that low-cost and premium bedding are two very different markets, with two very different price points. You can’t be all things to all people, and by being clear and direct, you’ll attract smaller numbers of potential customers to your website, but you’ll convert more of them because of the fact that you’ve been clearer in your intention.
How to determine which vertical(s) to focus on
When it comes to knowing where to start (and where to focus your efforts, energy and ultimately budget – whether that’s time and/or money), there are a couple of easy options:
- Review your existing base – who buys from us already? By looking at the makeup of your existing customers, you might identify that you have a big portion of retail customers (for example), which could be a good place to start.
- Identify market trends – which verticals are actively looking for what we offer? By looking at third-party data through the likes of Google Ads Keyword Planner or SEMrush, as two examples, you’ll be able to see which terms people are searching for. For example, a large volume of searches for the keyword phrase “IT support for pharmacies” might prompt you to focus on pharmacies.
The best option, in my opinion, is actually a blend of the two. It’s fine to proactively go after a vertical where you’ve identified demand, but if you also have credibility there (i.e., case studies, testimonials, existing contacts), then you’ll find it easier to gain momentum.
Building a vertical-led practice: some tips
Thinking about verticalisation for the first time? Here are some nuggets of advice:
- Limit yourself to 3-4 if you want to be super effective – you may run the risk of being perceived as a generalist when you actually do have expertise across multiple areas. Customer perception comes first.
- Review the data you have and the data you can source. Find somewhere in the middle. The sweet spot should be somewhere that you have credibility and where there is notable demand.
- Segment further than vertical – think about business type or size too. Don’t just target everybody in a vertical. For example, utilities is a broad space – you might focus on gas first and then expand to electricity or water.
Jargon
“Verticalisation” in itself is a jargon term, but it’s one that more and more people are using, so it only seems fitting to throw it in here for this edition.
Verticalisation is (as briefly described above) the notion of aligning to a key sector or industry. It means agreeing to focus on engaging that industry, whichever it is, and becoming an expert in the field (or at least trying to!).
For us, we’re IT specialists, but we drilled even further to become a Microsoft Partner marketing support business. That means we’re able to tailor services to our target audience – and it’s pretty clear what we aim to do.
Spotlight – we’re CRN finalists!
Not one to usually blow our own trumpet too much, but we’re proud to be finalists in this year’s CRN support category. It’s a testament to the excellent first year we’ve just closed and the work we’ve been doing to support the partner community.
ICYMI, the full list of finalists for all awards is here.
A big shout out to our friends at Noteworthy & Illuminate, who we’re proudly up against in the same category!