5 tips to successfully market your IT firm [4 Minute Read]
You’re running an IT business. Whether yours is a small business looking to grow or a mature business eyeing your next move, your sales and marketing engine is a complex thing. In fact, it can be overwhelming. We know. So, where do you start?
Well, you’re in the right place. We’ve done the heavy lifting and put together a list of marketing tips to help you grow your business.
Roll up your sleeves and let’s get your business to the next level.
Define your target market
If you haven’t done this already, it’s a must. If you have, then it’s worth revisiting. So many businesses jump right to the tactics: an ad on LinkedIn; hiring an SEO firm; blasting out an email. But without defining your audience, your approach can be scattershot and result in wasted time and dollars. A lack of target definition affects your messaging (E.g which services to feature), your downstream tactics such as building content, and ultimately your budget.
After all, new clients are great, but having your ideal client is better. This not only leads to you providing the best service you possibly can, it will also ensure higher retention rates and better relationships. Variables for targeting can include, but are not limited to:
Geographic boundaries
Vertical (specific industries)
Company size (number of employees or revenue)
Titles (who at an organization is best to engage and then champion your services)
As you grow, continue to come back to this. It will develop as you do and ensures your marketing initiatives align with your ever-evolving target market.
David Trapani, CEO of Sandler Training in Princeton NJ, says the Nerdwise program has helped develop new marketing strategies and increased revenue for his Sandler location.
2. Optimize your website
There may be multiple channels for IT companies like yours to reach and engage your target audience, but we know one thing: your website is a must. It goes further than providing information about your services, it conveys your brand and enhances your credibility. When your prospect finds you online, you have a very short window to make a first impression – so you need to make your first time count.
Is your value proposition clear? Can someone visiting your site see what you offer right off the bat?
Can your audience easily navigate? And even if they can, do you have useful content with case studies and proof of a solid reputation for them to assess?
Do you have testimonials? Even in business-to-business marketing (B2B), 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review (Source: G2 Crowd).
And most importantly, does your content align with your target market. If it’s not relevant to them – if it’s not benefit-oriented – if it doesn’t show what outcomes you provide - they’ve already lost interest. After all, it’s for them, not you.
3. Level up your social presence
Be present. Be relevant. Be engaged. Be consistent. Be social! It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you do have to start.
When it comes to social media for B2B, each post is a chance to engage followers (and followers of followers) with your messaging. This means you do need to have a strategy.
WHERE: Which platforms are the platforms your target audience uses? Which groups within those platforms? For example, are there local technology groups on LinkedIn?
WHAT: If you’ve worked on your messaging, you know what’s of interest to your target audience. Set four or five pillars upon which to build your content – and then only post content that fits under each pillar. For example: your company updates; recent successes; IT tips for better performance; brand personality. These serve as guard rails. When someone says, “Hey, we should post something about cryptocurrency because that’s so hot right now,” you’ll reply, “How does that tie back to one of our editorial pillars?”
WHEN: You cannot have enough eyeballs, but there is a tolerance limit. Several times a week is more than enough – interspersed with breaking news as relevant. Also, consider times of days and days of the week most likely to get readership from your targeted audience.
HOW: In addition to text and graphics, consider video. Video content, by far, has greater engagement than static. This is a chance to give a tip, tell a story, and promote the personality of your brand. In addition to adding to followers’ news feeds, get your name out there by hosting online events, sharing and commenting on other content that reinforces your editorial pillars, and comment on other posts (and groups). Don’t forget hashtags on your posts to create greater reach and liking other posts so your brand gets out there.
PLUS: Consider the power of automated posting tools such as Sprout Social or HootSuite which consolidates and plans your posts as well as delivers easy to view and understand metrics. Lastly, shouting into an empty room is not very productive, so overtly ask your customers to like and follow you and ask your employees to share company social media posts so there’s a greater reach with every appearance. Nerdwise Pro can help here by automatically encouraging your entire team to get sharing.
Lee Bird, President of Btech, #1 Provider of IT Security for Credit Unions, uses Nerdwise services to enhance their marketing funnel with quality content, retargeting and more.
4. Have an email marketing strategy
This tip is our personal favorite, and one of the most effective. Email is your main form of contact for your team, community, and yes, your prospects, too.
An automated email marketing strategy is the engine that keeps turning out opportunity for your business. Whether it’s yet-to-convert prospects or the best prospect of all – your current customer – you’ll have access to ongoing data to make it easier to adjust and improve your approach. Here are some fundamentals:
Segment your audience
Develop custom messaging that’s relevant to each segment
Know your target audience (and of course who the right decision maker is) and remember what they want to hear. Speak in their language and always provide value
Consider the days and times of the week most likely to deliver a message that will be opened
Create an email that’s personal and keep it simple
Check the metrics of who opens (and how many times) and who clicks any links within the email. Score these as engaged and follow-up immediately with a call
Combine this strategy with your social media, website, and all other areas of your marketing and your funnel will continue to be replenished
See how one client uses Nerdwise to optimize their email marketing strategy, resulting in 90+ meetings in 30 days.
5. Leverage intelligent follow-through
Salesforce says it takes 6-8 marketing touches to generate a viable sales lead; other sources say up to 15. With that in mind, you usually need to go further than our 4 previous tips. Follow-up looks different every day. The first step is to identify your most engaged prospects (Nerdwise can help with this) and leverage marketing to stay in front of them.
If they’re opening your emails, clicking your links, spending time on your website, follow-up.
Call them
Connect and engage on LinkedIn (actually engage)
Follow them and their company page
Invite them to upcoming events
Utilize re-targeting ads
Share value with them however you can
Top Small Business IT Firm says Nerdwise brings a cold call to a warm lead with our Lead Scoring app, Nerdwise Pro.
