Did you know that there are over 190,000 HR professionals around the world?
Each one of them would make a great prospect for your product, but only if you understand them before you begin your sales pitch. Most HR tech companies struggle to market to HR professionals, usually because they don’t pay close attention to the needs of who they are selling to and why.
Human resources professionals carry out a variety of functions ranging from recruitment, on-boarding, compensation & benefits, employee engagement, training & development, labor relations, compliance, CSR etc. Depending on the size of the organization, all these functions may be carried out by a single person or there may be a full-fledged HR department with a tall hierarchy. Today, the internet and an array of automated tools have enabled offloading of a lot of mundane tasks. Yet, HR professionals at all levels are incredibly busy and difficult to reach.
Implementing the following 8 tips will help you understand your potential clients and market to them more effectively.
1. Identify their pain points
Attracting and retaining talent, improving productivity, enhancing employee engagement and lowering employee turnover are some of the major issues facing HR managers. Sometimes these solutions come in the form of automation tools, but their implementation requires a buy-in from the executive level which is usually a big hurdle, especially in organizations that have a tall hierarchy.
Moreover, if they already have a tool in place, switching technology/platforms or even vendors for that matter may mean re-inventing the wheel which can be incredibly time consuming & expensive.
This challenge can be easily addressed by conducting interviews with real customers, investing in market research or simply by partnering with an inbound expert who can help you deliver the right information to the right person at the right time.
Need help building your buyer personas? Use this easy template
2. Create content offers that address each specific pain point
The best part about inbound marketing is that it is not actually selling; it is about pulling people in by being helpful. By creating content that provides solutions, you make the prospect feel valued and cared for. Here are some exciting content ideas that can help you get started:
- ROI Calculator
The ROI calculator helps the senior management, often the final decision maker; understand the returns on their investment.
- eBooks
Consider writing eBooks on critical pain points. For example: eBook on Improving Employee Engagement or Attracting and Retaining Top Talent
- Checklists
Create a simple checklist with pointers for selecting the right HR automation tool.
- Quizzes
Quizzes are interactive, engaging, helpful and an excellent way to capture leads.
3. Show up where they’re spending time
The importance of staying active on your prospects’ favourite platforms cannot be over-emphasized. By mere-exposure effect, people tend to develop a preference for something simply because of its familiarity. The same phenomenon comes to play when HR Managers who spend a lot of time on platforms like LinkedIn for recruitment and networking keep coming across your LinkedIn page, profile, posts in LinkedIn groups, etc. Create a powerful presence by posting helpful content, answering questions, starting discussion threads, sharing opinions or research reports. This establishes you as a thought leader. Also, mark your presence in industry-specific conferences and events by making strong connections.
4. Leverage ABM
Account-based marketing is extremely beneficial to industries such as HR tech. ABM involves compiling the companies you want to target, identifying the relevant individuals from those companies and reaching out to them with a personalized message. Once you’ve made these connections you can start an authentic conversation with your prospects either by email or phone (or both!). Always personalize your outreach.
5. Be helpful, not promotional
The best way to build strong connections is to solve the pain points of your audience. If you end up promoting your product or service too early, you risk damaging the relationship and miss out on the opportunity entirely. First build trust.
6. Develop case studies
Everyone likes stories, especially if they are easily relatable. Sharing case studies with common pain points and resolutions can be an ideal read for your prospects. A case study can prove to be the tipping point for making the final purchase decision.
7. Nurture them
HR Managers love content. They spend a lot of their day on the computer doing Google searches, browsing through content, creating an excellent opportunity to get your business in front of them. Once they download your content offer, you can nurture them by sharing more resources that they may find useful. You can do this with the help of drip email campaigns that will nurture the prospect until he/she is ready for purchase. Learn more about simple hacks to grow your email list in this informative free guide.
8. Be mindful about your subject lines
Remember, there are likely several companies just like you who are pitching to the same client. Making your email stand out is the real challenge. The best way to ensure that your mail gets the attention it deserves is by using personalization and by A/B testing your subject lines to identify what’s working and what’s not. Also, don’t skip over the preview text section, thank us later.
Inbound marketing is a win-win for the HR tech companies as well as the HR Managers. It helps the HR Managers with solutions, tricks and techniques to resolve their major pain points, whereas the HR tech companies gain a deeper insight into their buyer’s perspective, thereby helping them reach out to the right prospects with better offerings, at the right time.
