How to: Get started with vertical content in B2B

Marketing teams go to the effort of creating vertical content for good reason. Essentially, they understand that creating content which addresses customers in a specific vertical market pays off. Even at the prospect of a daunting, time-consuming task…  

Vertical marketing is something that people like to talk about, but few actually do. This is because it requires a greater understanding of individual marketplaces, and so more work for everyone involved. Have we got you excited yet?  

We’re keen on creating vertical content. Making the effort gives you a huge advantage in being able to market to individual sectors with credibility and authority. Every marketplace is different, with its own niche dynamics and concerns. So, developing marketing communications that look at what you offer from your potential customers’ points of view are going to be much more effective. 

 Here’s how to get started: 

Focus on your priority verticals 

Target markets which are big enough to be worth the effort because they have a large enough sales potential, which have distinctive needs, and where you can be competitive. Essentially, make the most of your ability to create a much more detailed sales story, support sales teams with bespoke content, and engage non-technical clients with focus on their industry and concerns. 

Align service benefits by vertical 

What you think are the biggest selling points of your products might not all be relevant to all your buyers, because what is important to a buyer in one industry might be completely irrelevant to someone in a different industry or role. For example, we’ve produced varying content within the Edge services, but used the vertical mindset to target different audiences with the same product or service. For example, loss prevention in retail is very different to telemedicine in healthcare, is very different to telematics in transportation. 

You’ll see what we mean later. 

Get the right people involved 

To craft your vertical messages, you’ll need to engage your stakeholders and agree the messaging directly with salespeople talking to customers. Interview product and service experts and salespeople who work with each industry and take the time to find out what customers want to hear. You should also talk to marketing people, external creative and messaging teams that aren't too close to your core messaging, and ideally customers. 

Consider your campaign tactics 

When devising buyer personas to focus your marketing efforts, some of the key consideration are how and where, and indeed when, your target audiences consume content. When adding a vertical element into equation, although there may be similarities across all industries, it’s important to consider the individual preferences too.  

For instance, it may be accurate to assume that all CEO’s in all your target verticals are on LinkedIn, but what groups do they belong to, who do they follow, and what type of content are they engaging with? 

Understanding the different behaviours, motivations and habits of your industry-specific contacts is vital for effectively connecting with them. 

Take advantage of your campaign insights 

Use them to optimise your messaging and sales processes, and to understand more about how your priority vertical buyers think and how they engage with you. This should mean that the next communications you create for a vertical are even more focussed and effective. 

Create a catch-all message 

At the end of all of this, you may still want to have a well-crafted catch-all message for everyone else. Give them a reason to find out more. 

For example, we took horizontal messaging about Dell Technologies' Edge computing solutions, and crafted messages for retail, utilities and transport verticals: 

Retail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4oeUv2H2QM&feature=youtu.be 

Utilities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJF8oY-yGA8&feature=youtu.be 

Transport: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TDDQa92G1c&feature=youtu.be 

If you have complex products and services, vertical marketing could be the key to building better relationships with your customers. Get in touch today.