As B2B Marketers we can be faced with the challenge of branching into new and untested markets. Environments where we have no marketing history, no means to set expectations, no sales pipeline predictability. Below are a few best practices we are using here at ReachForce as we look to make our next move. This is our approach to being more deliberate about targeting new buyers in new vertical markets.

Step 1. Customer Profiling

• Produce a profile of top customers in best performing markets.
• Identify universal characteristics and apply to new market to select top priority prospect companies.

Example – If you are currently seeing success selling into larger companies vs. smaller or companies that have many divisions or branches. These characteristics carry over multiple verticals. It’s a good place to start when venturing into a new space.

Step 2. Prospect Matching and Research

• Apply profile to companies in new vertical market to identify those with highest propensity to purchase.
• Find out where decision-makers, recommenders and influencers from these companies hang out. What associations do they belong to? What events do they attend? What newsletters or magazines do they subscribe to?
• Phone screen sample base to map the Decision Making Unit and understand unique vertical market needs, decision drivers, and pain points.

Step 3. Prospect Discovery

• Map profile to existing database to determine what contacts you already have
• Identify what companies and contacts you are missing
• Augment what your marketing database with role-based contacts, this enables more targeted lead generation programs.

Step 4. Marketing Campaign Execution

• Execute multi-modal Marketing Campaign to contacts focusing on key vertical pain points
• Leverage independent analyst reports, vertical customer case studies, testimonials, or awards to establish credibility in a new market when available
• Support Direct Marketing efforts with New Media, Search Engine Marketing, and PR programs
• Harvest responders, further qualify
• Funnel sales ready leads to Sales team

Step 5. Lead Nurturing

• Support Sales cycle by periodically reaching out to prospects.
• Provide information/offers to stay top of mind and encourage engagement.

For best results be sure to engage with sales before launching the new program and ensure they are on board to provide guidance and feedback throughout the process.

Before starting to explore your new world of buyers remember your dollars and sense. To execute a healthy ROI generating program it’s important to map out each step of the building process taking into consideration your budget, timing and appropriate follow up activity.

Click here for a template to help you build out your own vertical focused lead generation programs.