Vertical marketing is about the key industries where your company might want to sell or where your company is already finding some success and wants more. They are slices of your overall market, and some verticals may make up a good percentage of your sales. Vertical markets include industries like Healthcare, Manufacturing, Energy, FinTech, AgTech, Automotive, Smart Cities, and others that have unique challenges and opportunities. And these markets are becoming more important than ever for vendors to connect with.
But to sell in these markets, customers need to have a high level of trust that vendors know their targeted markets inside and out. Vertical marketing programs should help your customers and prospects understand five things about your company:
- You bring value to their market. If you haven’t already, write a value proposition for each vertical market you intend to tackle. It will help you stay on track with the rest of your marketing programs.
- You talk the talk. You know and understand the acronyms and jargon used in a particular vertical market and can use them with ease.
- You have helped other organizations find success. Use cases, case studies and customer references are great ways to show how you have helped similar companies in a vertical reach their goals. You should have at least one customer success piece for each vertical market you approach.
- You understand the vertical’s regulatory and compliance requirements. Each vertical market has a unique set of “rules” and some—like Healthcare and Financial Services—are more restrictive than others. Knowing and navigating the industry and these regulations is critical to your success.
- You’ve walked the walk. The expectation is that your team has the expertise and experience to help customers succeed in this specific industry. With senior-level people on your team who have done this before, confidence in your ability to show results will rise.
Want to learn more about how you can win new customers in your key vertical markets? Download Calysto’s white paper: Vertical Marketing: Why It’s More Important than Ever.