Does your marketer need to have a niche?
It makes sense to hire a generalist marketer, doesn’t it? They can tackle any subject you send their way, they adapt quickly, and let’s be honest, they’re usually less costly to hire.
But hiring a generalist to take on your strategy isn’t necessarily the safe bet you think it is.
The days of mass marketing are long gone: we are now in the era of the segment, the persona, the target, the niche. Yes, love or hate the word, the elusive ‘niche’ is what all marketing gurus will tell you you need. It’s likely to cause you great frustration in trying to pin down; but it’s real and it’s imperative!
It makes sense then, that when it comes to effective marketing - and writing ever more sophisticated white papers - it takes niche marketing experience to navigate the nuances of any given industry.
A specialist might be harder to find and might cost you a little more in money up front, but choosing to partner with the right marketer will help you get to grips with your point of difference, get up and running quickly and can be a real source of insight into market trends, the key influencers and what your potential clients are up to.
And I know, because I am that niche marketer.
I’m the one who specialises in B2B content for those selling to the HR leader. I only work with people in this market. That’s it.
The long road to get to where I am
In the twenty five plus years I’ve been immersing myself in this market, I’ve come to understand through experience what I knew from the beginning in theory: that my knowledge gained from being part of the HR supplier world really does make a difference to my clients’ marketing and sales.
Of course, it’s not longevity that necessarily results in expertise, but I have been around long enough to sit in quite a vantage point and look on the HR supplier world. I haven’t seen it all but I certainly know more about this very specific niche than a general marketer would!
I think there are 5 reasons to hire an expert marketer with niche experience in the HR suppliers market.
1. They speak the language of your audience
If you’re working with a marketer, you want them to totally ‘get’ your client – and potential client.
You want them to know the problems they’re facing generally, what’s going on in the market and what options they might have.
It’s not just about the words your clients use, it’s about reading what your clients read, seeing what your clients see and being part of it.
Take me as an example, I read the same HR trade press, attend the same webinars and go to the same conferences as my clients’ clients.
This means that in trusting an expert marketer like me on your content marketing and strategy, you’re hiring somebody who is able to focus in on the challenges your client has, and deftly apply the language to position your product or service.
2. They understand your audience
And by the same token, where a general marketer needs to start afresh with each job, a marketer with a focus on a specific niche doesn’t have to spend time trying to get a perspective on what HR is talking about. They tend to know what’s being talked about in the market.
A general marketer has to constantly research new industries and learn the lingo.
With a niche marketer on the case, you reap greater reward for less leg work.
3. They don’t need micromanaging
Someone focused on your market will already know which resources to head to find out some of the finer details to help you build your point of difference.
Perhaps you’re thinking about a report or a white paper, an expert marketer that knows the market can help shape the outline from the get-go. Some of those technical resources that many marketers wince at — the validation studies and the peer-reviewed journal articles — I read and pull out the information your audience needs to know. Your return on time spent is maximised.
4. They can get to the heart of the matter quickly with clients
For many of my clients, I also have direct contact with their clients; interviews for case studies, quotes for white papers. They trust me to know what I am talking about, be able to build rapport with their clients and be the extension to their own team.
5. They come with a trove of ideas
Reading and writing about HR challenges and eagerly piecing together solutions for how they can be overcome is what I spend my time doing.
I’ll always have ideas for your articles, suggestions for your white papers, thoughts on your strategy.
I can see clearly see how and why you are different and what sets you apart - even if you cannot see it yourself.
We can co-create and develop each others ideas as we go.
When you invest in a marketer like me, you’re not directing a freelancer - that’s not what I am about. It’s a two-way relationship: a partner, a guide and a sounding board.
A good marketer is insightful, intuitive and informed. A good niche marketer also know the market inside out - and the trends going forward.