The challenges of marketing to the IT community

by John Brave Blogger

Marketing is always a challenging aspect of any business, but there is no doubt that marketing to the IT community can be particularly tricky. Apart from anything else, the number of Internet companies utilizing VPN technology will be extremely high, meaning that their IP locations are hidden, and adverts don't reach them. A private Internet access review shows VPNs can be highly useful for both business users, and naturally, the IT community has embraced VPN technology enthusiastically. This only makes marketing to them more difficult.

And then on top of that, IT professionals are savvy when it comes to the strategies that advertisers and marketers typically use. Marketing to marketers in the B2B technology sector must be one of the hardest aspects of commerce, as these individuals have an in-depth knowledge of the product and technology landscape, along with the way that marketers target consumers.

However, there are strategies that can be used when marketing to the IT community and B2B marketers, so in this article, we are going to examine some of these approaches.

Effective Marketing

The first thing to note when it comes to marketers is that they themselves wish to purchase products and services that will enable them to implement technology more effectively. We shouldn't necessarily assume that IT professionals are cynical about technology; rather they began as enthusiasts and will have retained some of this enthusiasm despite their familiarity with it.

What IT companies and B2B marketers with Rajasthan Online Test really want to see is technology that will result in the highest return on investment. You should therefore logically build a strategy around this concept, and ensure that your marketing spotlights you as an innovative company, which delivering something that others in your industry are unable to do.

Social Media

A good way to start with marketing to IT companies is to utilize the popular social media networking tool LinkedIn. The “Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to Linkedin” survey in 2017 discovered that 91% of marketers use the social site in order to distribute their content, meaning that it is more popular even than the big hitters such as Facebook and Twitter.

You can also build up a massive network of contents via LinkedIn, providing any potential customer with a valuable reference to your company's quality. And the aforementioned LinkedIn survey indicated that members of these sites are 50% more likely to purchase a product or service from a company that they've communicated with on LinkedIn. So that's definitely a good start.

Market Research

Market research will also be absolutely essential, and any company looking to sell to IT vendors should conduct and leverage studies and data projects. IT companies need to be ahead of the curve, and this means keeping abreast of all industry trends and data. Far from suffering from cynicism, you can instead benefit from being the company that presents IT firms with new and valuable information.

This means that marketing to IT companies doesn't necessarily involve the role of marketing that is often utilized when targeting less savvy firms. Instead, data-driven surveys, important studies, and enlightening white papers are all valuable sources of marketing material. You might even learn something yourself of which you were unaware, and this process of revealing knowledge and data will be particularly valuable to marketing executives.

Leadership Opportunities

Another valuable way to market to both B2B marketers and IT companies is to take advantage of thought leadership opportunities. The concept of being a thought leader and influencer is now ingrained in our online culture in particular and thought leadership achieves three particularly important goals.

Firstly, it improves the visibility of your brand, Meaning that you have a greater and more credible presence online. Secondly, you are able to generate new leads through this process, literally putting yourself in contact with a new business. And, thirdly, you can build trust with both new and existing customers by taking advantage of thought leadership. Suddenly, your voice is a valued one, and business will begin to flow into your company more readily as a result.

Keep Things Simple

There is also a temptation when marketing to savvy individuals to create something incredibly complex, with the intention of impressing them. However, this is a seriously misguided strategy. IT companies will see straight through this and will tend to view dense marketing materials as gratuitous, and effectively fluffy.

What IT companies want you to do is cut to the chase, and get down to the very core of the problems immediately. If you deliver businesses in the IT niche then provide customers with something of which they were unaware previously, and present this in a straightforward and convincing manner. You're far more likely to complete a sale if you stick to this simple rule. The IT industry doesn't stand still for long, and this means that companies are always seeking innovation. If you can deliver this innovation in a soluble and comprehensible form, you greatly increase your chances of doing business.

Unique Lens

Another thing that it's important to understand both B2B marketers and IT professionals is the ability to view the process through a unique lens. Most people are not aware of the intricacies of the marketing process, whereas these individuals undoubtedly are. This means that your approach to marketing must reflect this target audience, And personalization can be particularly effective with IT businesses. Learn what their core trade is, and then tweak your messaging in order to feed their major sources of business.

Equally, people in the IT and marketing industries will easily recognize techniques that are often used, such as scarcity, reciprocity, social proof, and so on. This doesn't mean that you should entirely remove them from your marketing to such individuals, but they should certainly not be the emphasis of your marketing attempts. You should instead emphasize empathy, authenticity, and substantiated claims while making things as brief and concise as possible.

Marketing to IT professionals can be done effectively, but it is vital to always ensure that you speak directly to the specific customer. Remember that IT professionals understand the challenges that marketers face in this area, meaning that they will be more receptive to campaigns that have real substance.