Is Your Staffing Firm Targeting the Right Audience?

Are you confident that your staffing firm is targeting the most appropriate clients and candidates? How do you know whether your marketing efforts are focused on the right audience? Is your team in agreement with your identified staffing firm target audience? Management needs to assure that all team members are held accountable for delivering a return on your staffing firm’s marketing strategy investment, and the only way to truly achieve this goal is to make sure that you are reaching out to your ideal target audience. Your potential for future growth is directly related to your ability to effectively connect with your audience, so it is imperative that you understand who they are, what they want, and how they feel.

Audience Matters
Don’t be fooled into thinking that you already know everything there is to know about your target market. Trying to use a ‘one size fits all’ approach to your marketing strategy is a mistake that must be avoided at all costs. The best marketing campaign in the world is not going to bring in new business if it is targeted to the wrong audience. Staffing firm marketing research is needed to ensure that your branding and marketing efforts are geared toward the right group. In order to design a successful content marketing strategy and ensure a return on your investment (ROI), you must be able to identify with your clients and candidates and understand what issues are most important to them. Certain types of messages resonate better within specific demographics, so it is important to make sure that you completely evaluate your staffing firm target audience before embarking on a lead generation campaign.

Know Yourself
Since the creation of your company, have you added new services or have you gone in an entirely different direction? Are you focusing on a specific niche of the staffing industry, or would you like to explore new opportunities? In order to determine whether you have identified the right staffing firm target audience, it is important to make sure that you and your team are on the same page with respect to your business goals and marketing strategy. Who are your current clients and candidates and what do you know about them? Do your services offer a solution to a common problem or help take away pain in some way? The best way to identify your ideal audience is to examine your business from the inside out and target who is going to benefit the most from your services.

Know Your Competition
What makes your staffing firm unique and what differentiating factors make your firm stand above your competition? Who are your competitors targeting and is there a niche within the industry that is not being served? Conduct staffing firm marketing research to identify what benefits and specific expertise you provide for your audience that is not available in other staffing firms. Clearly identify your unique selling proposition (USP) in order to attract new clients and candidates as well as build brand recognition. By getting to know your competition, you are better able to identify points of differentiation and find ways to connect with your ideal target audience.

Sharpen Your Focus
Never try to be a jack of all trades. It is impossible to be everything for everybody, so it is important to remember where your strengths lie and hone in on the right target audience. Work with your team to create personas and use them to determine the age groups, income levels and types of professionals you are trying to reach. Are you only able to serve one geographic location or do you have multiple offices and more flexibility? Are your clients in need of candidates with a particular skill-set? Sharpen your focus and don’t try to appeal to an audience that is too broad. Specify the demographics for each campaign by selecting an ideal geographic location, educational background and experience level. Filter out some of the less-relevant audience members by individualizing your marketing approach and directly appealing to your ideal staffing firm target audience.

Get Inside Their Heads
An essential part of designing a successful marketing plan is truly identifying with your potential clients and candidates. Who are they and what do they value? Where do their interests lie and what is their typical lifestyle? Do they participate in online forums, and which industry influencers do they follow? What issues do they face on a daily basis and is there a way for your staffing firm to help alleviate some of their pain? Are they always on-the-go and relying heavily on mobile communication devices? It is imperative that you communicate your brand message in the most effective way, so be sure to pinpoint the marketing mediums and social media platforms that appeal to your audience.

Key Takeaways for Targeting the Right Audience:

1. Ensure that your team is on the same page with respect to your target audience
2. Evaluate your current services to determine whether you are targeting the right professionals
3. Understand your competitors and speak to your points of differentiation
4. Don’t try to market your services to too wide of an audience
5. Truly understand your audience by getting inside their heads and figuring out what appeals to them

About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.