Marketing Thoughts for the Offsite Storage Business

Transcription

1 Marketing Thoughts for the Offsite Storage Business Introduction In order to ratchet up business success, most offsite storage companies could benefit from stronger marketing efforts. Current marketing work by many offsite storage firms is far less effective than current techniques in other industries such as smart phones, tablets and firewall technologies. The good news: because so many companies in offsite storage have weak marketing, you will be gaining extra benefit by improving your marketing skill sets. First steps Here are some of the key elements in improving your marketing efforts: 1. Better technology for your comparative marketing data. Studies show that clients often complete 50-60% of their research before you learn that they are open to new products and service providers. If 60% of a prospect s effective opinion is formed about your company before you have a chance to add critical elements, you need to understand what their take- away is from your current marketing (web site, newsletters, advertising and brochures) and what elements you can add at the last moment to close the deal. Naturally, this means that you must upgrade your ability to understand, collection and organization of essential data. A compelling argument on your web site. You must define your value proposition Immediately, clearly and compellingly on the home page of your site. This should be one of the first steps you take in improving your marketing profile. (TCO, BER, and Failsafe History over three decades for offsite media vaulting of tape back- ups.) A stampede model for the site. When the site is properly set to convey your essential message, you must create a program to get visitors there. Developing a stampede model to drive interested participants to your web site is critical to your success. 1. Search Engine Optimization. That critical compelling argument is weakened if you do not have a search optimization program in place. Google and others make this difficult by continually changing the rules. They may force you to use pay- per- click and their consulting services to improve your prospects which can be a temporary fix as they will simply change the rules in the next quarter. This is exhausting, and it s complicated by the fact that in some cases pay- per- click really can be a part of a successful marketing plan. Developing a volume of intellectual papers within your site can overcome this disadvantage. Content and message Many other elements define a successful marketing program, but these are essential in getting started. It s also fundamental to make sure that your site is providing substantive, valued content. A web site with real educational value will perform in the long run and also educate visitors to your seriousness and experience. Wiki sites have dominated simply due to their

2 valued content on certain selected topics. Would you say your site offers this quality of support? If not, you ll need to revamp and improve your content. If you evaluate your web site honestly, what is revealed as the take- away impact, your top- of- mind brand or message identity? What is the brand you hope to achieve? What are the features, benefits and advantages that characterize the brand? Organizations spend years promulgating a message that becomes their corporate identity, only to find that the message is vague when coupled with actual reputation and performance. You must also indoctrinate your staff with this baseline message. If they don t believe it, they won t support it in face- to- face calls. It is important that everyone have the same sheet music. Remember also that In the technology world, your partners influence your brand and your success. Your peers not only influence the markets opinion of your company but these same vendors can effectively drive new clients to your web site, your product and your brand. (e.g., FIRELOCK.com, through its directory, forwards over 15,000 searchers to its User Group.) Vertical Marketing/Fulfillment Marketing Among the overlooked strategies for polishing your corporate identity is vertical marketing. If you succeed in garnering business from health organizations, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, it says a great deal about the trust that the market places in your product. The key to winning these vertical markets is fulfillment marketing. That is, providing value to these verticals so they become a concentration for you. This accelerates your overall marketing work, as the experience you gain from winning one account quickly helps your sales staff walk the walk and talk the talk as they focus on a similar organization. Properly managed, this leads to word- of- mouth referrals. In these high- value markets, this is a critical asset. These specialists rely on peers for their decision making. Case Study: Fulfillment Marketing: FIRELOCK provides its Offsite Media Vaulting User Group (FAN Club) an array of marketing tools to assist the group in increasing its lead closure rate. By providing vault brochures, white papers for web sites, banners that define the vault features and cut sheets, the new vault entrant speeds their market penetration. The lead forwarding from FIRELOCK.com was yet another component of this Fulfillment Marketing. While it may be obvious to assist vault users in marketing the vault to potential clients, Fulfillment Marketing can be carried over to other Vertical Markets. For example, medical clients use the marketing materials to demonstrate to regulators the security of their records program. In an age of HIPAA violations, this is worthwhile. The same was true to Law Firms, E- Discovery costs have exploded and law firms recognize the value in demonstrating to their clients that proper vaulting, Data Mapping and specialty

3 tracking software can greatly reduce Discovery and Review costs. This helps insulate their clients and in the competitive world of winning litigation clients, this is a feature they can use to sell their firm. By focusing on a vertical, your sales staff become experts. They develop special knowledge that leads to confidence and they become trusted consultants in their market concentrations. These sales people develop new pride in your organization and this also helps build your brand. You differentiate yourself from the jack- of- all- trades marketplace that wants to win clients but brings nothing to the table. This kind of marketing demands knowledge sets, self- confidence and superior products. Maintaining the customer base In the offsite storage industry, the largest players continually buy up the smaller service providers but over time lose these same purchased accounts to new vendors who arrive and deliver what the market really wants: 1) Excellent service 2) Honest pricing 3) Continuity of contact 4) High security The independent who can honestly display a fair pricing model and demonstrate what the client can expect for that price will eventually win the client. They ll win even against certain industry Goliaths, because some of the largest players, in their arrogance, do not feel they owe the marketplace that kind of value. Their own sales people know that their contracts specifically exclude true representations of vital records security from the contracted relationship. True professionals rely on transparency and sincerity in their message and their service offering. It s a solid- gold advantage. But claiming to offer transparency and sincerity and then failing to deliver tells the client exactly who you are and this blunts future marketing attempts. Planning for success The impact of all this strategy is especially powerful in Vertical Marketing and Fulfillment Marketing, as you make specific promises to a dedicated market. Failure to perform can create long- lasting negative effects. To be effective, your website, your staff training and your products appeal must be fully thought out in advance. And you absolutely must deliver on every promise. This planning must be carried across the entire marketing spectrum. By planning your marketing presentation to a vertical, you develop a strong understanding of the market s needs. You then spread that message into your website, develop a Go to Meeting

4 presentation to support the marketing, and create an IPad or Tablet marketing presentation for each vertical. These presentations must speak directly and specifically to the risk sets for each client vertical. Medical presentations will focus on HIPAA, corporate programs on PII and SOX violations. Legal presentations will address risk management with regard to data mapping, electronic discovery and records support for litigation. Remember, each presentation strengthens you for other market segments. While the use of canned presentations is not the best solution, the development even of those presentations absolutely strengthens the sales program. It makes you consider all representations of your marketing platform and develop an effective synergy. Self- evaluation of the marketing effort Evaluating your network channels and strategies to recognize voids in your overall presentation and avoid unnecessary overlap will make your marketing more effective. Consider these questions to help you with this important self- examination. 1) What newsletters do you use? a) Is the message hurting you more than helping you? Is an inside joke with your sales force and a few clients spread to potential clients who don t see value in it? b) Do you try to consider the value of your website, based on what visitors tell you about it? c) Does your website merely repeat a message that fails to support your brand? 2) Do you attend tradeshows? a) Is your message correct and consistent in your displays? b) Do you need different messages for different prospects? c) Is the image you present high- tech enough? 3) Do you use YouTube on your website to achieve higher rankings and disseminate useful information? a) Are your videos high enough in quality to help rather than hurt you? b) Can you borrow YouTube content from your vendors, partners or sister companies? 4) Does your marketing program present data protection from the client s perspective? a) How do you differentiate yourself from competitors? b) How do you add value in the field of data protection? c) Do you make it a point to ask clients questions that help you understand their perspective?

5 5) Do you evaluate your competitors changing messages? a) How are those messages changing? b) Who are the competitors targeting? c) What segments do they struggle with? This could be your new market. 6) Are you taking advantage of partnerships with vendors with shared interests and similar markets? a) Partnering with affiliates to approach high- value clients from multiple vectors growth can be factorial in combination. b) Shared newsletters or partnering on case studies benefit both partners. Hugh Smith - - President of FIRELOCK The author has spent three decades working to secure some of the World s greatest and most valuable collections. Protecting those artifacts that represent the lifeblood vital records of corporations, the keystones of museum collections and art that enriches the world for coming generations. The FIRELOCK Carrousel is populated with creatures that represent art, music, entertainment, commerce, heritage and culture. The FIRELOCK Affinity Network (FAN Club) has played a huge part in securing the vital media and documents for World Commerce and we thank each of our partners for taking their clients' business continuity so seriously that they invested in the ultimate Media Vault.