Whether its business or life, it’s impossible for us to survive in this world without taking help from outside. In essence, this is also one of the core principles of business. Business service industry comprises of organizations that provide support services to businesses, mainly security services, administration services, travel arrangement, waste disposal, cleaning etc. Many times these services do not come into the limelight as their nature is not that polished compared to the other shiny services.
A few years back, Stephen Mann, an analyst with Forrester once tweeted from the itSMF conference held in Norway that: “The whole room has been on ITIL training but less than 5% can describe what a service is.” So, for quick catch up on the meaning of business service, let’s turn to an old definition that appeared on a IBM white paper which goes like any customer, partner or user-facing group of applications, middleware, security, storage, networks and other supporting infrastructure that comes together to enable a comprehensive, end-to-end business process, transaction or exchange of information.
Business service industry – Before & now
Business service industry was originally founded on faxes, paper copies & delivery of snail mails and oversized cardboard boxes. Now the industry has shifted according to changes in technology and has implemented the ways of ecommerce, digital solutions & mobile access. It wasn’t easy and required creative thinking along with time. The revenue decreased by 1.2 % to $ 8.7 billion as the business service industry tried to keep up with the changes that happened from 2010 to 2015. And again, when the corporate revenue in the United States increased, the need for business services also increased simultaneously.
Majority professionals in the business service industry have already started embracing the technological changes as challenges. They are moving or already moved to digital for their operations. They are even adding apps & mobile experience to their service considering the fact that a major chunk of their clients operate via mobile phones now. Franchise business in this specific industry is also booming as most franchises need just a one-time fee & a share of royalties each month. The franchise fees also pay for advertising & marketing to get the name of the business out in the market. Centers of the business service industry among the low-cost franchises that can offer high ROI.
These changes in the business service industry also present tremendous opportunities for marketers to explore. But what can become confusing in knowing the techniques to apply for reaching the decision makers of the game for faster sales conversions?
Marketing techniques – Business service industry
As the world of business service has changed over the years so has marketing in this field. To maximize the opportunities in this field marketers should adapt to the changes in the industry & apply the techniques that work for the better promotion & sales of products and services. Let’s take a look at a few of the techniques that are trending in the market today:
Attaining Business service industry marketing database
The concept of targeted marketing has been there for quite some time but applying it in the modern business world can be a headache for any marketer. This is where the technique of database marketing comes into the picture. Attaining a quality business service industry marketing databases from a reliable vendor can let you attain marketing information of targeted audiences which can be used for sending out marketing messages by analyzing buyer personas.
Making Use of Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing has proved its worth to the business world no matter what the industry is. You will be missing out big time if your organization is not on social media. Marketers who represent organizations that provide products & services to the business service industry can take advantage of the various social media channels for marketing & advertising.
Do not forget print media
Even in today’s age, the importance of print media hasn’t gone down. It’s said that about 83% of decision-makers that too in the field of B2B still rely on printed specialist media to find out about products & solutions. This is primarily because of seriousness, neutrality, credibility & diversity of print media in the customer journey. Going forward, the importance of print media will be growing especially in the context of ePVO.
Good old cold calling
Yea, cold calling ain’t dead. Even in today’s world of targeted advertising and account based marketing, cold calling is still reaping benefits, especially in the field of the business service industry. Majority of the top level executives of corporates have come from a sales & marketing background. A well-executed cold call can definitely aid in gaining the attention of these executives which can go a long way in executing sales in the best way possible.
Time for selling – Business service industry
The world of the business service industry is experiencing changes like never before. The organizations in the field are receiving the recognition which they deserve and are growing amazingly in the market. This means that the time is perfect for marketers who are trying to sell their products & services to these organizations.
