This morning I received the latest CIO update email. The subject line was “Questioning the Value of Recruiters” which, of course, piqued my interest. The “article”, which was really a series of 7 slides, recapped highlights of a study completed by IT job board Dice.com.
The presentation offered some interesting insights for technical (and other recruiters):
- 39% of IT workers reported that working with recruiters to find a job was not a good use of their time while 28% said they had a good experience; with recruiters helping them to get a job.
- Tom Silver, senior vice president for Dice commented: “Recruiters are an often forgotten, often undervalued resource. They provide insights that can’t be gleaned from a job description, like details of a company’s culture, the hiring manager’s background. or the needs that results in a job’s opening to begin with.”
But the best take home may come from studying the email itself. Even if you aren’t an IT recruiter, here are a few good lessons from this bit of email marketing:
- Targeted emails get read and are an excellent way to get your message out. I personally receive more than 500 emails each day, yet this one jumped out of my inbox because it was right on target. For your email to work, you do have to know your audience, and you need to use compelling subject lines.
- To convey a message the best medium may not be text. Slide shows, pictures, videos, etc. can often be more compelling than a long article. Alternatively, a short summary hitting the highpoints with access to a detailed article can provide the best of both worlds.
- Differentiating your service based on the pain points your potential clients have could be key to growth, even in today’s economy. Focusing on that 39% who feel working with a recruiter is not a good use of time, with a marketing campaign aimed at re-education, providing valuable information, and re-positioning yourself as a trusted advisor could open up new markets for your services.
- There are huge opportunities for gaining new business by leveraging data that’s readily available. The more you know about how potential clients and candidates currently perceive the staffing industry, the more you can create new niche opportunities for your firm. For example, by focusing your efforts on reaching those who (1) don’t even think of using your services or (2) don’t have a favorable opinion, you immediately place yourself into a market with little or no competition. While it may take more sales and marketing effort to win these people over, less competition means less pricing pressure.
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