Vertical marketing is unlike horizontal marketing as it is geared to sell solutions to a particular company or organization. It does not serve multiple consumers as the solution it is selling is specifically designed for its clients. Because this kind of marketing is niche oriented and you cannot sell to more than one industry, there are certain strategies that work best. Vertical marketing works best when the seller positions the solution as the best for the client’s needs so that the client is willing to pay a premium price for the solution.
The first strategy for vertical marketing is to find how you can meet the needs of your users. This is to cement your solution as the best and the most effective. This involves research so that you can answer questions like what is the user’s biggest need and how you can help meet those needs.
It is advisable to think from the users point of view rather than the sellers so that your solution is more user oriented which will make it more appealing. If your buyer has another solution already in place, you have to come up with a reason why your solution is superior to your competitors. Find a point that makes it better; does it save money, or time or does it work more efficiently compared to the solution that your potential buyer is using.
The second vertical marketing strategy that works is to develop your solution. In most cases vertical customers aim to have a certain problem solved. In this case ensure that your solution can work as an individual piece and as a whole solution that will be able to meet the needs of the user.
This increases your marketability so that you can work as part of a bigger system or you can work to provide all the solutions that are needed by your user. To transform the various components of your solution into a bigger solution that can work as a whole may need added value from your channel partner.
The third strategy to use I order to successfully vertically market your solution is to market your solution effectively. The first thing you must do before you begin to market your solution is to determine who your target market is. In vertical marketing, you will need to sell your product to the user and you may also have to market to other audiences such as partners, consultants, system integrators among others.
Once you have determined who your marketing audience is , you will now brand your solution appropriately so as to appeal to your target audience. If you are marketing to partners or layered audiences such as system integrators, you will realize that your solution may be integrated into another solution as a part of it.
As you carry out vertical marketing ensure that your sales staff know everything about your solution and have specialized knowledge on the user’s needs and how to address them. Even if the solution is superior but the sales team has no idea how it work and functions then you may not be able to use vertical marketing efficiently.