Now that we have uncovered the recruitment issues, it’s time to turn our findings into a workable plan to address this beast head on.
My initial plan is to give you a step by step guide to use for attracting and educating potential employees. The steps laid out will give you the foundations to start with. Help you think differently with the information I have uncovered and hopefully give you the stepping stones to start to find people!
First and foremost you need to write out what you want, and document all the bits and bobs candidates will find of use.
What to expect when you work for us! Document that explains your purpose, vision and mission! Make it clear what it feels like, sounds like by providing testimonials and thoughts from current staff members. Tons more can be found here
Surveyor businesses miss out on a very critical element when marketing their business so don’t make the same mistake with your recruitment process. You must be super specific about who the persona is, what they will do and the benefits they will receive. Outlining the key items and making sure you have addressed them will give you the foundations to hiring the right candidates.
You want to make it super easy for your candidates to understand the ins and outs of the job, your company culture and what to expect. Yes, that soft stuff!
Plus you want to make it clear what you don’t want.
See our check list here: “Step 1 Recruitment Marketing Campaign Checklist” on what to include. Your Foundations.
(which you can track through visitor numbers and actions)
A landing page is an essential part of any marketing journey and in this case your recruitment journey.
Put it in simple terms; it is the digital version of a direct marketing letter. It should be focused on a particular persona(s) (in this case the ‘Senior Surveyor’ position) and have an outcome ie. apply for the job
You have two elements to a landing page. The first is for organic search where users find the page from a Google Search Result also known as an organic SERP listing. Your page MUST deliver on the intent of the query searched and include your brand and what you are offering for it to do well organically.
The 2nd is a Marketing Campaign where a landing page is accessed via links that are promoted through paid advertising, email newsletters, socials etc. A marketing campaign is an organised course of action.
Make sure your online application form is mobile friendly and makes it easy for your candidates to take immediate action! Don’t make them use extra calories when filling in a form. Be extra clear on what you want
Did you know that 78% of candidates agree that the experience of the companys’ career portal is important while taking the decision to apply!
GULP!
Most of you don’t even have a landing page for your job vacancies. If you don’t showcase your value, candidates have no visible difference to go on. Make it super easy for them to chose you;
Download the checklist: “Step 2 Job Vacancy Landing Page”
Basically you want to answer all those questions the candidates will be thinking when they are applying or just looking.
Action: on a flip chart, discuss all the queries you could answer to satisfy your candidates questions. Write them down
This will not only give the lowdown on things, it will help to build trust because you are sharing key pieces of information, help with search engines finding you and remove some of the donkey work because it’s all on there taking the strain.
Click link here to download “Step 3 Answer all those questions”
As we know Social Proof is a big ‘swayer’ when it comes to buying anything and that includes buying into you! So make it super duper easy for your potential workforce to know why – here is your guide to building your proof.
Testimonials from your current staff members like Storm Geomatics. Get them into videos for smooth seamless watching!
Action: Example from Storm Geomatics Ltd video here:
A marketing campaign is an organized course of action to promote / or sell RECRUITMENT (in this case). Survey Business owners need to think like a marketer in order to see the wood for the trees.
Your recruitment campaign should fit within your existing marketing communications plan. It should target a specific buyer persona and attract and educate that persona.
Survey business leaders need to focus on educating the audience they are targeting.
“How can we engage people to educate them about what we offer?”
Click here to download the “Step 5 Recruitment marketing campaign checklist”
Now you have a plan of action and know your why, who, what, where and how. It’s time to get creative. With a big fat C.
Recruitment is tough with demand outweighing supply and a mindshift by the employee. You can’t advertise the same old drivel if you want to attract a new kind of candidate.
Each Survey business is unique if you think so or not. It is.
You have to find your uniqueness and communicate it in a way that attracts the right candidates that share the same values and passion. Survey companies need to get creative.
If you are a small survey firm and the big guys are eating candidates up for breakfast, how do you stand out? Not every employee wants to be a number on a zero contract deal. So Surveyors need to get their creative hats on.
Beamerly shares some ‘Off-the-wall’ campaigns that approach hiring problems in unique ways. Creative campaigns have a fabulous strong social currency and a great tactic if you want to go viral.
Examples of creative recruitment here – see details here
Think outside the box.
Action: Sit with your team and see if you can come up with some fun creative ideas that would attract your ideal personas. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just creative like using complex puzzles that target your desired applicant. A great example is GCHQ who used a cryptic message to entice new recruits. Why don’t you come up with a puzzle in the local paper ‘find the missing coordinate’ – its creative, fun and will boost your brand image.
Your marketing campaign has an objective and call to action. There are 4 stages in the process. These include
Surveyors must make sure they have a metric at each of the stages of the journey. No metric = going blind into recruiting. Do you even know what is happening?
Click here to download: “Step 7. Measure and Control the Journey”
Talent is a business priority for every business, not just within the Survey Profession.
From start up survey firms to large companies and government organizations like HS2 (UK) looking to find over 400 Qualified Surveyors within the next 5 years!
Finding surveyors is nothing new!
2008 recession, Brexit, covid19, Ukraine War, Politics have all accelerated the recruitment crisis. Some more so at local levels.
The shocking news is that the shift has moved from employer to candidate with people moving around, not being loyal to anyone’s company! Demand definitely outweighs supply but are we looking at this in the wrong light?
Did you know that 50% of the global workforce is now Millennial (those born between 1981 and 1996) increasing to 75% by 2025?
Their behavior is coloured by their experiences of the global economic crisis (2008) and this generation place much more emphasis on their personal needs than on those of the organisation! Covid19 has accelerated it further.
This is a global issue, not a local one. So what can you do about it?
It’s a problem – right? So,
In 2008 88% of the millennials surveyed by PWC were looking for employers with CSR (corporate social responsibility) values that matched their own, and 86% would consider leaving an employer whose values no longer met their expectations.
Did you know that 70% (CVVIZ) of candidates (all generations) use Google to search for jobs and research potential employers.
Did you know Millennials tend to be uncomfortable with rigid corporate structures and turned off by information silos. They expect rapid progression, a varied and interesting career and constant, yes constant, feedback.
We have not seen a corporate culture like it EVER! The trends are looking at us in the face and we are totally blind to it.
“Now you have an even bigger dilemma; you may be stuck in your old ways of marketing but you have to get savvy with your marketing to get people in”
Attract the right candidates! Find the right candidates! Communicate to the right candidates.
The thing is; over 83% of millennials use Google to search and with 50% of the global workforce now millennials are you even on Google to even get a look in? Do you know?
This white paper is an amalgam of the current recruitment crisis for the Survey Profession globally. It uncovers the dilemma of supply and demand and the latest global factor of a change in people’s attitudes post covid19.
It is not set in stone but these factors are affecting everyone who needs staff.
With my marketing hat on ‘of course’ I will share with you my findings and ideas on what you must do. I will not dive too deeply into retention as this is another can of worms for another day but I know one of the biggest weaknesses Surveyors have is lack of brand awareness and communication to their target audiences be it customer or CANDIDATES.
No one knows what a surveyor is! THAT IS A FACT!
Survey businesses need to get savvy with their marketing in the fact of communicating their value. Why? How? Content marketing is how you will attract and get across your value when done right.
Now I’m no recruitment specialist but I know a thing or two about marketing and how you can use this to accelerate your recruitment drive but first we need to unpick where this all began and what has changed so you know what you need to do next.
Having an understanding of the issues will help you assess and realign your recruitment efforts through marketing and in doing so raise your profile overall.
A job description was drawn up and conveniently squished into the organizational chart.. then what kind of pay they should receive. An advert or two was written and printed then the applicants applied. Easy.
Next you sifted through the forms to see who would be a good fit and set up interviews and within a week or so, offered someone a job.
Simple, right?
Covid19 accelerated things that were already happening.
Over 100 million workers or 1 in 16 people will need to switch occupations by 2030 according to McKinsey & Company. We are now seeing a mass of disruptive trends in:
BUT it’s not all doom and gloom… this is an opportunity, Geospatialers!
One of the biggest shifts in the aftermath of Covid19 which forced many employees into working from home and resulted in a complete mind-shift for both employee and employer is that employees are now in the driving seat!
Let me explain
The onslaught of emerging employee experience (EX) challenges
EX what?
Employee Experience Challenges
“that’s a mouth full”
According to Forrester Research “none of this rising focus has prepared businesses for the commensurate rise of EMPLOYEE POWER!”
Survey businesses have a challenge ahead of them.
How do they solve these different things employees now want? Heck, pre-covid there was a lack of surveyors and now it’s ‘I want different things in life!”
Unfortunately you are not in your own boat! Everyone is having the same dilemma. From nurses to engineers.
The shift of employee experiences boils down to a big change.
Survey companies are going to have to answer questions like:
Money isn’t everything. Millennials are attracted to employers who can offer more than merely good pay! 44% of respondents questioned in PWC’s survey said competitive wages made an employer more attractive but the biggest draw for millennials is the opportunity for progression.
Even a mindshift on career development is going to have to be studied if they want to keep said Surveyor!
The change is two fold;
It’s not just Millennials that want more out of life!
Covid19 has definitely taught me one thing; not to over work and! (cough!) it’s not what life is all about! Heck I’m now sounding like a Millennial and I’m Gen X!
While the new digital way of remote working is great for office staff, this isn’t the case with surveyors, or is it?
The change is flexibility or flexible ways of working. For example; instead of data processing back in the office, can it be done from home?
Survey company owners are going to have to think about this in order to attract and retain personnel.
Census data shows that the majority of people who took a new position weren’t even searching for a job in the first place! Some person hunted them down and then approached them directly!
As Peter Cappelli of Harvard Business Review (Magazine May-June 2019) comments; a business does not care if the candidates are searching or not, just find potential candidates to fill the funnel. And while I’m a big advocate for LinkedIn, LinkedIn is high up there on the recruitment companies radar for searching for potential candidates.
Persuasion techniques are commonly used to see if candidates will bite. They don’t even need to be looking for a job! As PWC found, if a new company has excellent opportunities for personnel development and a good reputation within its sector, higher than the candidate’s current role, millennials especially would have no hesitation to switch.
Hiring is tough and if you manage to entice a Surveyor to your biz, what’s to say they don’t get poached to the next survey firm down the road?
I’ve seen it with my own eyeballs, companies hiring from their competitors and vica versa. A scary stats from Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics in America shows that 95% of hiring is done to fill existing positions.
And data gleaned from LinkedIn on hiring, indicates that the most common reason staff consider other positions is career advancement. As Harvard Business Review May 2019 indicates “the root cause of most hiring, therefore, is drastically poor retention”
GULP!
Career progression and development is seen to be high up there with the employee experience change.
Company bosses are going to have to switch mantra from ordering to nurturing employees, developing a more mentor type attitude.
I can hear you thinking right now “lovely! I have enough to do already, they need to get on with it, I had too!”
… and that’s the issue right there!
Survey bosses will need to address how they manage and turn it around in order to put the emphasis on developing a well nurtured employee. Thinking about it is not going to cut it for the new candidate, proof and planning will need to be addressed and seen. This taps neatly into your content marketing plan and showcasing it for candidates to see.
Then there is the focus on a seamless cross-channel or omnichannel experience. “OMG Elaine… what does this even mean?”
Hold your horses
It is a fancy word for increasing product discoverability! In this case “increasing vacancy discoverability. YOU”
Candidates are looking for a seamless cross-channel (or omnichannel) experience; in other words the employee wants a hassle-free experience when it comes to finding the right employer. You can see why the Amazon platofrm has done well! It’s a seamless experience when purchasing.
For example, a candidate visits different sites and places (online and in-store) owned/ run by the employer and it feels integrated. Navigation is smooth and consistent. The experience is flawless and uninterrupted – making it super easy to navigate and FIND relevant information like “10 reasons why you should work for us?” or “What does a River Surveyor do? Is it for me?”. Instead of thinking in JUST a ‘mobile experience’ for example, we think in a holistic approach. Survey businesses give access to their products, offers, support and recruitment vacancies to customers on all channels, platforms and devices. Read more here from HubSpot
The employer needs to up their game when it comes to omnichannel interaction to make the experience as seamless as possible, thus attracting more of the right kind of candidate because they are satisfying the candidates thirst for information and education.
It’s exactly the same with buying and selling! B2B (business to business) buyers and sellers now prefer digital self-serve and remote human engagement over face-to-face interactions. Lockdown has accelerated it.
Recruitment and Selling are in the same boat!
So Survey businesses must think more like a marketer than a recruiter when it comes to hiring staff.
And finally a big one!
Otherwise known as Environmental, Social and Governance.
As I touched on earlier, Corporate Social Responsibility was already on the high side several years ago. Tied in with ESG, that has escalated the environmental and corporate social responsibility today.
ESG is not going to cut it with the majority of the millennial workforce with ticking boxes! You need to prove it! Show it! Hear it!
While recruitment is tough, it’s tougher to hold onto surveyors… and this is a golden egg you want to grow!
“Yes I get this Elaine! So what does this boil down to? What has this got to do with Marketing?”
Savvy Survey Business owners need to take this information and get selling but unlike selling a service, they are selling themselves to attract a new kind of candidate.
Before I dive into the HOW factor on what to do and where to even look for a Surveyor – I must ask how are candidates looking (if they even are) and what can a survey business do to switch mindset?
This is a very important part in any company’s armor. Why?
Marketing plays a HUGE role here. If your survey biz is being a sheep and following the same old ways of doing business, you will just be a number a candidate will pick. If you don’t pay any attention to how you recruit, candidates will have no value to go on – it’s the same as marketing your survey firm!
So how are candidates looking if they are not getting approached? Job seekers are using search websites like Google and also Glassdoor (top 55 job boards here).
“On average, job seekers use 18 different sources when searching for a job!” according to Careerbuilder.
Candidates are doing their due-diligence! So if your survey brand isn’t actually alive and kicking, what chance do you have when it comes to recruiting new surveyors?
Precisely! I rest my case!
You must treat it like a Marketing Campaign to start with.
Word of mouth is still the best form of spreading the word same with your marketing hat on and targeting well known brands like Jacobs (brilliant landing page btw) first who have career websites or pages showcasing what they have to offer – however you have no excuse not to have a dedicated recruitment page on your survey website – even if you are recruiting, or not.
Now like buyers who are looking to buy your survey services (74% (Forrester) find you before you even know about them) it’s the same with candidates; over 67% of them find you first before you (the business) even know that person exists
“67% of candidates find you first before you even know that person exists”
Nope I bet you don’t!
Since the pandemic even my mother who is in her 70’s has adopted ZOOM! Tech adoption and usage since the start of Covid19 has sent the digital world into spasms. The abrupt lockdown has forced folks to ‘go digital’.
They have been made to accept the new ways and no one is going back! So what does this have to do with recruiting surveyors? Everything!
It’s a business problem not a Surveyor seeking problem!
Companies are going to have to adopt a new mindset if they are going to stay in the game. Not only are they way behind with marketing their survey biz, they have a new dilemma when it comes to holding onto and recruiting new talent.
So here are the eight recruitment trends you need to hone in on.
the pandemic has made employees reassess what they want out of life. Working for an inflexible, stubborn, old way of thinking ‘type’ of company is not going to cut it anymore. Employees are now in the driving seat when it comes to choosing who they want to work for and they ain’t sticking around if you are sat in your old ways.
That also includes where and for whom they do it! So if you had little trouble attracting and retaining talent and are now on the other side. The recruitment dilemma is not just a survey one, it’s a global issue due to the mind shift post pandemic! So don’t be fooled or complacent people!
Action: review the way you do business to assist and cater for a more flexible way of working.
A hard one as we head into another potential recession but Surveyors need to think smart by offering bonuses and lifestyle swaps in exchange for compensation.
Packages need to be addressed and lifestyle is high up there on the radar of news – new post covid19 candidates minds. It’s not all about the money!
This is exactly the same as selling your services and the customer going with the cheapest offer. Said customer has no value to go on, so relies on the cost instead. The same goes with recruitment. There is no value shared so candidates are jumping ship. Survey owners are not focusing on whom and are stuck in a rut and recruiting the same old way.
Action: in the job application, include a poll for the candidate to tick reference ‘what is important to you’ – this will give you a good indicator on motivation
Survey biz will need to adjust to having a hybrid model where office staff can work from home and coming together for face-to-face experiences such as meetings, project updates and promotion opportunities are required.
Companies who fail to do this will feel the wrath of the employee. Savvy Survey businesses are getting down to the nitty gritty. 50% of respondents (132 votes) from a poll conducted by Storm Geomatics Ltd on ‘when looking for a new career or changing companies what motivates you the most’ showed ‘work life balance to be the number one thing with professional development coming in 2nd place at 24% See poll here for details which ties in with what PWC have learnt in their 2008 and 2020 surveys on Millennials.
Employee recognition will need a boost to attract and retain your new recruits. You will need to improve employee engagement especially since the pandemic when employees regularly went above and beyond to help their organizations through the crisis. Hays NZ have a nice staff engagement report to download here
Millennials especially will need a lot more feedback than what you have given in the past. Honest feedback in real time, yes real time will be needed to keep millennials happy.
Finding out what someone wants is half the battle. Meeting those criteria is the next challenge but you need to know what they are first. Use LinkedIn to conduct polls and ask questions that will give you some idea on what your candidates value. Heck, even ask your current employees what they really want (within reason of course). It will uncover some things you may have overlooked.
Action: Sit with current employees and find out what they value. List these and discuss what is reasonable to implement in your survey business.
Managers must shift to becoming more like coaches than supervisors.
But as McKinsey & Company points out “Being a good boss isn’t easy. A Gallup study suggested that only 10 percent of people naturally have all the traits required to be a great manager. The good news is that many of these skills can be learned” you can see where I’m going with this can’t you!
According to Harvard Business Review, 70% of employee development happens through direct experience rather than formal training, so Survey Business owners must review the way they manage in order to not only recruit but retain their staff
Action: Look at coaching courses you could put management through to develop their mentoring type skills and/ or assess coaching experts like Averil Leimon at White Water Group
The big thing now is ESG – Environmental, Social and Governance – are you showcasing what you are doing for ESG? This will become a BIG THING for recruitment to come. It’s a key priority globally so employers need to upskill their marketing communications and reinforce the good things they are doing to attract a new mindset in candidates like Storm Geomatics Ltd with their mission Storm Wildlife – seek opportunities to create and protect habitats for nature to thrive so that future generations can still enjoy life on our planet earth.
Storm Wildlife supports long-term projects and invests in land on a 30 year management plan. Ensuring land has time to mature into a haven for wildlife. Survey businesses need to take a leaf out of Storm’s book if they wish to recruit and retain Surveyors in the future.
Action: Review and assess your ESG values and devise a plan of action on what this would look like, sound like and feel like in your survey business.
Think outside the box she says, but the saying is true. Reaching out and attracting candidates that meet different objectives like advertising at rowing clubs to attract water based personnel for River Survey jobs?
Survey businesses need to attract and educate a different audience due to the pool of surveyors being at the low end. Not only thinking of where but how?
Using new methods like mobile advertising or launching a competition in the local newspaper. People spend hours on their phones each day so it makes perfect sense to launch a mobile marketing recruitment strategy.
According to Truelist the number of mobile users worldwide will reach 7.33 billion by 2023 Yikesssss! And mobile advertising spending is expected to surpass $240billion by 2022 so even if you don’t jump on the bandwagon your competitors will!
Another thing to take into account is that Google is the preferred choice of 96% of smartphone users globally!
Action: think about plotting out a mobile marketing campaign for recruiting new surveyors.
Adopting automation and redesigning the work process will need accelerating if you wish to stay in the game and on the recruitment curve.
Reassessing processes that can speed up mundane admin tasks like email marketing and customer service automation. Survey businesses will need to think about their internal processes in order to reduce the donkey work and spend more time on the stuff that makes the money. Point 1.
Point 2. Automation tools will augment the workforce by optimizing workplace processes according to Andy Karuza, head of marketing at Base64.ai It will also mean raising the skill capacity of the current employees so ‘ticking’ the ‘training box’ and retaining more personnel.
Same goes with investing in the latest technology that will enhance your workflow. Despite the Chinese whispers of Geospatial Manufacturers down skilling surveyors, the reverse is true; it’s speeding up your processors and automation.
Efficiency is key.
Action: Make a list of all the tasks you have to do on a day to day basis. Can you replace them with automation? Who can take over this task?
I am not shy at promoting and boosting the brands of my employees and nor should you. Your people are your brand and by coaching them to make a name for themselves is a great way to share what you do and attract like minded candidates. It not only boosts their confidence, they feel valued and trusted.
As defined by Meltwater “employee branding is the perception created by employees and potential employees about your company as a workplace”
Your people can clearly position your company as a great place to work and showcasing them is a great way to build your brand.
According to everyonesocial, positive employer branding helps to attract and retain quality employees, who are crucial to the success and growth of the business. As PWC mentioned in their survey, millennials want to work for a company with a solid reputation and culture.
Employees represent the brand on the front line, so great employer branding filters through to the employees which helps with recruitment . Branding is therefore consistent instead of ad-hoc because everyone is on the same page. The downside is the exposure of good people being poached, however, it boils down to your culture, hiring the right people who fit into your way and good leadership skills. If you are losing people, you will need to assess the true cause of poor employee retention.
Action: Sit with your employees to discuss the company’s brand. Find out what they really do think of the business and does it fit with your brand values?
Now that we have uncovered the recruitment issues, it’s time to turn our findings into a workable plan to address this beast head on.
My initial plan is to give you a step by step guide to use for attracting and educating potential employees. The steps laid out will give you the foundations to start with. Help you think differently with the information I have uncovered and hopefully give you the stepping stones to start to find people!
Enter your details below to reveal a link to the guide:
Talent is a business priority for every business, not just within the Survey Profession. Large construction projects are offering huge packages which are having an impact on smaller survey firms all over the globe.
Covid19 has accelerated the shift in employee mindset as well as a shift in demand for different things, thus sucking the life out of certain industries.
Surveyor leaders need to stop talking and take action if they are going to solve this crisis now! While Get Kids into Survey and other organizations are heading up the longer term plan of brand awareness of the profession, the problem is today. So what can survey companies do today to fix this issue?
First Survey companies need to educate themselves in the new way. Understand what is happening, then plan out a course of action by making a plan on what they want then executing on it.
Setting up a Marketing Campaign focused on recruitment. Understand and know their buyer (candidate). Building in a journey candidates will take and developing a marketing communications plan that attracts then educates the candidate thus attracting new recruits to the demand to be filed.
Unfortunately there is not a quick fix. Mindset will hinder many survey firms in implementing this. Only a few who take the bull by its horns will succeed – the same as marketing your survey company.
So you are intrigued to know a little more about GMA? To understand what The Geospatial Marketing Academy (GMA) actually is, how it works and how we support you through your journey to increase sales quickly by enhancing enquiry quality.
Documented within this video is the following:
And….if you purchase GMA on the phone with Elaine, you also get the following
Book at call with me to find out if GMA is for you!
There is a fear if one publishes prices on their Survey Business website, it will be a race to the bottom. Disaster will strike, you will lose your business, your livelihood and your bread and butter.
This is an article to highlight the very subject, dissect it and stick it back together. I have outlined FOR and AGAINST for publishing pricing on your survey website. I have dived into both elements giving my best non-bias look at each argument.
If you are even the slightest bit intrigued about this subject and wish for your eyeballs to be opened WIDE, then continue reading. If you are not, see you later!
I have concluded by providing you with a simple guide to publishing prices on your Survey Website, what to do to educate your marketplace and enhance your Survey business
Note: this is a world wide poll, meaning there will be descripencies between the survey profession due to different laws, regulations etc in different countries. Not all answers will directly apply depending on geographical location.
Why is pricing such a controversial topic for the Survey Profession and wider Geospatial Community?
Has the way people shop completely changed?
We all know when we want answers we turn to the internet. It doesn’t matter what business you are in, we all do it. The problem is most Survey business websites do not address some of the most essential, common and easy to answer questions about their survey service and related Geospatial solutions. One of the biggest ELEPHANTS in the room is PRICING.
“Despite this reality, many business websites fail to address some of the most essential questions their potential and existing customers have, especially when it comes to the subject of pricing” Social Media Examiner
Change is here to stay.
With the baby boomers retiring and millenials taking a firm grasp of a new way of doing-business; Surveyors have a big dilemma on their hands.
Transparency is becoming clearer and clearer especially for the Geospatial Industry.
So I put this to the test by launching a poll on LinkedIn April 3, 2022. The poll stipulated a very firm question “Should Surveyors publish their prices?” The results were as follows:
“Why do so many make the claim that posting #’s leads to a race to the bottom?”
“The downfall of the community is when we compete in Price not in Quality”
“Any man and his dog can go and buy some equipment, call himself a surveyor and set to work, charging minimal prices”
“Companies are stuck in the past and don’t value their services”
“Individual survey tasks have different human hours due to the area, accuracy, method of surveying, quality”
“Been surveying for 35 years and never had two exactly the same”
“Too many factors on every survey to have a “standard price” although I’ve been asked for that more often than I care to remember”
“There’s many factors when pricing a job, but if we all started sharing a pricing schedule, it would soon turn into a race to the bottom, and not quality or what extras you do to ensure your clients are happy with your end product, just a price war”
“Personally, I publish my prices for the types of work I do. Also pay ranges on every job posting. Let’s lead the way forward together”
“Surveying is a professional service, not a commodity. There are too many unknowns for price lists or bids”
“Publishing prices educates the public about the specialized knowledge required that happens in the field and in the office.”
“No to publishing prices. It just tells you who is cheapest and drives prices down even further”
“Every job has its own issues – we aren’t pricing for a tin of Heinz Beans”
“Surveyors should publish their value”
“This is commercial information and every contract has different terms and conditions such daily rates lump sum liquidated damages etc etc”
You can see why it is controversial, so many conflicting factors but as a Surveyor owner, what should you do?
How should you handle this? Why?
Should you even handle it?
Is there something I am missing as a surveyor? Am I burying my head?
Is there a legal, ethical side to publishing in my country?
Are we commoditising the Survey Profession by ignoring the fact of pricing?
Are we ignorant?
Let’s look at the arguments for and against publishing pricing:
“Publishing prices will create a race to oblivion and the whole industry will suffer. Surveying, like many professional service businesses, should not be viewed as a commodity service” Neil Beaumont, Director of Operations at Centara Utility Mapping, UK
Richard Shepard, Managing Director, Utility & Transmission Survey Solutions Ltd explains “there’s many factors when pricing a job, but if we all started sharing a pricing schedule, it would soon turn into a race to the bottom, and not quality or what extras you do to ensure your clients are happy with your end product, just a price war”
And John Palatiello, Partner at Miller/ Wenhold Capitol Strategies LLC mentinos “Surveying is a professional service, not a commodity. There are too many unknowns for price lists or bids. Additionally, this is a state licensing board ethics violation in many states, resulting in a fine or revocation of the license to practice”
That being said, Surveying can be a very complex matter especially if the project at hand is of complex and sensitive nature. Demonstrating value is crucial to this point. Therefore showing pricing on your survey website may not make sense. It will also depend on the country you are in and the legal element of that geographical state – if applicable.
For example; John (USA based) makes a valuable point “state licensing board ethics violation in many states, resulting in a fine or revocation of the license to practice”. On further investigation and checking out several statute regulators; Mississippi Conduct for example; explains ‘assurances have been given by the prospective client that factors in addition to price were considered in selecting the professional surveyor.
however the argument here is if the surveyor publishes his/ her prices – there is no assurance that the prospect has selected, on the basis of qualification and competence, one surveyor for negotiations. Therefore, a published price list is a violation of this ethics rule. Note: I am not a lawyer so seek independent legal advice here if you are unsure.
As Lisa Singer, Research Director at Forrester writes “by making pricing public, you risk turning the conversation into one about pricing before you’ve had a chance to tell potential customers about the offering’s value. However, if the offering is in an established market and buyers generally understand its value, publishing pricing may be justified”
Publishing pricing as a “standalone” figure with no context or value supporting it, is a sure way for the market to only go on price alone resulting in an out of control race to the bottom of a very dark hole.
The Surveying Profession is not a known career in the wider joe blogs public, even when they become aware, the market is not familiar of the expense of being a surveyor, the education, cost of delivering a service, educational level of the surveyor, therefore the argument against publishing would be a firm NO.
However many Surveyors work alongside engineering firms, construction and other companies where Surveying is known. So this raises the question of would you publish your price on your website depending on the niche you are in?
“B2B customers are increasingly expecting consumer-like experiences, such as immediate access to a product’s pricing clearly stated on an organization’s website” Forrester Research
As Nick LaFond, PLS at 1LS Surveying explains ‘why do so many make the claim that posting #’s leads to a race to the bottom? Have you actually tried it or are you assuming!”
Nick goes on to add “I think the hourly rate is less important to the client than: 1). The final cost of the survey, and 2) your ability to complete the work in a timely manner” He then says “the feedback I continue to get is that my rate is higher than everyone else but they are spending less total to get their questions answered”
As Donmarl Camua, Graduate Surveyor for Geometra Consulting Pty Ltd in NSW comments “Base on my experience in the Philippines, many clients are unaware of the processes and activities being performed in one survey project”
Let that hang there “Unaware”
“Unaware of the processes and activities being performed in one survey project”
Camua goes onto say:
“Social media has been a major tool used both by clients and Surveyor to get survey projects (mostly from private individuals). Facebook groups are used to crowd source proposals and quotations. It’s good and provides free advertisement but because it’s public, there will be trolls, unlicensed and suspicious people. I try to educate when I respond to posts in these social media groups. If the public is properly educated on the process of the survey and the warranty/guarantee a licensed surveyor will provide… charging above the industry price is possible even from individuals”
Evan Akar, registered land surveyor and director at Land Strata Surveys, NSW, Australia says “What I learnt by working for the government was transparency in all aspects of any business will protect the business. I think publishing rates or even having same rates (under a certain scheme) is not a bad idea 💡
“There is a strong argument for publishing prices, as such transparency can often accelerate the sales process and increase sales productivity” Forrester Research
Su Leone, Turning Spatial Data into Maps says “Publishing prices educates the public about the specialised knowledge required that happens in the field and in the office”
What is super clear is that there are two factors at play here
1). Lack of communication of the value of a surveyor to back up prices
2). The lack of context around ‘pricing’
The marketplace (the customer, the audience) is uneducated, unaware and naive
Second, the surveyor is somewhat ignorant, stubborn and a dinosaur which is killing the Industry in more ways than one.
By publishing prices backed by content that supports that price not only educats the audience but builds trust. So my answer is YES.
This choice is yours but this is my opinion:
I hear you loud and clear Surveyor.
“No two surveying projects are the same”
“There are too many unknowns”
“It’s an ethics violation in many states” (USA)
but, think of it this way; if you were the buyer, wouldn’t you want to have some idea on the price? And wouldn’t you have questions around that price?
Your market doesn’t want to hear “it depends”
2nd something drastic has to change and it needs to start now
Publish or not publish but make it super clear to your target audience
Make it easy for them!
Transparency = trust
Trust = Relationships
Relationships = money
Those who embrace this will reap the financial benefits over and over again.
The conclusion is stop being ignorant that publishing your price will be a race to the bottom of a dark hole.
You are commoditizing the very thing you are trying to protect.
As Marcus Sheridan, Author of They Ask You Answer comments in the post “The act of mentioning pricing doesn’t commoditize. What commoditizes an industry is when the marketplace doesn’t understand the value proposition of something or someone, and therefore ends up choosing the cheapest option. In other words, IGNORANCE is what commoditizes an industry, and when surveyors (or anyone for that matter) don’t take the time to teach the marketplace (via the internet) 1. What drives cost up 2. What drives cost down 3. Why some companies are more expensive than other 4. Why some companies are cheaper than others — they are allowing this ignorance to exist, and the ultimate commoditization of the very thing they were trying to de-commoditize in the first place.”
“To begin with, stop thinking of pricing as something you need to hide from the customer, and start thinking of it as something to bring up for the sake of the customer” Hubspot
The argument is not about publishing the price-alone, it is about educating the VALUE of the service and the surveyor or business to the market.
Are you educating your market on what you do and why you do it and are you reflecting this by exaplining your price?
Are you helping the audience make an informative decision or are you making it god damn hard to understand who the prospect should or should not choose?
Have you ever lost out to Joe Blogs Surveys down the road even though you know they do a shit job?
Precisely!
Communication is the golden egg. Traditional methods, the old ways of doing business reap the golden eggs of the past resulting in strong reputations and references.
Surveyors are holding onto this and are not changing to the way things are being done today!
If you don’t stand up, communicate your VALUE to the marketplace then we are going to be in serious trouble!
Chris Jackson makes a valid point “it’s quite ridiculous, people with a 1k drone are charging more per day than a surveyor with 30/40k of kit, ridiculous insurance premiums and high levels of knowledge and skill!!!”
This addresses the importance of transparency and communication on what you do and why you charge the higher premium
So what do you mean by Communication Elaine? Let’s hear what Dan Kovert, VP of Client Relationship at SJCA Inc. USA has to say
Dan clearly understands his niche and knows when a prospect isn’t right for them. He knows who his buyer is. He may not publish his prices but his clientele know the value behind why charges what he charges.
Evan makes a great comment “I do prefer transparency”.
What is interesting from the Australians compared to the Americans (some states) is every member of the public can request access to all governmental documents, which as he comments is super transparent and anti corrouption.
I have provided you with a simple guide to publishing prices on your Survey Website. It is to the point and will give you the ammo to embrace this ‘got balls’ way.
So you are intrigued on how to embrace the pricing question?
For those willing to publish, here is a simple 5-step guide to publishing prices on your survey website in order to educate your market place.
Explain by using content marketing to back up your price. Your prospects come to your website to find answers inclduing “How much will it cost?”. Give them the price of a basic survey for example but back it up with supporting information. Your audience [prospects and customers] want valuable content that is informative, trust worthy, easy to digest and helps them make a good logical choice. It also reduces the sales cycle because 60% of your buyers have already done their research. By understanding and implementing content marketing to support your prices for your survey business – it will increase the right audience, improve conversions, enhance your brand and improve your trust factor. When it comes to publishing your prices, use content marketing to support the why behind your price.
Back up the pricing with content pieces that explain the following:
Look into other topics that your audience may be thinking or may not necessary be aware of – like how long it takes for a surveyor to be trained (this reflects in the price of the job)
Squash industry myths, hec even have a counter argument on why.
These pieces of content will not only improve your search engine rankings but it will educate your target audience.
For more complex; bid proposal, tenders etc – which can not necessary be published but content that explains, references old projects and gives transparency will educate the marketplace
Know the steps in the Customer Journey. By understanding the full customer journey road map for your audience. You can dissect it to address ‘with content’ certain elements of that journey – making it easier for your audience to continue on their path for a solution.
Carla Johnson, author, explains the customer journey in her blog “The Difference Between Customer Journey and a Buyer Journey”
The customer journey starts with customer not aware of their problem, customer aware they have a problem, research [done by the customer], consideration then into the buying journey; purchase, retention and advocacy.
Write down and answer all the questions your audience has including price and be clear on the value they will receive. It not only gives your audience an insight, it builds you as an open honest survey firm willing to give the market the bigger picture and show transparency which results in trust.
Back up your pricing with references, quotes and social proof from your current customer base. Show the ‘value’ and why clearly.
Finally, focus on a particular niche. If it’s the high margins you are after then this is crucial, why? No focus – you will be running around like a headless chicken trying to satisfy every element, every part of your market without giving any one part the attention it deserves, this not only erodes your margins, you become good at none of them. Another reflection of price is the niche a Surveyor is in. If you are low end, no frills, low prices – aiming to pick up the waifs and strays then price is low for that reason alone. But that may not be the niche you are aiming at. Marketing plays a huge part in educating the marketplace. Making it super clear on who you are targeting will also stop price wars and cheap Joe blogs surveys winning the business because they undercut you!
Fancy learning how to increase sales quickly by enhancing enquiry quality? A proven process in 10 weeks? Find out more about The Geospatial Marketing Academy here.
Here are the MAIN areas you should not overlook when considering outsourcing marketing (your client engine)
This is for Geospaital Businesses who sell data, processing, tools and technology and for Survey businesses providing a service
Outsourcing as defined by Jonathan Web at Forbes Magazine “is about moving internal operations to a third-party”.
Have you considered outsourcing your Marketing? Before embarking on outsourcing, here are 7 key things you must consider:
Firstly it is important to understand WHAT you are looking to outsource as a Geospatial Business. If it’s lead generation activities or content marketing for example. You first need a goal. No goal and you may find you head off in the marketing agency’s direction, not yours. Sounds ironic doesn’t it, even though you are considering hiring a 3rd party marketing company to run your marketing affairs – it’s important you know what you want!
You want to find out how long they have been doing the subject, what results they have gotten their customers? Understanding if they have actually done it is super useful. For example, Paul Reilly one of EBL’s Sales Trainers in the Geospatial Marketing Academy, has worked with his father and sales trainer for many years as a consultant and teacher (Tom Reilly Training), however he wasn’t always a sales instructor. He used to work for Hilti organisation selling to customers in the petrochemical and power generation markets. Paul is a natural sales kinda guy and Hilti recognized this when he joined their Hilti Master’s Club in 2010 and was recognised in 2011 with Hilti’s Three Million Dollar Sales Club”. He can walk the walk! (psst… i was recommended Paul by Tom Seiler and I first hired him for TopoDOT to understand call planning, conversations and closing)
This is a tough one because there are very few and far between Marketing and Sales dedicated consultants within the Geospatial Industry. Hec I coined the term “geospatial marketing’! Haha.. but this is a hard one because our industry is technical, unknown to many outsiders and Surveyors and tech firms are pretty poor at communication! (yes I’m generalising there but its very true) Stuck in the 90’s Marketing of very outbound kinda methods and waaay behind on the new ways of marketing that is actually working and proven.
This was one of the main reasons I started EBL because I was so sick and tired of hiring consultants, attending courses and then spending my time educating the consultant on what we did! It was exhausting. And I was paying them!
Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing companies out there but the trick is to find them! Here are several questions you can ask when interviewing for the right one
What you are trying to convey here is an understanding this outsourced marketing agency understands a more technical B2B business. If you can find an agency that has some experience, it will massively reduce your costs when it comes to ‘time’ to educate them. Bear this in mind.
For Geospatial Marketing Consultants like Charlie Whyman and Kevin Corbley – they are very well connected within the Geospaital Industry – adding a further bonus of who they know to their CVs!
This goes back to skills and experience. Be careful, if you go for a lower rate of fees, you may get the junior account manager who doesn’t have the experience.
I have experienced the dark side of this which cost me £21k, yes that is 21,000 pounds with NO and I repeat NO results! Just a lot of fluff!
At EBL, we have two very experienced Account Managers. Janeale with a background in Trimble, Esri, Laser Technology as well as Marketing, socials and Business strategy (was part of her family run business) and Hannah who used to market laser measurement equipment to the mining, quarry, offshore and forestry sectors globally and now works close with Hexagon and The Drone Pilot Academy. Both highly experienced and capable women!
One of the great things about outsourcing your marketing is the time factor. You have instantly picked up a marketing department who can roll out a ‘hopefully’ well versed marketing plan that gets you results. However be patient, if you have no current systems in place for lead generation for example, then the donkey work has to begin, which can take a while.
Ask them if they will do an onboarding review to understand your business and get the nitty gritty down first. Remember you are paying for time when you outsource (some will do it on tasks) but the majority on time. So if you are paying for several hrs per month; what is involved in that. Usually the higher the rate you are going on experience but ask if you are not sure.
Marketing Agencies do this day in day out, so it should take them less time then hiring a marketing manager who will need to be brought up to speed and who hasn’t got a back up team to fall on (like other more senior marketers unless he/ she is a member the Geospatial Marketing Academy where there is a dedicated Community forum)
Remember you will need to put some time aside especially the smaller your business is, an outsource company may not know the industry, terms and ways – so time will need to be spent educating them on this subject. And this is why you may be better off hiring in house and getting them a Geospatial Marketing Academy Licence – like what AerialSurvey.com did for Ella McConnell. Her onboarding was GMA!
Does this outsourced agency keep up with the Marketing Industry? Are they equipped with the newest trends, techniques etc?
Even though these are not necessary crucial for you, it helps that they are keeping up with the latest trends, knowledge and their own skill sets. Ask if they attend marketing industry conferences like Social Media Marketing World, Content Marketing World or do they keep their skills up to date by attending regular training? Do they have a mentor? Don’t be afraid to ask them these questions; it will give you a ton of insight into their personality, company culture and way they do things.
You pay for what you get! Usually the higher-end the costs, the more experienced and proven the agency’s track record. Here are the key things you pay for:
I hope you have enjoyed my opinion on considering outsourcing your marketing if you are a Geospatial Equipment Seller or Survey business.
Ironic ah! But it is as simple as that.
Here is why
💀Platforms like LinkedIn like you to stay on LI and are therefore tweaking and changing things so you stay put. You used to export your contact list but that disappeared a few years ago now
💀 Remember Google +? Google what? Precisely
💀 Remember Facebook crashed on 4th October 2021… and it brought down WhatsApp, Insgaram and other related FB owned sites. How many small businesses would have suffered? Yikes!
Ok ok… now i don’t mean to put a dampener on LinkedIn as I love it but your number one focus must be to build your own platform. But what do i mean by that?
This is what to do:
✨ Build your email list, thats right. The number one thing to do is to build that list… hark… “but i don’t know what to talk about” – NO EXCUSE… more on content later.
✨ Build your connections on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube but Invite them with a capital I, to your platform. Building a great network with great relationships is great! Three greats there… but get them signed up to your platform
When they are with you, they are much more secure, you can save your lists, and when the 💩 hits the fan, you are not left high and dry!
Next week 23rd March I will be giving a LIVE webinar on how to increase sales quickly by enhancing enquiry quality. I will also be sharing with you the biggest mistakes Geospaital Businesses are making when it comes to winning clients. Three things the successful organisations have theat the struggles do not then i’m going to leave you with some proven tips you can take away right now to get you moving in the right direction towards increases sales quickly by enhancing enquiry quanltiy.
1️⃣ Customer List – those who have purchased from you already. Goes without saying but this is your gold 🏆mine for further💰, references and depth. This person is worth so much to you!
2️⃣ Build your Sales Pipeline. Those prospects who have signed up for a demo, a call or trial etc. By building this list, you build your customer list. The more full this pipeline is, the more volume of sales and💰comes out.
3️⃣ Build that email list, through funnels, posts and even advertisements. This then feeds your sales pipeline.
4️⃣ Build PERSONAL connections on LinkedIn, Instagram and even Facebook which grows your network. Interact and talk to your connections, build a relationship. ⚠️ Remember your network feeds the pipeline.
Don’t just grow the size of your lists, DEEPEN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS EVERY DAY!
Strategy 1: Every single day you should be bonding with your network via posting content, which keeps your brand ‘top of mind’
Strategy 2: Every single day you should be liking, commenting and messaging your network to boost the algorithms and putting your brand (name) in front of your network
To find out more join us on 23rd March https://www.elaineball.co.uk/free-webinar/ on how to increase sales quickly by enhancing 👉enquiry quality👈!
Folks who are great at this in our Industry are Charlie Whyman, Paul Burrows and Christiane Zhao 💗
✅ Focus on a niche (a segment of the market). For example don’t just say we do “laser scanning” or “boundary surveys”, focus on the specific areas like “Engineering firms who outsource Surveying” or “River Surveyors” like Storm Geomatics Limited who specialise on a particular segment of the surveying market. The more focused you are, the more targeted your marketing can be therefore the more likely you will attract the right kind of customer (= more profit!)
✅ Prospect every single day. Go out and make sure you are finding 10 new potential companies/ people who could be a client. This will build. It doesn’t take long “30mins daily” but keep it going!
✅ Build relationships with yoru target audience even if some will never buy, they have friends. Marketing is all about relationships – it is the best form of marketing.
“Anyone who promises to change your Geospatial business by taking your hard earned dosh is worthy of close attention, even if I say so myself” Elaine Ball
I’m naturally open minded to most things but the older I get the more skeptical I become!?! Is it a limiting belief or am I becoming a wise old dame? Anyone who promises to change your Geospatial business by taking your hard earned dosh is worthy of close attention, even if I say so myself.
I started Elaine Ball Ltd, a marketing and sales consultancy firm for the Geospatial Industry – back in May 2013 because i was sooooo frustrated at the LACK of consultants and coaches in the field of Geospatial BUSINESS!
Let me take you back to 2007 when my father kicked my butt right out of my comfort zone and stuck me head first into the role of Managing Director at MDL.
Measurement Devices Ltd (MDL) was founded in 1983, a global pioneer in manufacturing eye-safe, laser-based, time-of-flight measurement systems used in scores of applications worldwide in quarrying, mining, marine positioning, aviation, civil engineering and traffic control.
My dad, Steve Ball is a innovator and designer of ‘tools’ – from bore hole deployable cavity scanners that measured voids to collision avoidance systems for the offshore sector. Steve, a mine surveyor and hydrographer who trained at UEL [before it was UEL] and landed himself in Africa working for the likes of BP and Shell and dodging bullets during river surveys – decided his career was to design rugged innovative tools for measurement in harsh environments. So MDL was born.
So I was booted out of my comfort zone and landed myself in the role of MD, I mean MANAGING DIRECTOR SOL! (Shouting Out Loud). 27 years old, female, the bosses daughter. “Oh bloody great! a recipe for success NOT” My butt was skyrocketed into the role of the boss! “Jeeeezzzee Dad! Thanks!”
Of those who don’t know me will soon find out I am very tenacious! Steve said to me “you will either sink or swim Elaine” knowing fine well I wasn’t going to sink! [CRINGE] 27 year old me had to find a way to get out of her family bubble and sort this 💩 out!
Through my network I came across:
Maybe it was my age but I wanted to grow personally and professionally and I didn’t want to let my dad or the 40+ staff down either! I had to be strong. And I had to squash my skepticism and find a way to WIN!
Unlike most of you, I didn’t have any help! I knew of no sales or marketing people who had experience in Geospatial or Manufacturing or dealing with surveyors!
So………….. DON’T BE SKEPTICAL Geospatialer, be cautious and do your homework but be open minded!
You want to understand what they have done because you don’t want to work with folks who haven’t been there or done it. Today my mentor is a billionaire!
If they are already working within the industry, ask your network about them. Even set up a call and see how you feel about them. It won’t hurt.
There are several great people within the Geospatial Community who are really very good and I’d recommend them too. These include Charlie Whyman who used to sell Riegl Laser Scanners and now has her own B2B Marketing Consultancy called Curious B2B Marketing or Kevin Corbley who owns Corbley Communications Inc a Marketing Communications and Content Creation for Geospatial Organisations Worldwide Since 1993. Kevin is very well respected within the community all over the globe.
My mission is to up level the Geospatial Industry Globally by giving Geospatialers the proven marketing and sales tools I never had – you can find out a bit more about me here
If you are a Geospatial business who wants to succeed, to be the best, to Uplevel – then you know how I felt! Finding folks in our industry who know the workings of it, the lingo, the language, the network is gold. Skepticism is good but don’t let your limiting belief patterns stop you from succeeding. I didn’t and it has got me far!
Thinking of outsourcing your Marketing for your Geospatial or Survey business? Read this first!
Is content marketing a smart move for your geospatial business?
Content marketing can increase awareness, interest, and consideration from your company’s ideal customers or clients without breaking the bank. It’s also a great way to stand out from the competition and give your audience the information they need to confidently choose your business.
Getting started with content marketing doesn’t require a large team or expertise. Instead, it requires planning, follow-through, and collaboration with other teams in the organisation.
Take a deeper dive into what content marketing is, why it’s an important part of geospatial marketing, and how you can tackle future content marketing projects that will make you into a superstar!
Content? And Marketing? Put simply, content marketing is planning, creating, and sharing content that benefits your audience while also supporting those big old fat juicy business goals. This content can have several objectives such as teaching, entertaining, providing an offer, or differentiating you from competitors. Oooh, tell me more! Plez!
You may be asking why you need content marketing if you’re already focusing on marketing efforts in other areas like social media or email. Here’s the reason: most geospatial companies operate in the B2B space (or businesses selling to other businesses), and B2B buyers love content! In fact, B2B buyers will look at about 13 pieces of content during the buying process – “really, Elaine?” – and most of that content comes from the product or service provider as opposed to a third party.
In the geospatial industry, creating content can be complex since a company’s audience can include potential customers with different levels of technical knowledge. For instance, a technology provider like TopoDOT, a point cloud processing company that sells software to surveyors, would have an audience made of geospatial experts and non-experts. This creates a unique challenge for geospatial marketers as they plan their content projects and decide who to write for. It can be overwhelming and mind-boggling, to say the least!
Content marketing is nothing new. Content Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi published a timeline of early examples of content marketing going back to Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1732. The almanac gave farmers helpful and entertaining information like weather forecasts and puzzles while also promoting Franklin’s printing business.
Just like historic examples of content marketing, modern content marketing should provide value to the audience while supporting the business. Although the right content can provide a high return on investment (ROI) for businesses, creating it doesn’t have to be complicated. Instead, think about it in three simple parts: strategy, creation, and analytics.
Content strategy simply refers to your marketing plan for content. Set the goals you want your content to accomplish and create a plan for achieving them. For example, if you work for a surveying company, then one of the company’s goals for the year could be to increase awareness locally about your services. You could aim to do that by posting regularly on your company’s blog.
As part of your content strategy, you would plan a content calendar detailing when to post and what topics to cover. Then, you’d determine which metrics to use to measure your success. You could set goals for the number of page views and time spent on the page to determine content performance.
Whether you focus on blogging, creating YouTube videos, hosting webinars, or other content, making a plan is essential.
This is the fun part! Start creating the content that you put on your content calendar. Enlist the help of your colleagues when you can. For instance, ask a surveyor or product developer to be featured in a video or quoted in a blog post. You can also ask the company leaders to share their thoughts on where the industry is headed or future plans for the company, which is considered “thought leadership” content.
Make geospatial marketing a team effort, and look for strong writers – note STRONG writers – or colleagues who are engaging on camera to feature. You will be super surprised at how many you have in your organisation! If you are a one-person company, ask your nearest and dearest clients to chip in! They’ll more than likely jump at the chance to help since sharing their story will be a win for them AND you.
Now that the most time-consuming part is over, it’s time to see how well your efforts worked. Look back at the metrics you chose to track in your content plan and see how your content performed. Google Analytics can help you track metrics on your website like page views, and other platforms like YouTube will have built-in analytics.
Look at the data and think about questions like:
1 ) Did I achieve my goals? Why or why not?
2 ) Should I adjust my goals in the future or set new ones?
3 ) Which content was most successful, and how can I create similar content in the future?
4 ) Which content was least successful, and should I avoid similar content going forward?
You won’t have all of the answers at first, but over time, you’ll start to notice patterns in the data that help you to make better content in the future.
New companies make their way into the geospatial industry every year, from hardware and software providers to service providers and consultancies. As companies try to find their place, they’re often competing with other start-ups as well as big-name companies that dominate in their markets.
Even when companies have a strong USP, or unique selling point, it can be hard for them to differentiate themselves in the eyes of customers. That’s where content marketing comes in. BOOM!
Content marketing helps businesses in crowded spaces (where you are sandwiched in like a sardine in a tin) to stand out from the competition. It gives them a chance to emphasize their values and the value they offer customers and clients.
Content marketing also gives businesses a chance to connect with the different types of clients that they serve. For instance, if a company makes geospatial software that can be used by transportation, forestry, and government departments, it’s not likely that one message will resonate with decision-makers in each of those spaces.
Businesses can create separate content assets for each industry focus. Once they have those assets, they can share them in strategic locations where the right audience will find them: on industry pages on their website, in groups on social media, and in targeted email campaigns.
Now that you know why content marketing matters for geospatialers, it’s time to get started. Keep these five tips in mind when building your strategy, creating content, and analysing performance.
Anyone who’s taken a writing class has probably heard this advice before. “Show, don’t tell” basically means to paint a picture for the reader to experience and interpret instead of spelling everything out for them. This advice is handy for content marketers as well.
Instead of listing out features and benefits in content, use quotes or stories from customers to show how your products or services have helped them. Or, describe scenarios where the product or service can help potential customers. Tell a story instead of sharing product specs.
Let’s say you have the idea to share one tip each week about land surveying for estate managers like the National Parks UK. The purpose of sharing these tips is to demystify land surveying for people who are unfamiliar and to highlight your expertise in the area. Should this be a video series, blog posts, LinkedIn posts, or a Facebook Live event?
If you don’t yet have historical data to help you make the decision, you can try one medium for a few weeks and then switch it up if you think you can get better results. You can also post to multiple mediums and compare the engagement results. Or, you can see what’s working for other geospatial companies, and start there. Over time, you’ll start to see what gives you the best ROI for the time and money you put into your geospatial marketing.
Where you distribute your content should be based on where your ideal customer hangs out. Are they on LinkedIn? Do they spend a lot of time on YouTube? Are they in Facebook groups or industry forums like Laser Scanning Forum? Do they usually prefer email newsletters?
You can find out this info in a few ways. One is to send surveys to your past customers to understand where they prefer to see your content. You can also check out the spaces where your competitors distribute content to get an idea of channels to try. Another key place to find data: ask the sales team! They’re working face-to-face with potential customers every day and are bound to have some insights based on conversations with them.
With content marketing, work smarter, not harder. Once you’ve created content that’s performing well, brainstorm ways to turn that content into more content. You can turn videos into blog posts, blog posts into an email series, and emails into podcast topics. Content projects shouldn’t be one-offs, especially when they perform well. Reach larger audiences through additional mediums.
Set regular intervals to examine your content performance – monthly is a good place to start. Take a look at the data, and see which pieces of content performed the best and met your goals. Use that data to plan future topics, rethink content mediums and distribution channels, and set even higher goals.
Content marketing is a low-cost way for geospatial companies to stand out in a constantly expanding industry. From surveyors to equipment makers and everyone in between, each business has something to say; geospatial marketing content offers the chance to share your message in a way that benefits customers and clients.
Although content marketing can be complex, it doesn’t have to be. Focusing on three steps – planning content, following the plan, and analyzing the results – can bring companies closer to their business goals.