White Paper Reveals Changing Demographic of Human Resource Gatekeepers

As HR achieves a higher level of recognition by corporate America, a new breed of practitioners is emerging armed with business degrees and focused on the bottom line. The challenge for marketing professionals lies in pinpointing solid prospects and reaching the actual decision-makers, says a new white paper called ìMarketing and Selling in the Human Resource Marketplace: Winning Strategies and Tactics.î

The free white paper is the first of its kind to focus exclusively on human capital marketing strategies, and is produced by HRmarketer.com, the no. 1 marketing and media visibility service in the human capital industry.

The research paper explores the world of HR buyers, suppliers and content communities that inhabit the marketplace. It also summarizes and explains the various pillars that make up the community, as well as a host of specialties. Lastly, the white paper provides useful tips on selling to human resources.

Today, the paper notes, marketers face a changing demographic of HR buyers ñ including high-level executives, managers and staffers -- spanning a dozen specialties. There are hundreds of thousands of potential buyers, from large companies searching for better results in streamlining their internal HR services to smaller companies building out the basic human resource capabilities in-house or through outsourcing. The key to marketing success is reaching the correct gatekeeper, or influencer, within each organization.

ìBefore HR buyers can be targeted effectively, it must be understood how the function is organized in targeted organizations,î explains Mark Willaman, president and founder of HRmarketer. ìDepending on a companyís size and scope, the target may be the business owner who handles HR functions on their own, an independent employee benefits broker who represents the small business owner, or one of a dozen HR specialists in a large HR hierarchy.î

A popular section of the white paper is the HR Pillars appendix, where HRmarketer lists the various types of products and services, from job boards to compliance resources, being sold to the human resource department.

ìAccording to recent census data, there were over 1.2 million dollar private-sector firms in the USA employing at least 10 employees,î cites the research paper. ìThese firms employed a combined 102 million workers. Considering that most firms with 10 or more employees purchase at least one HR product or service, opportunities exist for a wide variety of suppliers.

ìWe define the HR marketplace as the sum of the markets served by HR software and service providers as well as by employee benefit providers,î explains Willaman. ìOur research shows there are over 50,000 vendors courting the HR dollar. The enormity of the space can be appreciated by the fact that you can work in one pillar your entire career -- recruitment and staffing, for instance -- and never hear of or know the major HR service providers in another pillar.î

The white paper is drawn from HRmarketerís years of experience working with more than 300 human resource suppliers. The paper also promotes a best-practices discussion on ways to effectively generate sales leads through coordinated marketing and public relations campaigns.

Highlights include:

- A full understanding of the HR Marketplace ñ buyers, opportunities, trends and how to capitalize on them.

- How to locate the actual decision-makers within any organization.

- Best practices for implementing marketing strategies and tactics to rise above the information ìnoiseî of competitors.

- Methods to develop a ìsphere of influenceî and target the varied ìinfluencersî among the HR marketplace.

- How to maximize media visibility through a blend of traditional media relations (press releases, media pitches and repetition), and new marketing technology such as search engine optimization (SEO), blogs, webinars and more.

ìFor more than four years weíve observed the characteristics of HR vendors who consistently execute winning marketing campaigns,î notes Willaman. ìThis white paper is the culmination of this experience and will help HR suppliers develop best-practice marketing and media visibility campaigns that effectively reach the increasingly coveted, and influential HR buyers.î

Located at www.HRmarketer.com, the marketing and media visibility service recently reported record sales growth and renewal rates this year, and has experienced 38 consecutive months of sales growth as of September 2005.