Relationship marketing in the Executive Search Business

In the case of B2B companies such as recruiting or executive search companies, it is very important that they take these factors into account in order to differentiate themselves from the rest. It can be said that any B2B company has a customer or consumer on one side and a vendor or supplier on the other, both sides involving customer satisfaction, investment opportunities, and partner agreement renewals -all at stake. And therein lies the importance of the title of this article ”Relationship marketing”, a practice that ensures that both sides are stronger than ever.

One of our special guests, for a session of the Talentor Marketing Practice group, a marketing- business related exchange of ideas unit at our company, was Ioana Călin, an Account Manager, Business Developer and Communicator with international experience in different sectors, that shares with us her experience in consumer satisfaction and relationship marketing with a very interesting approach to the HR service providers companies.

Relationship marketing is the practice of building long-term and loyal relationships with your customers and clients, rather than focusing on one-time transactions as it would be a professional placement in the HR business. It can help you increase client and candidate retention, gain experience referrals (from both, client and candidate), and profitability, as well as enhance your brand reputation and value. With relationship marketing businesses can create trust and build a very nice community loyalty!

• In traditional marketing the strategies are based in short term time focus, like making a sale and that’s it, unlike relationship marketing that it’s focused in a long term one, aiming to retain a client.
• The client and candidate contact is also a key difference, because on traditional marketing the contact between both sides is low to average, meanwhile in relationship marketing is frequent, like having regular meetings and/or calls, which also influences in the clients/ candidates engagement. The more communication the company has with the client or the candidate, the more commitment a company can get from them.
• In the traditional marketing the basis of interactions from a company to their client is commonly feel like a “conflict manipulation”, and on the other hand, with relationship marketing it feels more as a cooperation from both sides.
  If there’s a problem or an issue with a placement, both sides have a seat on the table or make a call and take it from there!

People often rely on the opinions on others on deciding weather a company is trust worthy or not. Which company is worth to engage with. Thanks to the internet now we transformed from the traditional “mouth to mouth” to the phenomenon “word of mouth”. So the clients become the business decision makers.

In B2B sector specially the HR, investment decisions require more time and consideration. On the other hand, their relationships tend to be more enduring and stable. So, the key is to implement appropriate relationship marketing tactics to establish trust with your clients/ candidates and identify the optimal solutions for their needs and objectives.

• Focus on your costumer: In the HR providers companies, the client/ candidate is the heart of the business, so it’s a need to prioritize their satisfaction. Remember that when a person decides to engage with your business, they do so after much consideration because the relationship is likely to be long- term.
• Communicate effectively: You need to understand and match your target’s communication style. There’s a technique called “Mirror Effect” by Ernie Dimalanta (CEO of Dimalanta Design Group) that consists in adapting your tone style to your clients/ candidates. The recommendation goes beyond, doing that on virtual and face-to-face meetings, as to do it via email too!
• Listen before you respond: Is crucial to understand their needs and preferences before responding to our clients. For example, a high level executive might not have too much time to answer a full questionnaire about your HR services but they might have time to answer a couple of questions via email, so make sure that everything is clear when you ask for their opinion about your collaboration with them. This enables to evaluate your performance on the goal, identify areas of improvement, and demonstrates productivity.

• Define your goals and metrics: In the HR companies it goes more than a number of executive or professional placements. Take the opportunity to cross sell other HR services besides placements, that might be useful to that same client. Show them your invaluable support and in that way you will be their top of mind!
• Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs): Track some indicators on your CMR or the old plain excel sheet so you can be able to provide interesting data to clients if needed. This will make you more reliable for them.
• Analyzing the client feedback and satisfaction: Tailoring your communication to your clients is key. Before communicating with them, do a little research about the company, about the person, see what they post on social media (LinkedIn), etc. Interact with them!

• Adjusting your approach based on the results: Evaluate your progress and adjust your approach constantly. Remember, in the process of relationship marketing it’s very important to evaluate the strategies that you use, if they meet the expectations of your stakeholders, etc.