Perspective

Get Your Name Out

Why the Book of Lists is an easy marketing tool

By Subadhra R. Sriram

“Of all the marketing tactics staﬃng ﬁrms can employ, the Book of Lists has the highest bang to buck.” — Jon Osborne, Staﬃng Industry Analysts’ VP of research and editorial.

What if I said giving an hour of your time could land your ﬁrm’s information in front of a customer that is looking for a vendor like you?

You may be tempted to dismiss it as a marketing gimmick. Don’t.

Easy Marketing

This is exactly what the Staﬃng Industry Analysts Book of Lists helps to do. In fact, statistics from our Buyer Survey back this up. In it, we asked customers how they heard of the vendors they ultimately engaged. Twenty-seven percent said they found their suppliers on a published list.

A common complaint against staﬃng agencies is that traditionally they don’t really “market” their services. They want to be found via cold calling and building relationships through attending conferences and networking. But here’s the thing about the Book of Lists. You don’t have to network or cold call to get your name out. And it’s almost free. All it requires is around an hour of one of your executives’ time. Of course, your CFO must make sure that all your numbers are accurate.

Inside the Book

Here’s what the Books of Lists holds. It covers companies engaged in all the main niches of staﬃng. From oﬃce/ clerical to marketing/creative to IT and healthcare skill sets, the lists display the largest ﬁrms by revenue, illuminating industry leaders and the ever-changing competitive landscape.

It also tracks the fastest-growing staﬃng ﬁrms as well as women- and minority-owned staﬃng agencies. Firms that make some of the larger lists like Largest Global Staﬃng Firms or America’s Fastest-Growing Staﬃng Firms view this as a badge of honor. Staﬃng Industry Analysts even provides an icon to be placed on your website or email signatures.

In addition, this compilation includes opportunity lists like the acquirers list, where staﬃng ﬁrms wanting to buy can register and publicly identify the characteristics of the ﬁrm they wish to purchase. So staﬃng ﬁrms interested in selling can identify potential buyers they might want to do business with once the list is published.

Another interesting component is the mentor/protégé program. If you are a staﬃng ﬁrm selling to the government, for example, you indicate your willingness to mentor a ﬁrm that is interested in that space. The possibilities are endless. We know that some of you out there are reluctant to participate. But ﬁlling out the survey — approximately 30 questions — gives you a whole lot in return. “Of all the marketing tactics staﬃng ﬁrms can employ, the Book of Lists has the highest bang to buck,” says Jon Osborne, Staﬃng Industry Analysts’ VP of research and editorial. So take the survey (contact tlandhuis@staffingindustry.com). Our analysts will then put the data together. The result is a document that is useful to both the buyers and sellers of the industry. I call this an appetizing cake. Being found by a customer is the icing on the cake. One catch: the survey closes on March 15th, so don’t delay.