There’s no “i” in “team” and, coincidentally, none in “project manager” or “consultant” either. This group is focused on the success of the entire team, which in turn reflects on their own personal success.
Despite how busy they are, project managers and consultants will take the time to listen to your marketing—if you can provide value for them fast.
In the sixth post in our series on engaging B2B buyer personas in different industries, we’re sharing tips for connecting with project managers and consultants.
Who is the project manager/consultant?
ENFP
According to the well-known Myers-Briggs Type Indicator for personality types, project managers and consultants typically rank high in extraversion, intuition, feeling, and perceiving. ENFPs possess qualities like creativity and energy, have a genuine interest in people, and are highly perceptive, co-operative and friendly. They take a logical and rational approach to work.
I know my tech
Project managers and consultants are a tech-savvy bunch. “You may think that younger generations are the most technologically astute, but if you talk to project managers who span different generations, you’ll find there are many tech-savvy Baby Boomers,” says Jen Howard, Senior Manager, Corporate Marketing at Clarizen.
Their interest in technology comes from their desire to communicate better with their team and increase efficiency. They are typically able to grasp difficult concepts and ideas because of this knowledge.
Stretch it out
Like an avid yoga fanatic, project managers and consultants have to be ultra-flexible, though not necessarily in the same way. The demands placed on them, and resources available, are constantly changing. And they need to keep pace—hence the aforementioned affinity toward technology.
How to market to project managers & consultants
1. Be the one-stop-shop
Project managers and consultants are busy people, often tied up finalizing multiple projects at a time, arranging and attending meetings, and planning initiatives and research. Make your program a one-stop-shop for everything from fun activities, to interesting reads, and professional advice so there’s more than one reason to keep coming back.
2. Get their attention
In order to make it into their daily timeline, you need to capture their attention. You can accomplish this, as noted, through fun activities, interesting reads, and advice—but the key is to make sure whatever you provide offers clear and direct benefits to them. Maybe it’s a tip about a new technology that would be useful, or an interesting video that provides a hands-on look at how to do something better.
3. Find out what they want
There’s a creative way to find out what specific rewards will appeal to this group, from gift cards, to eBooks, conference tickets, and product freebies. A sneaky way to do this is to use a survey to find out your audience’s common pain points. Then select rewards that will help solve them!
4. Learn from Kit Kat, offer a break
While offering up a sweet chocolate treat isn’t a bad idea, all kidding aside, project managers and consultants have stressful days. They could always use a break. So keep that in mind when thinking up ways to engage them.
If you can give them useful information and make it entertaining, this group will be grateful. “Offer them work-related activities that have a fun element,” says Sonia Burnette, Senior Marketing Manager at Junction Solutions. She also recommends offering a little friendly competition to your program. “This group really likes to win contests, stockpile points and receive prizes!”
Bottom line
The key to reaching this group is grabbing their attention, offering up timely and relevant information, determining the perfect rewards, and injecting a bit of fun into the mix, too.
Irene Matveeva, Marketing Manager at Wrike, suggests keeping a balance between fun and useful challenges for this busy group. “Project managers are highly efficient and need to be productive with their time, so only provide them with only the most relevant information. Avoid over-emphasizing fun—but time-consuming—challenges, like quizzes or puzzles.”
Remember, project managers and consultants are a highly perceptive bunch, and will have that same expectation of your advocate marketing program.
New eBook series: Engaging Your Advocates
This new eBook series explores the art and science behind engaging advocate marketing programs, including:
- Insight into the advocate persona (e.g., IT, HR, sales, etc.)
- Key challenges and how to address them
- How to position your asks effectively
- Sample challenges from real advocate marketing programs
- Tips from marketers who have experience working with this persona
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