Supply Chain Marketing 2.0: Savvy Ways to Stand Out

Differentiate your supply chain marketing strategy to outperform competition, break through to buyers and take your campaign efforts to the next level.

The supply chain space is exploding; by 2021, Gartner expects the market to top $19 billion in revenue. While there are huge players like SAP, Oracle, IBM and Amazon, there’s also a glut of smaller competition. According to Crunchbase, there are at least 742 companies under the tag “supply chain management,” almost 3,000 companies that consider themselves “logistics,” firms, and more than 23,000 ventures under the umbrella of “e-commerce.”

The amount of competition in supply chain and related industries leaves startups and mid-sized companies alike locked in a brutal fight for market share – and the financial rewards that come with it.

The supply chain industry is competitive, complicated and growing. Here are three tips to differentiate your firm from the rest.

1. Own your lane: The crowded supply chain landscape means that your goal is to turn heads. Don’t rely on tired or repetitive copy that the competition can claim just as well as you can. Identify your firm’s sweet spot and market it in a compelling, out-of-the-box way.

You can’t be all things to all people, but you can focus your efforts in one specialized area – sourcing optimization, spend analysis, managed services, or logistics management, for example – which will help you get buyers through the door, where you can then talk about your other offerings. This strategy will help you stand out, win deals, capture new revenue and grow.

2. Become friends with analysts: Analysts are the industry experts, and have a powerful following of technology buyers. Strong relationships with analysts who champion you can make a huge impact on your business. Identify your key influencers and nurture those relationships, and make sure you’re authentically telling your story to these analysts so they can make clear assessments of your technology. Aside from the big houses you probably already follow – Gartner, Forrester, IDC – there are several other industry-specific firms that have strong influence over procurement and supply chain folks, including CPO Rising (Ardent Partners), Spend Matters (Azul Partners), Supply Chain Insights and Supply Chain Matters (Ferrari Consulting), to name a few.

3. Get social – in a powerful, visual way: One of the best ways to build brand awareness is on social media. We recommend sharing a mix of supply chain industry news and your own content to exhibit thought leadership. This will show that you know what’s going on in the world and industry, and your company’s position on certain news and topics. Involve yourself in trending conversations as well – supply chain risk, digitization, sustainability, industry talent, supplier relations, or disruptive technologies­ like AI, blockchain and machine learning are all great themes to write about and use to engage your followers.

Increasing brand awareness and driving tangible marketing qualified leads starts with a well thought-out, integrated strategy. It’s also important to step out of your comfort zone, and away from the default of what you’ve always done, to really make an impact and stand out.

We’ve only just hit the tip of the supply chain marketing iceberg. To learn more, read our new white paper on tips for supply chain marketing success.