Altec Entertainment - B2B sales enablement
Getting around a "no gifting" policy for manufacturer
Connecting with leads in highly controlled niche industries can be tricky. From restrictive gifting policies to insular business communities, we helped a manufacturer break into their target market with unique communication strategies.
Entering the entertainment industry
Altec Entertainment is a ride control system provider. Featured in some of the most advanced amusement rides around the globe, Altec’s controls help parks provide safe and immersive experiences of all kinds. Their big sales and marketing challenge was to get into the inner circle of the rides and entertainment industry. As a niche industry with a handful of global leaders, getting noticed was tricky.
Challenge
In the rides and entertainment market, competition is high and opportunities are relatively infrequent. Sales cycles may take years to complete. The same names and faces cycle through the industry, job-hopping from park to park. With such an insular sales environment, BlackBean recognized that conventional marketing tactics wouldn’t work. There were no large lists of prospects to target. A tangled web of NDAs, hidden RFPs, and restrictive gifting policies made account-based marketing tricky.
Solution
In such a close-knit community, being perceived as an industry leader or expert would open the door to many possibilities. We worked with Altec’s Entertainment team to help them project more authority to their peers. For example, we supported a successful campaign to elect Business Development Manager Donnelly Williams to the Themed Entertainment Association’s board of directors. The tagline “a vote for Donnelly is a vote for diversity” was leveraged to great success. When Williams attended a recent industry event, we organized an off-site event at Top Golf where he could invite attendees for more intimate networking. This event alone resulted in invitations to five private RFPs.
Result
By focusing on the human and supporting Altec’s sales leadership, we found a better way to market to a small but lucrative audience. Our campaign resulted in invitations to five private RFPs, as well as securing Altec a seat at the table via the Themed Entertainment Association board of directors.
Unique markets need unique strategies
In the industrial world, slow and complex sales cycles are the norm. Each vertical deals with its own unique challenges, speaking to specialized audiences with particular interests and requirements. If your sales tactics are underperforming, maybe they require more specialization? We can help you identify what’s unique about your audience, and how to best reach them to close more deals.
