Encouraging HR tech sales: 5 audiences your comms must appeal to beyond HR
HR aren’t the only ones who need convincing of the necessity for new HR tech. In fact, before sales can be made, there are several other groups that often need to recognise the value of a potential product, its ease of implementation and its impact on business outcomes.
This is even more important when it comes to machine learning and artificial intelligence technology, which have had a lot of attention - much of it negative. All people involved in the buying process will require clarity and reassurance that outcomes are positive for their people and businesses goals.
To help this process, workplace tech providers must equip HR with the necessary information that helps them inform and assure other key stakeholders within the business.
According to a recent guide from Sage, there are 5 key audiences that HR must convince in order to encourage investment in new tech. Here’s who they are and how your comms must appeal to them.
HR tech: 5 audiences your comms must appeal to
1. Tech specialists
Think IT Directors or Chief Information Officers.
Taking on new tech clearly requires integration and security expertise, so HR relies on these figures to understand how, on a practical level, the tech can be implemented.
Tech experts need an understanding of how your product can be applied: whether and how it can sit alongside current systems, safely secure user data, simplify IT processes and importantly, do these things at a good price.
How your comms can help the sales process
You must turn the ins and outs of your tech into messages that are understood by both HR and tech experts so both groups have the information they need to make their decisions. This means two things:
Anyone who is tasked with the responsibility of communicating company messages externally - whether that be sales, marketing or PR - must have a good understanding of the technicalities of the product so they can clearly elaborate on key features and benefits that will help tech people understand elements pertinent to their business needs.
Getting the balance right between HR and tech is also important. Judge the audience carefully to help both groups understand and engage with your messages. Too complex and technical is unlikely to help one group, too vague won’t help the other.
2. Financial experts
Financial Directors and Chief Financial Officers are the ones to please here. Their task is clear: they’re looking for the cost and ROI from HR tech.
How your comms can help the sales process
Sometimes it can be tricky to demonstrate the exact ROI of a product. But providing any evidence you have will help to build confidence during the sales and marketing process. Past client data, for example, or market research can be used to emphasise the financial outcomes and benefits of your product. Using these data sources across blog content, client guides, news releases and web pages solidly help to demonstrate the value of your offerings and ROI. Client testimonials and award wins are helpful for this too.
Another key strategy is to highlight the dangers of not investing in new HR technology. Sage cites this as an important step in securing HR tech sales.
To do this, HR brands should reveal any worrying market trends, the risks to workforces should improvements be ignored and how this could ultimately increase business costs. Consider these points: employee productivity, retention, wellbeing, insurance costs etc. Howcould these be negatively affected without your tech?
3. Legal, Risk and Compliance teams
Legal, risk and compliance teams want to see that new tech complies with health and safety, insurance, data protection rules etc. as well as the organisation’s regulations. They also need to understand and prevent risks that could either come from new tech or that can be avoided after buying new tech.
How your comms can help the sales process
Firstly, cover all bases - your comms should show a broad range of outcomes that appeal to their interests.
Of course, it’s unlikely your PR and marketing core messages will focus only on the intricacies and minute details of legal and compliance (we’re assuming your tech ticks these boxes anyway). But reassurances should still be made and weaved into external comms where possible. These are unlikely to make a news story, for example, but adding these elements into news at times will help build trust.
Also, as ever, remember who your audience is - be simple, pragmatic and clear - no fuss of frills for this group of people. Messages that are straightforward will help people know they are adhering to company regulations.
And, as with finance people, another good tip is to demonstrate the risks of not buying.
4. Employees
If the tech is employee-facing, employees will want something that can make a real difference in their day-to-day lives. Therefore, if your tech doesn’t make the cut with them, it’s unlikely that HR will see value in implementing it within their people-strategy.
How your comms can help the sales process
To show HR that you appeal to this audience, demonstrate a real understanding of employee wants and needs. Highlight their key pain points and, importantly, emphasise why it’s necessary to solve them (for individuals and the business).
Beyond this, demonstrate how engaging your product is, how the employee experience has been developed and why. For example, where possible, uncover the uptake rates of your tech from the employees of current clients, the impacts it’s having on individuals or teams as well as its ease of use.
5. Chief Executive Officer
CEO’s and managing directors naturally have the ultimate say in company investments. These stakeholders need to know new products will lead the organisation towards core business objectives, like growth strategies and the creation of an agile organisation.
How your comms can help the sales process
To succeed, your comms must lay out everything we’ve already mentioned and more. Demonstrate how your brand is a perfect fit for their organisation - show a clear ROI that helps them achieve their targets but also display how your own company values complement theirs.
Ultimately, to help the sales process here, it’s vital to provide them with the bigger picture - help them visualise how your tech enhances the future of the business and takes them in the direction they want to go.
For further support boosting your PR and communications strategy, get in touch. We’ve been helping HR and workplace related brands for over 25 years and we’d love to share our expertise with you too.