More and more organizations — such as accounting and insurance firms, business consultancies, banks, and others — are seeing the advantages of partially specializing in a handful of industries or niches. Gaining this type of industry specialization experience has several advantages:
- Adding expertise in terms of how your solution applies to a specific type of business
- Charting a positive trajectory for business development due to increased referrals
- Boosting confidence for those who are serving businesses within a particular industry
Traditionally, business professionals in fields such as accounting and insurance have been generalists, but this “jack of all trades” approach is becoming increasingly outdated and ineffective with today’s buyers. Why? Because many clients are looking for specialized expertise, which brings with it more value for their investment of both time and money.
But industry specialization isn’t without its own set of challenges for advisors. Let’s say over the years, you’ve acquired expertise in three to five fields. It’s likely an assortment developed through your work with clients in those industries — a random amalgamation like homeowners associations, HVAC contractors, and dentists, for instance. This makes staying on top of changes within these niches especially difficult and potentially time-consuming.
So, how can business consultants and advisors get the benefits of industry specialization without dealing with the associated stumbling blocks?
Drilling deeper into an even more specific industry
Research shows that business owners consistently prefer to work with professionals who possess not just broad knowledge about their sector but also a deep understanding of their particular industry as well as the specific nuances of their individual business — both the challenges and opportunities.
We’ve seen this play out in the accounting or insurance field, for instance. Firms often become specialists in a broad vertical — perhaps manufacturing or healthcare. This is great, but a business owner is mainly interested in their particular niche. Being an expert in “manufacturing” or “healthcare” simply isn’t narrow enough for business owners. They are looking for a partner who has more precise expertise — not just manufacturing in general but paper manufacturing; not just healthcare but medical imaging centers.
This is why even specialists need to know the nuances of the niches within whatever area they are focused on. You should understand how businesses in that vertical operate, their buyers and suppliers, how they are impacted by economic shifts, the equipment they use, potential risks they face, their lingo, and more. It’s this type of in-depth expertise that a business owner expects from an industry specialist and is looking for in a trusted advisor.
Industry change is a constant
For firms that have adopted an industry specialization strategy, even once you’ve gained extensive knowledge about your chosen niche, there’s no resting on your laurels. Industries are constantly changing and evolving as the economy fluctuates, technology advances, and supply and demand shifts
So, if you’re already an industry specialist, how do you keep up with the industry’s changes? Business professionals who are specializing in certain industries need to keep in mind that the world is ever-changing. Industries are constantly in flux with not only new trends but also new data, different drivers, shifting risks. If you want to have industry expertise, it’s critical to constantly be monitoring such changes.
Sure, you could subscribe to some relevant industry journals, but oftentimes such publications are too broad. And this isn’t even to mention how time-consuming it is to sift through this kind of information to find that nugget of salient content.
These are just a few of the reasons why Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence is critical for firms that have an industry specialization strategy. Industry research is what we do … and it’s the best way to stay on top of changes that are occuring within a niche.
For example, Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence allows you to learn the ins and outs of an industry — how firms operate, common challenges, industry terminology, benchmarks, the latest news, and much more — so you can speak the language of those insiders. It also helps you easily stay up-to-speed on the latest trends and hot topics that business owners are interested in.
This type of insight makes you not only an industry expert in your chosen niches; it gives you the credibility to become a trusted advisor to your clients and prospects within that industry.
Keeping up with the true experts
Using Industry Intelligence as part of your industry specialization strategy helps you stay on top of macro- AND micro-changes within hundreds of industries. Armed with this information, you can have an intelligent conversation with someone who is a true expert — someone who works day in and day out in that industry. And those industry-focused conversations are more likely to lead to closed deals.
As a case study, I asked a friend who works for an electricity generation co-op to read Vertical IQ’s Current Conditions chapter from the Industry Profile on Electricity Generation, and to tell me what he thought. “It is all accurate; it’s all stuff I’m very attuned to,” he replied.
Sure, this is great to hear, but the more important point is, this friend works within the electricity generation niche every single day; of course he’s an expert in it! But if you’re an accountant or an insurance agent, for example, you can’t possibly keep up with everything that’s going on in that industry — it would literally be another full-time job for you!
Why spend hours of your valuable time sifting through internet search results to try to find reliable, timely industry content? Let Vertical IQ do this heavy-lifting for you. Our team of highly experienced industry researchers utilizes trusted third-party sources to compile the latest data available on each industry, ensuring you always have the most up-to-date content available. We also comb through thousands of industry publications to find the most timely and relevant news articles to keep both you and your client apprised of salient topics.
If you’re ready to up your firm’s industry specialization game, Vertical IQ is here to help. Contact us today to request a demo or to learn more about how Industry Intelligence can save you time while boosting your success.