We recently announced we are expanding our recruiting and digital marketing services, focusing more heavily on Executive Search in our recruiting efforts and investing in even more capabilities in Digital Marketing. The driver is the same for both initiatives: the business climate is changing rapidly, and our goal at Zilker Partners is to always stay at the forefront of trends and market shifts. It’s what our clients pay us to do so they don’t have to worry about it.
In 2022, we began to see a few shifts that we are now prepared to embrace so we can help our clients stay competitive and grow smartly.
Executive Search
Zilker Partners has always helped companies recruit C-level executives to lead their teams, but now, we are seeing this need explode as the workforce has dramatically changed since the pandemic. We look at this in a couple of ways.
First, there was a massive spike in people retiring during the first 18 months of the pandemic, 4.2 million Americans, to be exact. But now that the worst of Covid seems to be in our rearview mirrors, many of those who left the workforce are returning. There is an influx of people looking for jobs. Finding the right candidates for any position is challenging. Finding the right executive leadership is overwhelming.
The pandemic also allowed executives to look around, and see what’s out there. Many left their current positions for greener pastures (or the golf course), leaving vacancies that have to be filled. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that CFO turnover hit a high in September 2022 due to inflationary pressures on top of the Covid-19 fallout. Many, along with CEOs and other top executives, are looking to make a move before a potential recession.
It’s not all bad news for every organization. In fact, this could be considered great news for companies with open leadership positions. It gives them an opportunity to reset — to find the right people for their open positions, particularly leadership positions. For instance, now is the time to hire a skilled CFO, one that has deep cost management experience and can help you navigate these uncertain economic times.
Remember: leadership sets the tone for the rest of the company. We often see that when top executives leave, other key leaders leave with them. It can set up a snowball effect that results in a company without a leadership team. It’s imperative that you act fast to replace executives without risking hiring the wrong people.
Don’t Hire the Wrong Executives
Gallup found only 10% of people who believe they are good leaders actually have the talent to manage. People can talk their way into a position, embellish their resumes or have connections that get them in a door they never should have darkened. It’s not surprising that Gallup says companies hire the wrong executives 82% of the time, but it doesn’t have to be that way if you partner with the right recruiting firm that knows how to sniff out the B.S. and get to the real person.
Zilker Partners has seen an uptick in companies needing to fill executive positions, many of which either haven’t had much luck so far or recognize time is of the essence. We don’t believe in luck. We closely partner with every client to learn their culture, the job role, the people the executive will work with and lead, and the company goals and roadmap. Only then do we begin the search for the ideal candidates.
Not every candidate in our pool is looking to make a move, but when we know as much as we do about our clients and combine that knowledge with what we know about the candidates and their career goals, we can often persuade them to consider a leadership position that was never on their radar. In a nutshell, our executive candidate pool is deeper than just those actively seeking a new job. Some of our best executive placements have been with people who were perfectly happy with their current position but recognized the opportunity we brought them.
Once we find potential candidates, we meticulously and methodically vet them for the particular role at that specific company, whittling down the potential list of candidates from many to only a handful. All you need to do is conduct the interviews and select the perfect fit. Our Executive Search capabilities save you time and money while bringing you excellent candidates that are ready and able to lead.
Digital Marketing
Zilker Partner Digital Marketing is also expanding, adding even more capabilities that will help clients extend their audience reach and get better results through innovative technologies like programmatic. Programmatic is one exciting tool we have offered for a while now but are investing in more heavily as the technology evolves.
Programmatic marketing is not as widely known to people outside of marketing, but it is quickly becoming one of the most powerful marketing tools a company can have in its arsenal. In the past, humans purchased ad space on various channels, such as TV, radio and online. Programmatic automates the bidding for and placement of digital ads in real time.
Forbes says, “The decisions on the ad placements are made using hyper-specific data including the target consumers’ age, location, career, and specific consumer interests. This enables companies to launch hyper-targeted, extremely effective ad campaigns that yield the highest ROI.”
With programmatic targeting, we are able to get our clients in front of any audience they want — effectively, efficiently and economically. We can customize countless digital ads and content quickly, tailored specifically per audience (mass or hyper-local), digital channel, campaign or any criteria, even simultaneously if needed. By being able to analyze performance and adjust the campaign in real time, we can generate higher ROI in a shorter time frame.
Within our programmatic offering, we can include many other cutting-edge capabilities like geo-fencing for more precise mobile targeting and keyword-level audience targeting to drive performance and delivery across channels.
Of course, our team of experts is also well-versed in traditional and other emerging marketing tactics and technologies. We provide full-service content offerings and custom services to fit every client’s need, while also offering guidance on the most optimal tools to use and when to use them. Not every campaign needs programmatic reach, for instance, but if you’re launching a local campaign on social media, for instance, it’s a game changer.
In case you weren’t aware of our other services, we have full marketing operations support for Hubspot and have expanded our creative services, including all things video. Hubspot reports 86% of marketers say video has been effective for generating leads, up 5% since 2019, and 94% of marketers agree that videos have increased user understanding of their product or service.
Short, informative videos that explain a product or service’s benefits, walk the viewer through a quick demo, or introduce a new concept are highly effective. We can place those on your website or social channels. Our Digital Marketing team can do everything from determining what type of videos are most effective for you to writing the script and managing the graphics, production and voice-overs.
We are excited to offer so many recruiting and digital marketing services to our clients. Please reach out to us to learn more about how we can help your business grow and succeed.
