Committing to Vertical Markets: Dealers Share the Road to a Sector’s Inner Circle

We kick off this month’s State of the Industry report on vertical markets with a quote from Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States and perhaps its most swashbuckling chief executive. Teddy’s exploits are that of legend: he climbed the Matterhorn on his honeymoon, continued to be a boxer into his presidency, won a Nobel Peace prize, initiated construction on the Panama Canal and shaped the rules of modern football. But perhaps one of his best-known quotes is borne of empathy, which isn’t what you might expect from an experienced safari hunter, the same man who was shot before a campaign speech and still spoke for 90 minutes.

While not quite on par with “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” the observation “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” is pithy and brimming with perspective. It’s a line you’re more apt to hear whispered on the Lifetime channel as opposed to screamed inside a Viking tavern. We’ll dismiss the machismo for now, as the quote carries with it significant business consequences. What’s more, it works well in reverse: “People don’t know how much you care until they discover how much you know.”

For our purposes, we’ll go with the revised version, as the practice of serving specific market segments is no small consideration. Want to win business? It requires more than superficial knowledge. It entails understanding many of the challenges that confront health care, legal or education, among others. It’s understanding best practices and pitfalls to avoid. It’s having the talk track and the vernacular down cold. It’s knowing key people and having impressive connections. It’s learning about competitive offerings in the market. It’s being able to answer a question before the prospect can finish asking (but we won’t do that; as always, talk less and listen more).

We offer a selection of dealers that have developed impressive proficiencies in more markets than one, and they discuss the road traveled in becoming a subject matter expert and trusted advisor. They also provide an overview of the tools and tactics that have provided a significant advantage in their respective markets.

Anatomy of Success

When a dealer stakes claim to specializing in a large number of verticals—which is the case of KDI Office Technology (KDI) in Aston, Pennsylvania—it takes a fleet of subject matter experts to curry confidence among clients and prospects. For KDI, that calls for expertise in education, health care, legal, government, manufacturing/distribution and financial services. Staffers include former administrators, compliance specialists and IT professionals, and their combined real-world experiences yield insights into the operational, regulatory and compliance challenges of the industries.

Rick Salcedo, president and CEO of KDI, points out his company has built customized service packages, training programs and security protocols to address market demands. The long game is ensuring these firms are positioned for perpetual success. For example, KDI helps health care organizations implement secure document management solutions while also offering specialized training to ensure compliance with HIPAA. Guaranteeing FERPA compliance while streamlining administrative workflows and reducing costs is music to the ears of the education space.

“This comprehensive vertical market approach has allowed us to build long-term, trust-based relationships with our clients,” Salcedo said. “They see us not just as a vendor but as an extension of their teams, always ready to deliver relevant, compliant and measurable results.”

Like most successful vertically driven dealers, Salcedo eschews generic product packages in favor of industry-specific solutions. In addition to adhering to HIPAA standards, KDI helps health care clients streamline patient intake and record-keeping while also supporting hybrid work environments—all with an eye toward security. Education clients appreciate the efficiency offered by user-friendly (and secure) workflows for staff and admin.

In the legal realm, archiving for chat, SMS and call activity speaks to retention compliance—setting the stage for problem-free retrieval that meets required standards. KDI also integrates email and SMS communications with voice services, which furnishes additional touchpoints for law firms to communicate with clients and improve operational efficiency.

They see us not just as a vendor but as an extension of their teams, always ready to deliver relevant, compliant and measurable results.

– Rick Salcedo, KDI Office Technology

According to Salcedo, KDI tailors hardware configurations, software and document workflows to meet the unique needs of verticals. They include scanning solutions that integrate with EMR systems for health care. Optimizing workflows with automated admissions processes provides a clear benefit for education. The common denominator is secure, cloud-based storage for student and patient records.

KDI elevates its marketing efforts through vertical campaigns that drill down by industry as well as the personas within them. “Whether it’s an IT director, a compliance officer or an office manager, our messaging speaks directly to their pain points and goals, ensuring our solutions resonate with each individual’s specific needs,” Salcedo stressed.

Be it industry associations, local chambers of commerce or vertical-specific conferences, KDI keeps aligned with industry trends and builds relationships within these sectors. Sponsorships and trade shows strategically position the dealer for engagement with decision-makers while showcasing solutions and collecting data on market demands. Employing a consultative approach, Salcedo notes, fosters long-term relationships while casting the dealer as a trusted advisor. Whether its sector-specific webinars, lunch and learns, blogs/emails or successful case studies, KDI maintains a varied outlet for targeting sectors.

“Many of our vendor partners also provide valuable marketing resources that help us stay informed and further tailor our solutions,” Salcedo added. “We integrate these insights into our overall outreach strategy, ensuring our clients receive the most relevant and innovative solutions.”

Divide and Conquer

Whether by design or fate, the ownership brain trust at EDGE Business Systems boasts four experienced leaders who have extensive experience in four different market verticals. The team (and fortés) consists of Josh Salkin (legal), Rick Duerr (education), Rich Simons (health care) and Cha Holmes (nonprofits). In serving the needs of suburban Atlanta, the collective has more than 100 years of experience under its belt.

While most verticals have universal issues and needs, from time and money savings to efficiencies that allow them to do more with less, there are unique traits that dealers must recognize in order to gain favored nation status within a vertical community. For example, on the education side, the dealer serves the private school market and is heavily involved in that world through independent school associations with monthly newsletters. Webinars, trade shows and sponsor events help solidify EDGE’s niche approach.

Today’s health care organizations face myriad issues, from fragmented document processes to disconnected vendors—all of which creates operational drag and security vulnerabilities. “Our recommendations are aligned to each organization’s strategic growth plan, with an emphasis on document security, regulatory compliance, and scalable systems that support revenue expansion,” Simons noted.

Focusing on integration with a medical EMR or legal case management software, or scanning directly to a variety of cloud DM platforms, helps differentiate our recommendations.

– Rich Simons, EDGE Business Systems

The document life cycle has long been the focal point for EDGE, which features the #BeyondTheBox hashtag. It begins with a complete analysis of the client’s document environment, meshing best-in-class hardware and software solutions with its top-flight service offering.

“Focusing on integration with a medical EMR or legal case management software, or scanning directly to a variety of cloud DM platforms, helps differentiate our recommendations,” Simons remarked.

In addition to having all their sales reps immersed in local networking groups to burgeon their “sphere of influence,” they’re business partners in a number of vertical-specific associations and can be found networking in trade shows. The dealer’s monthly “Chat With Matt” software-focused webinars and VIP demos in its local showrooms help underscore the overall expertise and facilitate market-specific growth.

Further solidifying the relationship between dealer and community is EDGE’s sponsorship of the Georgia Aquarium. Not only is the aquarium a significant client, it also hosts many events that EDGE helps support.

“EDGE is heavily involved with trade associations, volunteering in the local community and even participating on boards of directors, which has helped build organic relationships over the years,” Simons added.

The caliber of team member character is another way EDGE has been able to bolster relationships. Blending kindness with patience has resonated with clients and produced feedback that reflects positively on their demeanor.

“The people here are just fantastic, and we see emails come in that express how clients are super thrilled with specific people,” he said. “We get that all the time.”

Wag the Dog

Quite often, a product offering rolls out the red carpet for certain vertical markets, and it falls on the dealership to identify, strategize and attack from a sales and marketing standpoint. In the case of Pulse Technology of Schaumburg, Illinois, its ever-burgeoning audio-visual (AV) department has shone a spotlight on both the education and municipalities markets. One of the company’s most prominent deals was a video wall for the Schaumburg Boomers, a minor league baseball franchise in the Frontier League.

Vince Miceli, the company’s vice president of technology, sees Pulse Technology connecting with more verticals as its new conference-room-as-a-service (CRaaS) managed service takes shape. He points out that in ultra-competitive markets such as education and health care, delivering integrated solutions beyond hardware helps the dealer differentiate itself.

“Our value lies in combining copiers, managed print, IT services and AV systems into secure, reliable packages tailored to each industry’s needs,” Miceli said. “For schools, that means budget-conscious device management and remote support. For health care, it’s HIPAA-compliant print workflows and endpoint protection.”

Miceli added that his dealership doesn’t create vertical-specific marketing campaigns. Rather, it offers tailored software, configurations and service models that speak directly to each client’s environment and compliance requirements.

Our strength lies in aligning technology with operational realities—solving problems that matter most in each environment.

– Vince Miceli, Pulse Technology

Offering tailored solutions requires a deeper understanding of the unique pressures confronting each segment, according to Miceli. On the education side, streamlining print fleets and reducing downtime enable IT staff to focus on instruction. Creating secure print and network solutions protects patient data on the health care side while supporting HIPAA compliance. And when it comes to the legal market, document confidentiality and integrating secure IT and AV systems—with an eye toward limiting downtime—help build client confidence and drive business.

“Our strength lies in aligning technology with operational realities—solving problems that matter most in each environment,” Miceli added.

Dealer Diploma

When the co-owners of a company are experts in the same field, the result is generally a strong and growing account base within that sector. At Sharp Business Innovations (SBI), owners Rich Lampshire and Joshua Wickstrom have substantial knowledge of the education market. That’s reflected by a book of business including 30-plus school districts local to the Longmont, Colorado-based dealer, with a MIF of 500 under management.

According to Wickstrom, quick-turn service response is critical for both education and health care, the second-largest segment served by the dealer. “We’ve developed a service response for all our schools that’s reflective of 90-minute-or-less standards,” he said. “Unequivocally, this is the best in our industry. Practicing this type of service approach for the last 15 years has truly served us well.”

A deep understanding of the vertical and a tailored go-to-market approach also benefit SBI. The company leverages subject matter experts, assembles industry-specific use cases and is fully ensconced in the language of the trade, understanding the nuances of “patient throughput” or “learning outcome metrics.” But talking the talk isn’t enough, which is where vertical marketing campaigns come into play. Sector-specific content, such as webinars, white papers and case studies, mixes well with landing pages and messaging. Additionally, dedicated sales teams (SDRs) that focus on one vertical at a time can help a dealer differentiate in contested markets.

Lunch and learns give us the opportunity to engage with our community. We invite people who aren’t our clients with the goal of meeting new people and learning more about the businesses we don’t serve.

– Josh Wickstrom, Sharp Business Innovations

SBI augments its education market attack with an arsenal that includes learning management system integration, FERPA-compliant cloud solutions and Chromebooks/tablets preloaded with teaching aids. Case studies, while valuable, must paint a clear picture of reduced costs, improved outcomes and time savings/process improvements.

Wickstrom also sees value in aligning with trusted vendors/platforms, including Google (education) and Microsoft Azure (health care). Obtaining industry certifications or joint ventures with hospitals/universities can also yield points of differentiation.

SBI’s demo and showroom is one effective tool that helps cultivate and build upon vertical-based relationships, but not the only one. “Inviting the community to come by and learn about the latest and greatest technological offerings is critical to any dealership’s success,” Wickstrom said. “Lunch and learns give us the opportunity to engage with our community. We invite people who aren’t our clients with the goal of meeting new people and learning more about the businesses we don’t serve.”

Critical Dialog

Even for dealerships that adhere to a general SMB customer strategy, it helps to build out a vertical or three to ensure its largest client sets are receiving an optimal strategy based on experience and knowledge. That’s the case for Doceo of York, Pennsylvania, which counts educational, faith-based and non-profit organizations as its key verticals.

Chief Marketing Officer Jim Haney believes the dealer’s strengths lie in its active engagement within each space, continuous research into industry trends and direct, meaningful conversations with leaders and operational teams. This goes a long way in ensuring Doceo can pick up on the nuances, challenges and objectives of each vertical.

“Our differentiation comes through targeted vertical marketing campaigns and carefully designed packages tailored to each vertical’s unique business needs,” Haney said. “This approach simplifies the customer experience, maximizes value and delivers measurable business results.”

Of the three key markets, Haney believes education is the most nuanced and demands the highest level of specialized expertise. The education space is taxed by complex and specific requirements related to security, compliance, budget constraints and technology adoption across diverse environments, including classrooms, administrative offices and remote learning platforms.

Additionally, we leverage thought leadership blogging, creating content that addresses real-world questions and needs expressed by our customers.

– Jim Haney, Doceo

“Successfully navigating this landscape requires deep industry knowledge, a thorough understanding of regulatory needs and ongoing engagement with educators and administrative leaders,” he added.

Doceo expands on its market reach through participation in relevant industry associations, local chamber of commerce meetings, trade shows and conferences. In the past, the dealer hosted lunch-and-learn events, and Haney points out their efforts will include vertical-specific webinars. The lunch and learns tend to pack the most punch, Haney notes, particularly when hosted as small, exclusive gatherings where education, and not sales pitches, is the focus.

“Additionally, we leverage thought leadership blogging, creating content that addresses real-world questions and needs expressed by our customers,” he added.

Haney sees educational webinars, with a broad appeal that crosses vertical lines, as resonating with clients and prospects. The upcoming webinar series will be available on demand as a gated asset that visitors can access by providing basic details (name and contact-type info). It serves two purposes: allowing visitors to consume content on their own schedule while providing Doceo with insight into the topics they find compelling.

“This approach expands reach, encourages repeated engagement and ensures valuable content remains accessible well beyond the initial event, he noted. “That’s exactly why Doceo is launching a comprehensive webinar series beginning this month—a proven best practice I’m excited to bring to the team.”