Old School. What Does That Mean Exactly?

I suppose everyone has their own version of what marketing your business the old school way really means. The oil and gas business is especially rampant with the notion that… ‘It has always worked for us doing it the way we’ve always done it’. But is this approach still working as well as it always has in the past? In fact, I just got a message from a service company owner that I have been talking to recently stating that he’s not interested in Oilfield HUB because he’s old school and that’s not how business is done in the patch. If he can provide great service, professionalism, value, etc., that alone will get them on those prized preferred vendor lists. This has worked well for them so far, they will be staying with this ‘hard work’ motto.

If it’s not broke…don’t fix it. Right?

Popular perception is that the western Canadian oil and gas industry is a fairly small community that for the most part is controlled by the so called Old Boys Network. To be fair, it kind of makes sense based on how the industry grew over the past 60 years. The power brokers evolved by working their way up through the ranks at various companies to run, or eventually own, and made lasting relationships along the way. The Old Boys naturally work with the guys they know and trust. Business could easily be done with a handshake while quaffing a few pints because that’s what everyone else was doing. It was a great excuse to grab a beer and it seemed to be working just fine. The thing about oil and gas is there is enough money to cover up mistakes and problems. The necessity to go beyond the one-on-one meeting was negated because the old ways worked so well. Everyone is making scads of money and the competition is neutered because they can’t get into that little circle.

The question you have to ask…Is that enough today or in 2015 and beyond?

Like it or not sales and marketing in the industry is changing. The Old Boys are checking out. They are packing their clubs for the warmer climates of Palm Springs and Phoenix. There is a new strange force taking over the decision making process. We now have a flood of young bucks cutting their teeth on major projects at an age that was unheard of in decades past, and they don’t do things the old school way. This group is highly educated, not like their grey haired predecessors via the school of hard knocks, working on a rig and rapidly working their way up the ladder while learning the business. They are still wet behind the ears, coming straight out of university or college and thrust straight into the fray. I had a senior sales executive tell me last week that he is working with many young engineers that don’t really understand what a centrifuge does…they just know they need one. Yet these new industry players resist one-on-one meetings and certainly are not the Night Fighters of old. Instead they prefer to do their homework online; to gather information they need to make intelligent and informed purchasing decisions, and then go rock climbing after work.

If you are still marketing your business the Old School way you’re probably missing this phenomenal and ever growing target audience. Many companies have already identified that they have to get with the times and prepare for the future. They are adopting new lead generation services like Oilfield HUB, fueled by marketing automation tools like SharpSpring, to increase their sales and measure their marketing ROI. Nurturing valuable established relationships will always be golden! Yet keeping an open mind, with an eye on these new people dynamics, and how we sell and market to them, is vital for our long term success.

If you don’t have a solid integrated marketing program, you should. Shake it up a bit and mix in a few positive changes here and there. How can a position on Oilfield HUB help you reach the strange new force in oil and gas? Get in touch with me and I will give you a call to discuss.

October 16, 2014

Dave O’Connor Vice President – Sales Leadstone Group Inc.

Get in touch with Dave:                                              dave.oconnor@leadstonegroup.com       (403) 910-4172