Life Lesson 5 – Industry Mapping, how to do it and why it’s important.

I don’t care what industry you work in there is a common thread as to how to Map, participate and work the industry. I have been in the Healthcare supply industry for over 10 years now and I am so wired in, connected and in touch that you would be hard pressed to find a single company that does not have at least 1-2 employees who know me personally. That is critical. You want to broaden your network within your industry past your customers and past your immediate acquaintances so that you can reap the full benefit of the industry.
I have spoken a bit about networking which relates to this but it goes beyond just being social at a party or gathering peoples contact info…..you need to become a fixture, a voice and a presence in your field and industry.
First, from a personal perspective, it keeps you very employable and you should, if done correctly be able to find a job within a week of losing or leaving you current job. Second, from a company perspective, it gives your company visibility and opens you customer base 10 fold. Your visibility translates to visibility for the company.
First Step – Sit down and draw a map of your industry. Imagine this will look like a bull’s-eye. First identify the core Industry association. The one that handles govt regulation, holds the annual trade show, manages a membership that consists of the main players in your industry. That will be your center or bull’s-eye. Next outer circle will be the immediate BTB groups. In my case it is medical manufacturers and distributors of the manufactured goods. You should fall into one of the two groups in the inner circle. The next layer, the outer circle will be the end-user. In my case it is physicians, hospitals, consumers, spas.
Now you should also fill in within those layers if there are off-shoot or related groups. In my case in the bull’s-eye is a professional women’s group for my industry. Also in the outer circle I would fill in the GPO’s (group purchasing organizations) that serve as negotiators for hospital purchases.
Second step - you should throw a dart right into the bull’s-eye! Contact this association, if you do not already have a contact and get one. Find someone in the organization as high up as you can and pick their brain. Find out if they have advisory councils, member surveys, volunteer groups or events that you can be a part of. I have been on multiple advisory councils and volunteered countless times. Every person in the organization knows me. Then if your company has the finances find out what sponsorship/advertising opportunities there are executive conferences for management they hold and smaller conferences they hold in addition to the main annual show. THEN JOIN, GO, TAKE PART! You will gain instant and important connections.
Third Step – List all of the companies in the inner circle in two columns. (Bull’s-eye group can get you a directory) one being the supplier, one being the customer. Then circle every company that you have 1 or 2 contacts at. Feeling pretty unconnected right now! You should! You should set a goal of being able to circle at least 5 companies a month as you go forward with your mission. And for goodness sake try to make the right contacts……befriending the mailroom manager is not going to do you much good. It should be someone at the company who is also visible in the industry and who holds a management or assistant to management position (don’t overlook a good assistant! They are often either the gatekeeper or a future executive!) You can meet these people at dinners, events, conferences or tradeshows. Seek them out, get attendee lists, find a reason to meet with them if they are not a customer or supplier. I will go into more detail in a future blog on how to do this……
Fourth step – learn the outer circle. It is your knowledge base for what makes the inner circle tick. If you do not understand your customer’s customer then go home now. If you cannot speak their language and understand what challenges they face then you cannot be a contributing part of the inner circle or the bull’s-eye.
I was lucky enough to work for a distributor before going into manufacturing so I can comfortably relate to both factions of the inner circle but I am not the norm. (Though given the opportunity everyone should test out the other side of the industry, you will be in high demand afterwards with your broad knowledge base!) So I understand the outer circle but if I did not I would make it a point to set meetings, do research and know who the key players were.
Now you have a start, Map your industry and get involved, in touch and visible.
Time for bed, on the road in St Louis, big meetings with the outer circle tomorrow.
Drive yourself to a better career!