SMART IDEA #57: Recruiters ghosting me!

Ever been ghosted?

I'm sure you can empathize with our pain…

We're in the process of hiring for our Recruitment Marketing Team. We need someone with strong analytical skills, who loves working in spreadsheets, and is a skilled digital marketer who likes to work directly with clients.

Not an easy role to fill!

To maximize our talent pool, we posted the job twice. Two job titles. Two variations of the job description. Each post was designed to appeal to a different type of candidate.

Our strategy worked like a charm!

• 135 applications for a recruiter-focused job post.
• 139 for a digital marketing-oriented post.

While the application counts were similar, the recruiter-focused post generated far more qualified candidates…

And that's where the trouble started!

We narrowed down all the candidates to our top contenders—and explained the role and the next steps.

If you're curious, this is what we sent to the top candidates: "Thank you very much for applying with Haley Marketing.

Your resume looks great, and as a next step, we'd like you to watch the following video (it's an overview of the role from one of our Co-CEOs).

If you like what you see (and hear!), the next step is to send us a quick cover letter (the details of what to include are in the video…it won't take long to respond!).

Here's the video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=letmPwp3S0o "

Want to guess what happened next?

Crickets. From 80% of them.

Of the few candidates who replied, we invited four to interview.

And two of those ghosted us.

They scheduled an interview…and didn't show up.

The kicker? Both were staffing professionals—people who experience the pain of ghosting every day!

But wait – this isn't just about recruiting.

There's a bigger lesson here.

A lesson about marketing. Understanding clients. And feeling their pain.

Want to sell more? Take a walk in your client's shoes!

Being ghosted helped us truly understand how our staffing clients feel.

The frustration.

The wasted time.

The emotional rollercoaster.

And that's marketing gold.

The emotional side of B2B

Think business-to-business marketing is all logic and ROI?

Think again.

The best B2B marketing taps into emotion. Your client's fears, pains, joys, and excitement.

When you feel what your clients feel, your marketing changes:

• Messages become more authentic.
• Solutions feel more relevant.
• Communication hits harder.
• Trust builds faster.

Transform pain into profit.

Once you truly understand your clients' pain points, you can:

1. Change your service delivery to eliminate them.
2. Market solutions that make a bigger impact.
3. Differentiate in ways that resonate with your ideal clients.

Example: If ghosting drives employers crazy, build your service to prevent it.

You might offer:

• More rigorous candidate screening.
• Better communication protocols.
• Backup candidate pipelines.
• Guaranteed response times.
• Rewards for showing up, working hard, and completing the assignment.
• Service policies that make people feel more committed to their work.

Then market those differences!

The secret sauce: DEEP EMPATHY

Want to create marketing that works?

Start by feeling the pain:

• Experience your service as a customer (shop your own company!)
• Talk to clients…and listen to their frustrations (really listen!)
• Make note of emotional responses…what are the triggers?
• Document pain points – where are you creating friction for your clients?

Then translate that understanding into:

• New service delivery models
• Better operating processes
• Compelling sales and marketing messages
• Stronger differentiation
• Real emotional connections

Turning insight into action

Here's your roadmap for using empathy to create differentiation:

1) Get in the trenches

• Experience your own service.
• Shadow your clients.
• Experience their challenges.

2) Document everything

• Pain points
• Emotional responses
• Client workarounds to your service delivery
• Client (and candidate) wish lists

3) Transform your service (and sales) experience

• Eliminate pain points
• Create solutions for common problems
• Improve communication (more calls, automations)
• Use checklists to ensure process implementation
• Add checks and balances to ensure delivery and gather feedback

4) Promote your difference

• Lead with empathy
• Show understanding
• Demonstrate solutions
• Prove results

Getting ghosted stinks.

But every frustration is an opportunity.

To understand. Improve. Connect. And differentiate.

When you truly understand your clients' pain, you can create solutions—and marketing—that really matter.

Want to share your ghost stories? Let's chat.

I promise we won't stand you up!

P.S. And if you're one of those candidates who ghosted us? No hard feelings...you just helped us create some really great marketing!

ACCELERATE YOUR MARKETING RESULTS! ?

Web design. SEO. Social media. Blogging. PPC ads. Job spend management. Sales funnel automation. And more.

Whether you need a complete marketing plan…or more support for your in-house team, we're here for you.

LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR MARKETING

1.888.696.2900 | [email protected]

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