Driving Mining Growth in a Down Market: Notes From a Saas Exec

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Andrew Thake for an interview with Resourcing Tomorrow to discuss what’s next in mining, and opportunities for growth. 

Now with 12 months in the mining industry, it was a great opportunity to take stock of my learnings so far, reflecting on my time at VRIFY and where the industry is going as a whole.

One thing that’s clear: mining has never been a more important part of the conversation for building our future communities, and economy. At the same time, the market today is one of the worst we’ve ever seen. 

Take a look at the top 40 mining companies in 2023, and the economic outlook is mixed. Stock prices for key mining commodities continue to soften, with a forecast 9% fall in revenue overall. Coal, which used to be the industry’s main revenue source, is projected to have a 20% fall in revenue in 2023 alone.

These changing market trends are coupled with a tough investment climate overall. Cash is diminished for many investors, making investment engagement an increasingly competitive endeavor for mining CEOs.

Many mining leaders find themselves in a chicken and egg situation: successfully securing investment is the only way to drive growth and stock price, but spending time and money on the necessary marketing to do it well, can feel prohibitive without knowing a clear path to get the best bang for their buck.

So what should mining companies do? I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I do believe that when it comes to attracting, nurturing, and securing investors, there is much we can learn from other sectors on how to do this well. 

Here are a few of my observations, and some possible applications on how mining leaders can apply some best practices from the software industry to drive investor demand to the mining industry, and hopefully turn the market tide going into 2024.

Global Perception of Mining: Getting Ahead of Objections

My wife recently asked me, why would somebody invest in mining stocks instead of technology stocks, or something else that’s easier to understand? And I couldn’t have put it better myself!

Before we dive into strategies to convert investors, we need to first get clear on their perception of the opportunity. Why would a non-traditional mining investor place their bet on mining ahead of everything else? 

The critical minerals deficit is widely discussed in the news and industry at large, and there isn’t a critical minerals company out there that doesn’t refer to climate change somewhere in their powerpoint deck. But even with this growing awareness, it hasn’t translated into a flock of new generalist investors entering the space. I think the reason for this is twofold.

First, the general public doesn’t like mining. They don’t like the idea of it, drilling into the earth and the unknown consequences of that. The negative news stories that appear on mainstream news from time to time cement the idea that ‘mining is bad.’ With this lens, many people still don’t connect the dots between the fact that the computer they work on, the electric car they drive, and the kettle they use every morning, doesn’t exist without the mining industry. 

Second, mining companies and the industry as a whole take a back seat to the more sensationalist headlines attached to much of the innovation that mining supports. Technology companies like Tesla have built up a reputation for taking strides to save the future of the planet, and as a result stock prices have soared. Meanwhile, the mining companies providing the raw materials to make this change possible receive little air time in the media, offering few opportunities to understand the industry’s contribution.

So how do we shift and update perceptions on the mining industry? The answer is not to climb on our high horse and make declarations like, ‘none of this would exist without mining!’ While I certainly believe that is true, all that does is sound like another mining exec trying to sell their stocks.

I believe the best way forward is education. We need to educate the public, and investors, on the importance of mining, and the opportunity that underlies it. 

To do this well, the industry needs to graduate from its current communication practices. Highly technical presentations, stacks of paper print-outs, and badly designed downloadable PDFs are not going to help clearly communicate how the supply chain works, and what mining offers. 

We need engaging communication tools: marketing videos, immersive digital materials, and interactive presentations that bring people into the world of mining, and to show them exactly how they can be part of the solution. At VRIFY, we are building exactly that. We are excited to be part of driving industry-wide change when it comes to attracting capital. 

Investor Engagement: Tips from SaaS

Anticipating the challenges associated with current industry perception is a first step to setting a solid investment acquisition plan in place. Without stepping in the investor’s shoes, it’s difficult to get and keep their attention. 

In my past roles leading sales and revenue operations in SaaS, success boiled down to being able to quantify customer pipeline, and move customers through the buying journey. I believe this approach can work just as well in mining. Here’s an example.

In SaaS, prospects might be B2C like Airbnb or Shopify, or on the enterprise B2B side like Oracle or Adobe. For any persona, we create customer acquisition strategies by first pinpointing specific customer profiles, taking stock of their size, type, and specific feature needs. Asking the right questions to inform the strategy is key, like: who is my ideal customer? What point of the buying journey are they at, and what information do they need to make an informed decision about my product?

From there, we’d map out a customer journey informed by where the customer spends the most time, their key challenges and objectives, their level of knowledge on the product, and ultimately any objections that may get in the way of them taking action. 

Once this is defined, the next step is to create a marketing and sales strategy catering to each different persona, considering each stage of their buying journey. Marketing and sales teams focus on specific KPIs, like website traffic, pipeline generated, meetings booked, and ‘pipeline to closed-won conversion.’

If you’re a mining executive and this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. In mining, our customers are investors. And just like in SaaS, each investor type has a different set of goals, objections, questions, and levels of industry-jargon they’re familiar with. 

From retail generalist investors, to institutional investors, corporate development analysts, private equity firms, resource capital funds, and major mining companies, there are many investor profiles to consider. And not all investors are equal. To make every investor interaction count, you’ll need a unique strategy for each persona that meets your audience exactly where they’re at. And on top of that, you need to know if your strategy is working. 

Making Every Investor Touchpoint Count

Historically, tracking the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and investor acquisition activities has been tough to measure. It’s not easy to land on a clear ROI of the number of press releases you’ve sent out, or the time and resources you’ve put into showing up at industry events. 

At VRIFY, we’re passionate about giving mining leaders the tools they need to advance growth. To us, this means being able to measure the effectiveness of as many investor interactions as possible. As Peter Drucker wisely once said, ‘what gets measured, gets managed.’ 

On average, our client base tells us that they actively facilitate between 40 to 400 investor meetings a month. These meetings alone represent a ton of investor touch points. But what these numbers don’t include, are touchpoints like website views, press release views and shares, or investors interacting with your videos and presentation materials. Without a way to centralize assets and have insights on how they perform, it’s often hard to tease out the ROI on marketing activities. 

In this lean economic cycle, every single investor touchpoint matters. The conversion rate on your website. Points of engagement in your presentations. Views on your press releases.

As an industry, we need to shift towards measuring investor sentiment and engagement with every available interaction. At VRIFY, our mission is to transform the way mining companies communicate. With every new feature we add, we’re building new ways for mining leaders to assess and improve very point of engagement with investors. 

Communication is a huge opportunity for mining companies, and the industry as a whole. To make this shift, it’s critical that companies look towards new methods and tools for growth, including taking strategies from other industries like SaaS that have seen massive growth and innovation over the years.

By recognizing a diverse investor and stakeholder audience, segmenting their needs, and tailoring your communication tactics using relevant and engaging materials, I believe every company can position themselves for healthy growth, and drive the industry forward as a whole.