The old Italian proverb, "make haste slowly," is the right guiding principle for your human capital management strategies. And your marketing department is the perfect strategy partner.

Marketing and recruiting are two functions you wouldn't normally put together in the same sentence. But when it comes to new markets, both business functions are involved in competitive intelligence, brand management, data collection, and customer development, although they don't normally use the same terminology. Tear down functional silos and take time to collaborate to create highly successful market moves.

Attracting the human talent you need in any particular area is as competitive as marketing your product. If talent considerations are cost prohibitive, they, rather than product sales, could be the deciding factor as to whether you enter a particular market or not. Using the strategies normally associated with marketing can be instructive in assessing the people factors that impact your decision.

In your "market research," for example, consider these factors:

• Who is doing what in your field in this market and how well are they doing it? How do you reach those who are succeeding?
• What will you have to pay employees in this area? Is it more than you can afford?
• What are the standard benefits people expect? Do they match your current benefits packages? If expected benefits are more than you're currently offering how will that impact existing employees?
• What skills are available in this market? Do they match your technical, marketing, and other talent needs? How much training will you have to do?
• What type of people live in this area? Will they fit into your culture?
• Will you be better off hiring W-2 employees or contract workers in this market?
• If you plan to move some of your people to this market will they want to go? What is the surrounding environment like?

Once you've decided to launch into a new area, marketing, again, can serve as a partner for recruiting. With target marketing, you develop promotions that are highly relevant to your prospects, designed to convince them that your product matches their needs or interests. Candidates are also customers, and isn't it the same when you try to win candidates?

Chances are, your company is unknown in the new markets you enter. Even if your products or services are recognized, prospective employees don't understand your culture or what it's like to work for you. Here is where marketing can provide invaluable support in making sure you promote your brand effectively.

Recruiters need to understand the positive features of your company and how to convey them in a way that supports your brand, as if they were marketing to a customer. When entering new markets, it's important that everyone on the scene tells the same company story; marketing can help ensure that they do. Marketing can also generate exciting Web site copy that attracts candidates and provide information on new activities and products that may sway decisions.  

A coordinated communications plan and cohesive organization attracts people to your organization, whether they are buying your product or looking at employment. From a recruiting perspective, this will help you build a pipeline of talent in your market that you can use in the future.

If you want to dominate the talent war in new markets, act differently than your competitors. Make haste slowly, combining the expertise of recruiters with marketing to research and implement new market opportunities