Are You Hanging By a Thread?

Technology for the sake of technology can lead to FAILURE TO THRIVE. What should Marketers be looking for from their service providers?

The survival of service providers, especially in the commercial printing market, depends on how well they have integrated other services into their portfolio of offerings. Some of the services I’m talking about are Fulfillment/Warehousing, POD Initiatives, Web to Print Programs, Variable Data Marketing, Mailing Services, List Management and Cross-Media Campaign Management. There are many others but these are some of the most common. With the continued shrinking of workforces across all vertical markets, marketers (today more than ever) need to align themselves not only with organizations that have invested in technology but those who know how the technology truly enhances the marketing objectives and goals. Far too often technology is used for the sake of technology alone. When this happens the technology being used is often haphazardly implemented and as a result the impact or program results are substantially less than what should have been achieved. This is ineffective and quite frankly a waste of resources both for the provider and the marketer. Chances are the provider was not adequately compensated for their investment and the marketer did not receive the benefits of a properly implemented program.

It’s easy for marketers to fall into the provider’s trap of “we are a one-stop shop.” So what is a marketer to do? You probably have way too much on your plates to manage trying to communicate across multiple vendors and organize a campaign that encompasses multiple technologies. Not paying close attention to all the details is a recipe for disaster. My suggestion is to ask your self one simple question. Does the representative at my current favorite provider continually bring me valuable information or do they follow my lead and wait for me to ask for something? This is a simple litmus test. If your provider is engaging you on a regular basis with informative information and creative ideas that are important and relevant to you, you probably have a good source. If they are not, it is time to have a frank conversation with that supplier. Tell them what you expect and give them a chance to sink or swim. Most will probably turn green when you hit them with this type of mandate. That does not mean you should dismiss them. They often have the support behind them but fail to use it because of the old school mentality of relationship selling. The “no one talks to my client but me” belief. Give them the opportunity to meet your needs, then if they still sink, bon voyage!

The reality is that there is so much change happening in marketing technology today that a good provider should be constantly sharing relevant information with you. Information that targets your challenges and helps you to utilize technology not for technologies sake but for good reason.  Moving forward it becomes critical to establish relationships based on how well a provider improves your results. The more your provider engages with your challenges the better your results will be and the easier the justification will be for what you do and what you spend.  

Those who adopt this philosophy now will be ahead of the curve. In our current economic reality it is not easy. It requires commitment by all parties and building relationships that allow for experimentation. Technology is moving at a fast rate and can very well leave you in the dust. Nielsen estimates that, in 2011, US smartphone penetration will be over 50 percent. This growth alone, in one facet of technology, is reason enough to start thinking about just how you are taking advantage of technological advancements. Failing to adopt these new technologies will leave you behind your competition and result in you fighting for the scraps in the world of bottom feeders. Our economy, if in recovery, is not going to change overnight.  Because of this doing the same things the same way and expecting different results truly is the definition of insanity. The use of technology to increase your ROI is vital to making sure your organization continues to be a viable one. Technology will allow your organization to remain lean and experience the growth that is ultimately essential for mere survival in a down economy. Finding the right source to help you implement technology completely, efficiently and with purpose is the first step.