Partnering for Profit --Sherburne
• New Market Value. By combining forces with this partner, will you bring new value to your combined customer base and the market? Now that you have added top-notch design capability to your portfolio through this initial partnership, perhaps the next step is to take on the management and analysis of customer data to help them gain improved campaign results through more relevant and targeted communications.
One example of such a firm is Rochester, NY-based Emerge Partners, an agency that describes itself as “marketing progressives who generate transformative results.” The agency has substantial knowledge about information design and data analytics, and has applied that knowledge successfully in direct marketing, transactional and transpromo engagements.
• Customer Demands. Probably most important of all, is this partnership going to help you better address the customer needs you have uncovered? Clients want strong supplier partnerships that deliver total solutions and best-of-breed products and services. They would often prefer to go to a single source that will accept accountability for the success of the venture rather than negotiating separate deals themselves and having to micro-manage the supplier interaction.
In the scenario that we have been building, perhaps adding a mailing firm or a call center operation to the partnership is a logical step in building a total, end-to-end, integrated campaign management solution for your customers, so that you can literally take their marketing campaigns from cradle to grave. Or perhaps you might choose to partner with another printer that has complementary capabilities or is located in a beneficial geographic area.
It Need Not Be Forever
Also, keep in mind that partnering does not have to be forever. Sometimes, it is used as a stop-gap, while you assemble the internal knowledge and expertise to do it yourself. DME of Daytona Beach, FL, for example, has made quite a business out of producing digital printing for print service providers who wish to get into that aspect of the business, but don’t yet have enough volume to justify the investment in a digital press. DME will produce digital work on their behalf until such time as they are ready to make the move.
