Challenging economic environments should bring out the creativity in your marketing team – and I don’t mean graghics, logos or pictures. When new customer acquisition is harder, and it seems no one is spending money, you should be looking at your value chain for new business or new sources of revenue.
What’s a value chain? It’s all those customers you have sold to in the past. Its the suppliers you buy from. Its the former employees that you parted on good terms with. Its the dealers or distributors that take your product to market. In other words, its everyone that you have had a financial transaction with.
The question you and your marketing and sales teams should be asking go beyond the obvious – how do we sell more (or sell to) this group. It should be about how you partner with them to drive new revenue for both your firms. Can you cross sell to their customers and they to yours? Can you put a complimentary product or service in the marketplace at little incremental cost to either firm? Can you and a value chain partner go after a completely new market/ segment/ geography together in a way that neither of you could do alone?
You should only do business with people that want to do business with you, but when you find them, figure out how you do more, and do new, more effectively together.
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Amen. It’s a foolproof strategy and one that works particularly well in a tough economy. I’ve been using this strategy to great success since the recession of ’91, and I’m amazed at how few partners actually get it.
Love your article and I’d like your permission to republish it on my website.