Trends That Publishers See Coming Your Way
Here is our quarterly review of trends or paths that your fellow publishers and colleagues want to lock onto in the coming months.
1. Rick Longenecker, president, Armature Group
It appears that small and mid-size companies are again focused on top-line revenue growth after two years of cost containment. There seems to be a real hunger to double revenue with no additional cost.
2. Bob Brady, president, Business & Legal Reports, Inc.
FREE and ever-lower-cost competitors have made “information” a commodity. If we want to sell high-priced, high-value products, we have to do things that the FREE people aren’t going to do.
3. Kate Mayfield, managing director, Mayfield Solutions Ltd.
Marketers who want to leverage SaaS software [Software on demand] and web analytics, and who now also control their IT spend.
4. Rick Biehl, president and publisher, Atlantic Information Services, Inc.
While AIS continued to “make money” during the recession, we remain shell-shocked from the past two years and will (for the near term) adhere to the strategy “nothing ventured, nothing lost.” We will stay in the markets we are in, stick with the product types we know, and market things with quick surgical strikes that have only the smallest chance of bombing.
5. Meg Hargreaves, vice president of client services, CQ-Roll Call Group
Mobile is critical. Unfortunately no one is doing mobile particularly well given its nascence. Keeping your eye on the mobile prize will be critical in the next 18 months given the forecasted growth of mobile adoption/take up rates, especially on the iPad front. While expanding reach beyond your core market is also a key to growth, that’s a tall order in a tough market. The pursuit of “adjacent” markets versus new markets is probably a safer bet during the ongoing economic recovery. Lastly, the easiest way to delineate yourself in a crowded market is through excellent customer service.
6. Clay Hall, CEO, Aspire Media, LLC
Continued migration of content consumption, marketing and transaction from offline to online.
7. Randy Greenberg, president/owner, Greene (& Associates), an RMG Direct company
In the “old” days, we would offer a main product and have a cross-sell or down-sell available if the (prospective) customer didn’t accept the main offer. These days, most of our clients have opened up their entire catalog, allowing us to (cross) sell a variety of products and services. Some of our clients have 50-80 products. All pertinent product information is loaded into our dialing system enabling our staff to toggle between various products/services and find the best fit. Our staff is trained by our client to be product experts. On some efforts, we work closely with our client’s in-house staff to set the table for them to speak with (prospective) subscribers who we have qualified for their products/services. These efforts typically include higher priced, more complex (possibly multiple user opportunities) offers which may require multiple calls to close the sale. Additionally, securing conference registrations through telemarketing is working well.
8. Greg Krehbiel, director of marketing operations, The Kiplinger Washington Editors
Actually, I’m going to be a contrarian and say it’s dangerous to pay too much attention to trends. For years and years we’ve heard that print is dead and everybody’s going to be online. Baloney. Now it’s social media this and mobile that. Yes, but don’t let it distract you from your core business. Publishers should focus on meeting their subscribers’ needs—giving them information that makes their life easier. If you do that, you can print it on paper towels.
9. Diane Schwartz, senior vice president & group publisher, Access Intelligence
Social media optimization.
10. Pieter VanBennekom, editorial director, Progressive Business Publications
More of the same, while continuing to look for new ways to diversify into new areas and new products.
11. Rob Nance, publisher, Sift Media
Mobile advertising and specialized app views, iPad, Kindle, that kind of thing…we’re a bit out there with it now, but we know that in 2011 it will be even more important. We’ve got to constantly be on the forefront, delivering what our advertisers need.
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