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It's a Jungle Out There!
 I’ve
been a member of a local gym for several years. What
first attracted me to the gym was its proximity. It’s
less than five minutes away... leaving me zero excuses
for not working out on a regular basis (which doesn’t
mean I do, mind you).
During
my time there, the gym name and its owners have changed
four times. Each time, the gym has changed for the better:
the water that used to leak through the ceiling and
windows has ceased; nearly all the mildew in the locker
rooms disappeared when new lockers were installed; most
of the equipment has been upgraded; classes are abundant
(as evidenced by the noise); and the air conditioning
even works (sometimes). Meanwhile, my dues have only
been raised five dollars. I could almost fathom a
day when it might even be called a “Health Club”...until
recently.
Enter
the new YMCA. Several years back, the “Y”
board decided that the existing quaint, but dilapidated,
facility was in serious need of replacement. It mounted
an impressive capital campaign and purchased some land
on the other side of town. The new 19,500 square foot
edifice sits atop a hill overlooking three communities,
and is equipped with every modern exercise program and
contraption imaginable, including a Boston Ballet dance
studio. To say that the gorilla has entered the jungle
is an understatement.
Since
the new Y opened, there’s nothing subtle about
the membership drop-off that has occurred at my neighborhood
gym. Members left as quickly as you can say “quit
clause,” and now the place feels like an exclusive
training spa (sans lemon water, soothing music, and
people in bath robes with Prozac expressions). The remaining
holdouts are those who fear that driving even a mile
further will send them down the spiral of no return,
and those who relish the idea of a private club for
neighborhood gym prices.
Of
course, this can’t last. The neighborhood gym will
have to raise dues for those remaining, count on disgruntled
converts returning because they don’t like the
crowds, or do one heck of an outreach campaign to court
new members. At the core, the owners have to decide
what it will take to sustain the gym into the future.
But, because that discussion goes a little too far down
the road, we’ll focus instead on what you can
do to prevent defection, and what you can do about it
should it occur. Here’s how:
1) Make new friends, but keep
the old. Remember that song around
the
campfire?
While new partners are important to grow
and scale your business,
existing partners
are often golden. The first way to
minimize defection is to
make your offer
irresistible and nearly impossible for
your existing partners
to replicate elsewhere.
In my case, the local gym has location
and ample
parking, but that may not be
enough to achieve the volume of members
needed
to survive. Something
new and compelling is needed.
2) Resist the temptation
to be all things to all partners. Becoming
the gorilla
in your field takes a
VERY long time (or a game-changing event).
Unless you
have ample resources
to do so, you cannot serve every partner
constituency
well. We've said it before,
but fewer, stronger partners are better
than trying
to serve the masses.
For my gym, serving a smaller member base
may result
in higher dues, but remaining
members might pay a premium for a relaxed
environment and the ability
to get their workouts finished quickly.
3)
Build a sustainable business model vs. succumbing
to short-term
revenue pressure. Almost
heresy, I know, but we continue to see smart
business people compromise
partner quality for the promise of volume
by
signing a bunch of unqualified
partners into a program. Eventually, all
those
partners require care and
feeding. Before you know it, you have
few
resources to serve your
very best partners, and the ones that leave
are the
ones you need most.
4)
Developing repeatable sales requires elbow
grease. Getting a partner
to sell on your behalf
can be hard work, as is investing in the
infrastructure,
processes, and resources
to replicate it. This is not only the
magic of getting
partners to stick around,
but also the magic of scaling your business.
5)
It's fun to beat your chest, but gorillas
are big and lumbering. Don't
spend another minute lamenting
that you're not Microsoft, AT&T, Google,
Cisco, IBM, or any other
gorilla in your landscape. At the end of the
day,
partners welcome alternatives
that minimize their dependencies
on the big players and,
given the right opportunity, will listen and,
ultimately, defect to you.
While the partnering jungle can be fierce,
may you stay ever fit for the adventure and
ahead of the curve.
Opportunity Knocking
Clients Seeking Candidates
Our clients and business comrades
are looking for candidates to fill the following
positions:
-
Manager, Product Marketing - Boston
area
-
Community Marketing Manager - Boston
area
-
Director, EMEA Marketing - Boston
area
Candidates Seeking Job Opportunities
The following individuals
are looking for opportunities to add value to a company seeking
channels and business partner expertise:
-
VP, Marketing and/or Channels
-
VP, Sales and/or Business Development
If you are seeking an
opportunity or candidates with such skills, please contact us for more
information.
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Thoughtwav
helps companies build and execute profitable go-to-market strategies
through direct, partner and alliance channels.
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 email:
jwilkinson@thoughtwav.com
phone: 781-652-8727
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