Think back to your early sales days (even if you didn't have early sales experience this should resonate) and remember when that "so and so" advertiser didn't buy what you thought was a slam dunk, can't miss campaign?! What could that knucklehead have been thinking?? Doesn't she know newspaper is far better than [TV, radio, outdoor... Fill in the blank] anything else being contemplated? I simply cannot believe HE didn't buy!?!

We occasionally feel the same way. It's hard to believe when a prospect (or, even existing customer, ugh) invests in research from a source other than Belden. Tell me it ain't so! Sometimes it's, a syndicated product, perhaps budget was an issue, there are times a prospect has a great, enviable relationship with another newspaper partner, and, yes, there are times corporate headquarters suggests tighter expense management, and research and/or training are the first to be eliminated from any budget.

Something must be wrong with those guys...

That's NOT the case at all!

When we swing and miss on any Request For Proposal (RFP) we really want (which would be all one of them!), it is disappointing. We hate it when we don't prevail. In every fiber of our being there's the belief our-one-of-a-kind-experience, unparalleled commitment to quality, talented team of data processors, analysts and Project Directors are exactly what the newspaper needs.

"What could they be thinking by engaging someone else or not conducting the research at all?"

Here's the deal - it is our "fault": It is OUR responsibility to make sure our unique, perfectly positioned for that study skill set is articulated in understandable, compelling and impossible to resist terms.

If we don't earn an engagement WE must shoulder the burden...and learn!

Just like that sales rep who somehow doesn't achieve 100% closing rate on sales calls, it is up to us to be responsive, be sure we are meeting the needs, and presenting the right offer (hopefully, at the right time) to continually earn client and prospect business. It isn't a right - your business is a priveledge. We thanks you!

A good newspaper partner should also occasionally anticipate needs and to capitalize on our industry "partner" point of view to recognize solutions or challenges newspapers sometime don't even know they have. That also means pushing, pulling, cajoling, guilting or espousing recommendations without stepping on too many toes and with just the right amount of passion that catalyzes client action.

There should be a regular commitment to R&D (new media, new methodologies, new types of analysis, etc.) so we find new opportunities without abandoning the tried and true prematurely. And, there should also be the humility to recognize we don't know it all and to acknowledge errors. Our "outside looking in" perspective SHOULD be incredibly valuable to newspapers.

So, we must occasionally (for any reason, and I can think of dozens of ways this could happen) let our clients know something didn't work as well as we thought, or the incidence is very different than we estimated or and do more than just make it right. Thankfully, that doesn't happen too often, but when it does, we must be prepared to correct an error. Make that overcorrect an error!

And from our perspective - What makes the best partner?

Communication!

The more dialog - during the proposal process, questionnaire design, deliverable needs, you name it - the better. In the past year, we revised one proposal 9 times as we learned more of the expectations and needs of one client. And, guess what? The final research ended up being as actionable and on target as any we've delivered.

We also love communication after the fact. What is being done with the findings? Let us see samples of the collateral materials or design changes built upon research insights to help us improve and share effective practices. Share those - as often as you can.

And, I suppose there's one related quality we'd like to see - open mindedness. The challenging times we're all operating in demand new tools and methods and ways of attacking and solving problems. Those answers may come from new technologies...or from places the newspaper industry never dreamed of looking before.

We're conducting some of our own research right now in pursuit of new techniques and insights, yet we're constantly getting "push back" from both clients and other researchers. Fine, but don't forget successfully shifted paradigms (if that's what is required, and that's probably not too far off) inevitably come from an outsider.

Belden Associates has been an outside/partner to this splendid industry for coming up on 65 years now and we love it. Here's to staying close enough to continue to effect worthwhile change, yet distant enough, to offer insightful new answers, and more great partnerships to enjoy all of it!