Two heads are better than one
We all understand the importance of networking and interactivity in terms of knowledge sharing in business. As the world gets smaller, should we be looking towards forming more global partnerships? Tecna Display MD Jonathan Evitt thinks so.
Strong business partnerships are important for industry to thrive. Really good networking opportunities come round very infrequently and oftentimes individuals use trade shows and conferences to do just that as many of you will attest to following Ipex and Fespa. Generic networking clubs such as breakfast clubs and council run business events are all very well for those companies that offer a wide range of products for B2B's and can sometimes start out well but tail off as the leads start to dry up. Professional associations can make you feel part of a larger family and not left to fend completely on your own. Online versions of networking clubs such as LinkedIn, Twitter and to some extent Facebook can all improve your connections and visibility. But do any of these actually have a real impact on your business - and surely these networks have a responsibility to the industries they thrive in to help drive business and innovation?
One company that has recently taken the plunge by helping to forge a 'Global Partnership' with it resellers is modular display system manufacturer Tecna Display (www.tecnadisplay.com). This UK company - creator of the T3 Airframe system for exhibition builds and large format graphic displays - recognised that a large number of global partners were all trying to do the same thing in their individual countries; which was to promote and develop sales in a difficult market. Though every country faced different issues, and some indeed would be in competition with each other at times, they all had two things in common; a passion for the T3 product and a compelling need to shout about it.
Jonathan Evitt, inventor T3 and MD of Tecna Display decided that the only way he could help get the message out there about how much time, effort and money T3 would save the average exhibition build and large format display business was to bring together his collective distributors from all around the world and create the first ever Tecna Display Global Partner Event to share information, knowledge, techniques and strategies that will in turn benefit the print service providers they target.
Held at Billesley Manor Hotel near Stratford-upon-Avon during Ipex week the event proved to be a huge success with over 50 attendees from all over the world - Canada, France, Singapore, South Africa, China, Poland, Holland, UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Switzerland, Israel and Denmark, Norway, Romania and Nigeria were all represented. Twenty-five of these members also attended Ipex to research the new textile opportunities available to work with the T3 FabFrame product as well as other direct to substrate printing techniques that the T3 system will carry to give customers more choice.
And the outcome? They did work together, share information, learn from each other about the best substrates to recommend, ideas for marketing the product, and suggestions on how to help print service providers create a new revenue stream by using T3.
Evitt believes that this is the future of business networking; "Creating a real business partnership, a family if you will, of the dedicated and devoted. Distributors that invest in the product and help be part of the development process by keeping open channels of communication is key for us. We are determined to stay ahead of the game, keep inventing quality creative positive solutions for the large-format print professional in tune with their evolving print technologies. This is how the idea for the FabFrame product that works with digital textiles came about and also the ShellKit adaptors that make shell schemes look professional and inviting. By forging a real global partnership like we have just done we have strengthened our position in the marketplace are well placed to drive ahead with an inspired enthusiasm that permeates through our whole global distribution channel."