Building Trust
Bob Watson, Jr., Annalee Dolls -- Gifts and Dec, 1/1/2012 2:00:00 AM
Bob Watson
Every day i have conversations with people who use words such as change, innovation and industry revolution. It seems to be a universal belief that we must adapt to survive, but to adapt implies some sort of action.
Viable action requires careful consideration and information about your business compared to other like companies, as well as other companies up and down the value chain. In industries such as ours, comparative information can only be obtained if information is shared and there is a level of trust that the information will be used responsibly.
Looking around the industry, I see three levels of trust:
Level 1 says, "I trust what you're telling me about your business or product"
Level 2 says, "I trust you with my high level information so that we can discuss important decisions together to survive"
Level 3 says, "I trust you with my ‘secret' or detailed information because we are both going to work together to win."
The first kind of trust is the cornerstone of the buyer/seller relationship on which all industries are built. We continue to see this type of trust exhibited daily through our colleagues' professional conduct and thorough product knowledge. Unfortunately, this is, in general, the extent of the level of trust existing in this industry.
For companies who want to do more than survive - who want to win - they need to attain the third level of trust and share detailed information. Other industries create this type of trust with their competitors and the Federal Trade Commission admits that, "[i]n order to compete in modern markets, competitors sometimes need to collaborate."* (see note below right)
Examples of this type of collaboration and information sharing have been around our industry for a while; organizations like the GSMA (Gift Sales Managers Assn.) have been sharing information for several years with great success. But this type of cooperation needs to expand. Yes, we have all been burned by sharing information with somebody who has used it inappropriately. Nevertheless, we cannot let this fear stifle your survival.
Collaborating to Survive
In a world with increasing expenses, greater price competition and shorter product life cycles, few of us have the budgets to attack these issues by ourselves, unless we band together and work as a single team. Sharing information will be at the heart of any common project. This could include sharing a marketing database, inventory levels and more. I promise that you will not be 100 percent satisfied when sharing information, but the benefits out-weigh the risk.
If this industry is to go through a revolution to grow and survive, the movement will have to be built on Trust. The GHTA is working to build an atmosphere of trust by creating relationships among peers, not competitors or buyer/sellers, who share thoughts and ideas. Among other efforts, the data committee is looking to collect information from all corners of the industry, including accounts receivable, to build indexes similar to the Brandwise Show index (Level 2 on the trust scale). The data gathered through information sharing at this third level of trust will help all businesses develop sound plans of action to grow and succeed.
We would love your feedback!
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