From a business perspective, it might sound crazy to teach other people to do exactly what you do. Isn't that creating competition? Isn't that giving away trade secrets? The answer is yes, AND it's vital to thriving as a business.This week, my business partner and I will be training print reporters how to do what we do. We are working with a trade publication on how to use video to cover conventions. Some would say we're nuts, because that is what our business model is based on. We both have years of experience producing television news, and that's what our clients hire us to do. If we teach print reporters to produce the videos themselves, aren't we kissing a potential client goodbye? We don't believe so, in fact, we believe we may be creating an entirely new client. That's because we are building a relationship. We are going to their office, and looking forward to showing them how to improve their shooting, how to edit more efficiently, and how to improve their on-air presentation.
I must confess that we would have been leery about teaching other people how to do what we do if we hadn't heard author and PR expert, David Meerman Scott speak a few years ago. Meerman Scott talks about the viral, online marketing, and the importance of letting go of control. You have to be willing to put your knowledge out there for others to learn.
By sharing our knowledge, we build a relationship with this publication. When they need advice, hopefully they will turn to us. If their video production grows beyond their in-house capabilities, hopefully they will call us. The editor has already asked us if they can share our agenda and notes with other publications owned by the same company. We weren't expecting that at all, and it's indirect marketing at its best.
All of that aside, it's also just the right thing to do. If we share our knowledge, perhaps they'll share theirs as well, and we all become a little smarter.
I like everything you've said, and I'd like to add something as well..
ReplyDeleteTraining the client can work to your advantage in other ways. Sometimes we're so good at what we do that the client doesn't fully understand how much is actually going on at any given time.
I've had many scenarios where I've been hired outright because a trainee became overwhelmed, or they realized that they just didn't have the same passion to get a great shot, or put together a great edit.
We're good at what we do because we WANT to be, not because we HAVE to be, does that make sense?
I'm in teacher education and have the same philosophy of "share ideas" with other educators. I've been told that my philosophy is unique because most professors want to be viewed as "the one" who has the best classes, but our goal is to turn out well educated new teachers who will make our educational system stronger than it is today. I can't do that alone and if my methods or ideas are strong, why not share them? I find it interesting that your industry and mine have similar elements of competition.
ReplyDeleteGreat point
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