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The decision to break into a new market is seldom an easy one. It requires a significant amount of market research to identify the potential customer base, assess the risks and benefits, and develop a marketing plan to achieve objectives. This edition of Partners in Progress emphasizes three other key factors for success in new market development: the ability and willingness to pivot and adapt, perseverance in the face of adversity, and the importance of finding the right partner to help that process reach its full potential.
In March, the International Training Institute (iTi) was busy providing a full roster of Train-the-Trainer courses to American and Canadian instructors at training facilities across the United States when governments imposed the COVID-19 lockdown measures. But instead of being stymied by the shelter-in-place orders, the Virginia-based iTi unhesitatingly switched its entire curriculum to online learning, and the signatory sheet metal workers that comprise its instructor pool continued to gain the skills they needed to train a new generation of talent.
In 1974, Robert Dak got into Local 250’s five-year apprenticeship program. Nine years later, he was sent to check out a fire at a Seafood Boiler restaurant. He found that the wrong heaters had been installed on the makeup air (MUA) units, putting the kitchen into a negative pressure condition—so negative that air was sucked into the kitchen though the hot water heater flue. This caused flames to roll out, which caused the fire. Afterwards, Robert studied and learned the necessary material and procedures and got certified with NEBB. This year, he was awarded the TABB Hall of Fame Award.
Successfully entering a new market isn’t just about relationship-building, of course. Economists and strategists generally agree that factors such as timing, scale relative to the competition, and the ability to leverage complimentary assets also play big parts. Even with all of these factors lined up, it’s believed that for every successful market entry, about four fail. In the signatory sheet metal industry, the best way to reduce risk is to have a strong relationship.
Understanding the importance of when, why, and how to pivot your business during a crisis could constitute its ultimate success or failure, as Fontana, California-based SMACNA firm GES Sheet Metal knows. The company recently proved how a pivot done correctly can lead to greater opportunities and business growth, even during a pandemic.
The Strive to Succeed Challenge—part of the Partners in Progress Conference—brings labor-management teams together in a friendly competition with other areas across the country. Like most events, Strive to Succeed has been impacted by COVID-19, but the challenge is still on in a different form. Announced earlier this summer, the deadline to complete Strive to Succeed 2020 and its structure have changed to help all local areas that participate earn joint marketing funds.
For a labor-management partnership to be successful, using every available tool is critical. Jointly-funded organizations like National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) and the National Energy Management Committee (NEMIC) are a gold mine of ideas and resources that can play an important role in keeping partnerships running smoothly, particularly when delving into new markets.
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