ForeThought: Underwear is just the beginning

January 1, 2010 | Galynn Nordstrom

Amusing as it is to read Doonesbury’s take on Twittering (Garry Trudeaux for Roland Hedley, senior Twitter correspondent: “How bad is U.K. economy? My tailor is personally picking me up at Heathrow. Will post twitpix of swatches en route hotel for your input”) or the article in today’s StarTribune about a San Francisco PR professional whose Twitter account was recently hijacked, sending messages about Victoria’s Secret gift cards to everyone in his address book (“I thought, ‘How long have I been Twittering about underwear?’”), it seems clear that social media marketing is the Current Thing for businesses.

Or, to be more accurate, it’s one Current Thing. Specialty Fabrics Review will be covering a variety of online marketing tools for manufacturers in the coming months: RSS, social bookmarking, social media news releases, podcasting, blogs, effective websites. But as 2009 comes to a very welcome end and we all start preparing to push this economic recovery in 2010, every aspect of any business is getting a thorough examination from management: what do we do best, and how can we do it better? Where do we cut, and where do we invest? How do we keep an ongoing dialogue with customers?

In this issue, in addition to our lead feature about how photovoltaics is leading to new opportunities to promote awnings and canopies to customers, we’re also highlighting different business strategies for growth (“In-house or out: play to your strengths,” page 38) and “Smooth operators” on page 44, focusing on finding efficiencies in labor, equipment and operations. You’ve stayed in business throughout 2009, so you must be doing something right—but because something has worked in the past is no guarantee for the future. As Globe Canvas’ Kevin Kelly says, “The most important consideration is to be willing to throw away the way you are doing things now.”

It’s clear that it’s not only electronic conversations that need to be re-started to kick-start 2010. But it’s also clear that many specialty fabrics manufacturers need to make fast progress in this area to stay current with the way that customers now research products and suppliers. Any business plan for 2010 should have website development and social media marketing as an important component.

IFAI is working to update its long-term procedures as well, trying to increase both efficiency and effectiveness, for our members and customers and for ourselves. All seven IFAI publications now have completely redesigned websites, and soon you’ll be able to do a single search across all of them to find the information and sources you need. One major change we have just made: the 2010 Review Buyer’s Guide forms will not be mailed to you in January. (How’s that for progress?)

Instead, you will receive an e-mail giving you instructions on how to log in to your directory information online; and while you’re there, you will have the opportunity to input information on all seven IFAI magazine directories and the 2010 membership directory in one visit, if you’re eligible to do so. And you’ll be able to update that information right up until the data is downloaded for publication.

Let the conversations begin.

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