by Brant Rathe

My wife, Sarah, and I just made it back from Denver after attending the 2018 Spring IIMDA (Independent Information Management Dealers Association) Meeting. IIMDA is comprised of independently-owned information management companies from across North America that get together in a “think tank” setting to discuss ways to become better solution providers. I would like to share some of the key takeaways from the conference.

The meeting began with the always-spirited Mario Duckett, of MetaSource, leading a discussion about the challenges of dealing with procurement departments and their insatiable appetite for lowering vendor costs. The day was capped off with a fantastic presentation from social media guru Jake Nicolle.  Jake’s presentation focused on the principles of social media marketing, corporate branding, and relevance.

Here are my three biggest takeaways:

1.)     Compliance and data protection has never been more important.  Now, more than ever, it is important to be mindful of compliance regarding data protection.  If you want to be taken seriously as a vendor in the information management industry, your service needs to be built to with compliance in mind.  If large organizations like Facebook, Equifax and Yahoo can be compromised, no one is immune.  Understanding industry-specific compliance regulations and helping clients adhere to them is critical toward becoming a trusted advisor.

2.)    Niche, Niche, Niche.  To be successful in business an organization must have a clear and simple message that is easy to understand by the outside world.  Being all things to everyone is no man’s land.  Today each marketing message must be short, relevant, and focused. To this point, no one cares that we scan paper, index records, or sell software. People do care about the byproduct our services provide - freedom that allows our customers to work remotely, have peace of mind, and to utilize digital content at will. Delivering a message that resonates with our target audience in an easily-digestible format is essential to the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.

3.)    Where this is a will, there is a way.  Matt Solomon’s (AIS) presentation “Scan to zero” is proof positive that no matter a client’s need, we, as information management professionals, have the tools to create a solution to serve that need.  Matt’s team created a resourceful way to leap over the hurdles associated with scanning records that are trapped in a record storage facility. In short, the “Scan to zero” method relieves the customer of the hostage fees associated with traditional record storage while systematically purging, shredding and scanning the back-file over time at no additional cost to the customer. This brilliant solution provides a win-win for the client.

It’s always amazing to hear other IIMDA members openly discuss their unique business challenges and creative solutions.  I appreciate the IIMDA group and its open forum format which promotes the sharing of ideas.  I can’t wait for the fall meeting; Amelia Island here we come! 

If you know someone within the information management industry that would be interested in learning more about IIMDA please feel free to message me via my LinkedIn profile. I‘m always excited to share our story and meet others within the industry.