Editor's Letter

Strategic Promotions

While we don’t know if the rumored economic recovery has truly taken a foothold, many information security professionals can say they have weathered the last year and are looking forward to better times ahead. And for many, those better times may be courtesy of new regulatory initiatives, such as HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) and the FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) Red Flags Rule.

While all information management firms are in a position to benefit from these regulatory efforts, those firms that adopt a strategic approach to their marketing practices as well as to their business goals will likely be ideally positioned to realize the potential these new regulations hold.

For instance, consider Michael Sullivan, president of Automated Records Centre, Bellefonte, Pa. (Turn to page 20 for a Q & A with Michael on the topic of marketing). Michael has embraced a strategic marketing campaign that involves a number of initiatives from direct mail to telemarketing to newsletters. Through his marketing efforts, Michael seeks to educate his potential customers about the services Automated Records Centre offers as well as about his experience in the records storage and destruction business. He also wants his prospects to see how his company can help alleviate the regulatory burdens they face daily.

Michael’s goal is to keep in regular contact with prospects so that he and his company come to mind when such firms decide they could benefit from outsourcing information management services. This is also effective when prospects decide they are not getting the value they want from current service providers.

Michael is trying to build the "know, like and trust" feelings SDB columnist Ray Barry writes about so often in his columns for the magazine. When information management professionals use a consultative sales approach with their clients, building trust with prospects and clients is critical. Being able to offer your clients guidance when it comes to the various regulatory compliance issues they face will likely be a welcome relief, particularly for the smaller firms who do not have the resources or staffing to dedicate to such a task.

The associations representing the information management industry have logged considerable time to ensure that their members understand these new regulations as well as the opportunities they present. Take advantage of these resources as well as the information Storage & Destruction Business provides regarding regulatory changes. To ignore them could be doing you more harm than you realize.