I know one routes to market manager in a major IT company who spends 80% of his time on projects with a 2 to 3 year time horizon.  He is really not that interested in the immediate ‘here and now’ execution of marketing programmes. Instead, he concentrates on how the company should define its relationship with intermediaries and the implications that will have for the processes, competencies and infrastructure he needs to be developing now.  Yet another person, occupying the same role in the same company, could define themselves almost entirely by short-term goals.

Of course, hitting quarterly targets is important, but people in routes to market should beware of the short-term mind set.  Focus entirely on quarterly results, and you are likely to damage relationships and destroy value. Above all, you limit your ability to set the agenda and put clear water between your company and the competition. I see this happening time and time again – particularly in the IT and telecom industry.  Many companies pay lip-service to long-term plans and strategies, only to throw everything out of the window when they get to a tough quarter end. 

Often older industries show the way.  For instance, in this issue we look at how John Deere works with its dealer network to make decisions and then build consensus before new product or marketing launches.  Major initiatives are always piloted and tested first. Dealer testimonials from successful pilots are then used to launch programmes to the wider dealer network.  Yes, it is a time consuming process, but it builds trust.  And that is a commodity which other suppliers often find is in short supply around launch time - however much they spend on hoop-la and fireworks.

Training is another area where long-term thinking pays off.

Most suppliers could benefit from taking a good hard look at the partner training programmes put in place by earth-moving giant Caterpillar.  Cat takes the training of its 90,000 worldwide dealer employees so seriously that it actually monitors the individual needs of each and every dealer salesman and technician every year. That builds huge competence. Just think about the sort of service levels Cat dealers must be delivering and the long-term impact of all that on the brand.

Contrast that to the short-termist approach adopted by many suppliers who perceive training their channel as little more than one day product-centric seminars on the features and benefits of the latest launch. This simply does not work. It does not build the dealer salesforce’s skills nor are attendees likely to retain much of the information.

Looking long-term calls for self-confidence, a willingness to think outside the box and, crucially, accurate ways of measuring returns. 

In the absence of these qualities, results tend to be self-fulfilling. A classic example of this is the way suppliers at the RTMA’s summer retail conference said that the profitability of the retail channel was too low for them to be able to afford to put their best account managers in the area!  How can you expect to move away from confrontational buy/sell relationships with retail buyers if you persist in using junior, unskilled and ungifted account managers?  As you sow, so shall you reap.

I passionately believe in the importance of taking the longer-term view. In fact I would say it is the hallmark of a senior executive who is doing his or her job properly.  So here are two questions to ask yourself: "What should I change over the next 2-3 years?" and  "How much time can I spend on it?"