Column Saskia Stender: Building relationships

Linking to the theme of construction, I asked myself, "What am I actually building myself?". I don't build production sites, I don't construct office buildings, I don't place floors, walls or freezer doors. But I do in fact build.

I build relationships. Relationships have to be maintained, just like your business premises and machinery for that matter. Aha, here's a link to construction after all! I also build range, because all my relationships that communicate through our trade magazine are entitled to range.
How do we ensure as much range as possible? Simply, by sending the print edition free of charge to our target audience; food producers. And by not using online barriers. The latter unfortunately happens more and more often.

You probably recognize it: an unrequested newsletter in your mailbox. You open it and your eye catches an article that arouses your curiosity. But you are not allowed to read it, at best just the first three sentences. The content remains hidden to anyone without an online subscription. Click. I'm out of here.

This makes me itch. I do understand that this is a revenue model for many publishers, but we believe that professional information should reach as many people as possible. Our online revenue model lies in bannering. For the companies that place a banner, we want readers to stay on the site as long as possible and not immediately click away in disappointment. That's why we do it differently. We put all the information from the trade magazine online, visible and readable for everyone. The time readers spend on our site is still growing. That's why we do it.

Maybe I am stubborn, but in my own way I keep on building range for my relations.

Saskia Stender