Local newspapers pride themselves on having built a strong reputation and earning the trust of the communities and small businesses that they serve. They possess vast knowledge and understanding after decades of working with their respective communities and are a respected resource for growing businesses.
Despite being a trusted resource, they are currently losing revenue and opportunities for engagement as print services diminish. They’re also seeking to offer advanced digital solutions that would transform the publishing industry as we (and SMBs) know it. As we’ve understood through our talks with decision makers and industry experts, newspapers are yearning for new recurring revenue models and are more open to talking digital now more than ever.
And who better to consume those digital tools and become loyal customers than their SMBs? According to our survey of 500 SMBs, small businesses are hungry for digital tools that answer their needs and show real value.
In order to stay competitive and innovative, newspapers need to think outside of the box with a newer approach. One that would enable them to generate new revenue streams, increase engagement with their small business customers and upsell/cross-sell their existing services with ease; inTandem by vcita can help them achieve that and more.
SMBs are more than just interested in digital tools, they’re passionate about them. Our December 2024 survey revealed that 59% are using between two and four core digital tools to run their business and 67% have added up to four new tools to run their business in the past 12 months alone. These don't include tools like gmail, social media management tools, Microsoft Office, etc.
These tools are core business tools as they are carrying out critical business functions that SMBs need to build, run and grow their businesses. The top three uses for these tools are collecting payments, automating invoicing & billing, and organizing client information, which are three of the most time-consuming tasks small businesses have to deal with when handling manually.
But SMBs aren’t just on the hunt for digital tools, they’re in the market for the right tool. In order to reduce their reliance on too many solutions, 91% of our survey respondents indicated that they prefer an all-in-one platform.
And newspapers are perfectly positioned to offer them the tools they seek.
Throughout the years, newspapers have built themselves a reputation and a trusting relationship with SMBs. Not only are journalists part of the local communities from which these small businesses stem, but they report in a transparent way that resonates more with local businesses. This transparency, along with their close ties to the community, allows local media to establish bonds with SMBs that enterprises and national media simply cannot offer.
However, what can newspapers do when their traditional services are no longer enough to maintain a strong and steady revenue stream? Expand and leverage the unique positioning they’ve built over the years to offer sought-after solutions to their small business clients.
Through a partnership with inTandem, newspapers can become a digital service provider that delivers tangible value and enhances the perceived value of their services across the board.
With inTandem Connect, local newspapers go beyond presence services by assuring that all their SMBs’ leads get fed into an easy-to-use, branded app in which all client communication from all sources (websites, social media, etc.), are managed. And with an added layer of AI saving the small business much needed time and resources, the newspaper becomes an even more trusted partner that empowers the SMB to follow up and make better decisions to close more deals, which as we’ve seen in our survey, remains a top priority for SMBs. From 2023 to 2024, “attract new customers” had one of the highest jumps year-over-year as a main concern (from 25% to 40%).
As an organization looking to hold onto this sector, newspapers should meet small businesses where they’re at and offer them a solution that helps them centralize, visualize and proactively take steps to finalize the sale.
inTandem helps newspapers turn once-in-a-while services into solutions used on a daily basis. By implementing our white-labeled business management solution, newspapers become indispensable to their small business clients.
With capabilities like a CRM, scheduling, payments and marketing automations, all powered by AI, the SMB runs their entire day through the newspaper’s brand — not only making it a one-stop-shop for all their critical business operations, but also increasing the cost of switching, ensuring retention for the newspaper.
When an SMB runs its entire business on one platform, houses all its client information, takes payments, etc., it is less likely to move to a competitor so quickly, making it a strong churn reduction tool for the newspaper.
One of the best parts about partnering with inTandem is that it provides a natural way for newspapers to upsell and cross-sell their services to small businesses. Once SMBs use the lead delivery inbox or the business management solution on a daily basis, the upsell to more advanced tools like more media placements is natural.
A partnership with inTandem means local newspapers have access to their SMBs’ data and can offer contextualized upsell opportunities, using insights that are unique to each business. For example, flagging a high season (like wedding season) for the beauty industry and offering SMBs in the beauty industry the opportunity to expand their online presence and boost campaigns to ensure they are maximizing their exposure.
In addition, by plugging in their services to the platform, local newspapers can enhance the discoverability of their overall offerings and SMBs can consume those services, even on a self-serve basis.
A partnership with inTandem means you get access to our over 15 years of expertise with a proven innovative digital solution which has become the core revenue source for leading, publicly traded companies that serve SMBs. Needless to say, we know what we’re doing, and we’re not afraid to share that knowledge with visionary publishers who share our mission of propelling SMB growth.
We also don’t expect our partners to become SaaS experts on their own and don’t leave them wading in the water to bring a SaaS solution to their SMBs on their own. Our partners leverage our professional services, where we can help them introduce a SaaS solution to the market under their brand.
We set our partners up for success. It’s a win-win! SMBs get access to a solution they absolutely love and desperately need, and newspapers differentiate themselves, assuring their longevity, reaffirming the value of their services and diversifying their revenue streams.
SMBs are in need of digital tools and local newspapers have a great opportunity to offer said solutions to them. Where it was once considered an unattainable feat, it’s now closer than ever with inTandem.
Partnering with inTandem by vcita gives newspapers a plethora of options. From delivering an easy-to-use app that’s powered by AI, which transforms presence services into real business results for SMBs, to a platform that encourages upsell to more advanced tools, or cross-sell to other publishing services, newspapers become fully equipped to gain and retain their small business customers.
And without the need for previous SaaS experience, inTandem supports the publisher’s every move, making sure to optimize and adapt to ensure success.
To learn more about inTandem’s partner program and how it can transform your publishing company’s SMB approach, click here.
