Adding Marketing Services? Minimize Your Risk

But that is not always the case; there are just as many people in charge who are more involved and have a better understanding of the in-plant. When asked, these more knowledgeable people typically answer questions about in-plant goals with responses such as these:

• Faster turnaround and more convenience. "We want staff to be able to walk to the basement and get their stuff. We don't really measure performance, but we hear when people complain, especially the important people."
• Maintain brand consistency. "We need to make sure the logo color is the same on all our printed products. Again, we don't measure this but we see when people use the wrong logo."
• Make sense financially. "We expect the department to charge us less than most outside companies, and to pay for itself. We measure break-even at year-end and, of course, we hear if the pricing is too high."

It's also useful to talk about the original motivation for the in-plant operation. This can be an interesting exercise, both for those who are new in their position and do not know, as well as those with more experience who can provide helpful background information.