Christian Fea - Collaboration Marketing Strategist

Developing a strategic marketing plan is important to raise awareness for your business. If consumers don’t know about your fabulous product, it’s very difficult for them to buy it! The art of successful marketing is largely about letting the public know how to find you.

For online business, there are a variety of creative ways to do this: direct email, banner ads, pop-up ads—all of which are successful and strategic tools. A rather new idea in Internet marketing is called collaboration marketing, an understanding of which will help develop a complete marketing strategy.

What is collaboration marketing?

In essence, collaboration marketing focuses on directly attracting customers to your site, rather than intercepting them with traditional advertising methods. In traditional advertising, customers are somewhat randomly drawn to your business. For instance, if they happen to see an enticing advertisement, and happen to click on it, they may find their way to your website and business. This is proven and effective marketing tool, but to find an edge in business, it is important to cultivate new and creative ways to raise awareness for your business.

How does collaboration marketing work?

Collaboration marketing attracts customers by becoming more and more helpful to them—in a sense a sort of personalized service. This type of marketing targets customers both in terms of evaluating potential new products and services that may be of interest to them, and working with them to get more value from products and services they have already purchased.

This may sound like a lot of work, but these goals can be obtained through straightforward processes that will target a large group of customers at one time. Personalized service need not be personal service. Collaboration marketing challenges the idea of “one to one” personalized service with the refreshing view of “many to one” and “one to many” types of marketing.

Push vs. Pull

Collaboration marketing works by mobilizing a broad range of relevant third party marketers to add value to the customer relationship. These marketers make resources and relationships available to the customer that will enhance the products the customer has already purchased, thus creating a type of need and loyalty to the company of previous purchases. This is a “pull” approach where the marketer becomes useful to the customer so the customer then seeks out the marketer, rather than other types of marketing that seek to “push” a customer towards their product by invading email and blasting out ads.

Certainly, traditional modes of marketing are effective. Many types of marketing have been successfully implemented for decades.  But the art of successful marketing and strategic marketing is about finding an edge—developing a strategy that will get you noticed and attract customers to the products and services that you offer.  Collaboration marketing should not be the only type of marketing you implement for a successful strategy, but is a tool—another piece to add to your repertoire to give you the business edge that will get you noticed and help make your business a success.

The age old adage pertaining to “word of mouth” advertising still holds true: make a customer happy, and he will tell one other person; make the customer unhappy, and he will tell 20 others. However, with the power of the internet, this impact has grown exponentially, as “word of mouth” published in blogs, websites, and community bulletin boards are read by millions of eyes – far exceeding the physical limitations of actually verbally telling someone about a company.

Buying the power of word of mouth

With that said, corporations continue to tap into word of mouth advertising, but on a larger, World Wide Web level. According to PQ Media’s word of mouth marketing forecast, companies are continuously increasing their spending on citizen marketing, growing from $980 million in 2006 to $1 billion in 2007. With the weakening of the economy and potential signs of a recession for 2008, expect this spending number to continue to grow, potentially at greater rates. In fact, by 2011, it is anticipated that this marketing figure will grow to approximately $4 billion.

Fortune 500 companies are cashing in on the power of citizen marketing through brand ambassadors. Formerly considered a spokesperson or token PR individual, today’s brand ambassador is equipped with the power of Web 2.0, thus reaching an exponentially larger audience.

Just to name a few, Jet Blue, Macy’s, and Sony have launched rigorous marketing campaigns based upon brand ambassadors, who are everyday citizens armed with word of mouth recommendations. For example, Sony named 25 brand ambassadors to promote their new digital cameras. Armed with the technology, these brand ambassadors were given the digital cameras, encouraged to take photos of their every day activities and blog their perspectives.

Citizen marketing levels the playing field

This unique marketing strategy is not limited to the big corporations. In fact, a small business can take advantage of this marketing strategy as effectively as Fortune 500 companies. With the internet and power of viral word of mouth marketing, a small business can make as much of a splash as Sony.

However, while brand ambassadors can be a tremendous asset to a corporation’s marketing efforts, managing them is not necessarily an easy task. In order to successfully execute a citizen marketing campaign, a company must fully select, train, and manage individuals who will be effective brand ambassadors – instead of simply paid endorsers.
In addition, not all business models are suited for the brand ambassador strategy.

Collaboration Marketing: Hassle-free brand ambassadors

With that said, any business can take the fundamental benefits of brand ambassadors, word of mouth advertising, and citizen marketing – but apply them to a collaborative marketing strategy. A collaborative marketing strategy shares the fundamental core of citizen marketing, but is much easier to implement and manage. You still achieve the same benefits of having brand ambassadors, which provides credibility and knowledge to the marketplace - without the hassles of training and managing a team of citizens.

To find a collaborative marketing partnership that will offer you the same rewards as a brand ambassador / word of mouth campaign, it is important to locate a company that has credibility and sway with its customer base. Without a credible, interactive relationship with their clients, their “word of mouth” recommendations are likely to fall to the wayside, which does not necessarily bode well for your company’s reputation. Yet, the effort is certainly worth the results, as a synergistic collaborative marketing relationship is likely to open your business to exponentially larger customer base – and revenues.

The incredible popularity of social networking sites, such as FaceBook, MySpace, and Yelp, demonstrate that individuals are collectively looking for ways to connect with each other. Yelp, a popular social networking recommendation site, is based solely upon individuals sharing their own opinions, experiences, and insights regarding local businesses and activities.

Businesses are social too.

And businesses are jumping in on the social networking trend. According to the Institute for Corporate Productivity, 65% of business professionals utilize social networking websites, while 55% of business professionals utilize social networking web sites to share their “best practices” and experiences with their colleagues.

Thus, the question remains - how does social networking relate to collaboration marketing?

Collaboration marketing: the sibling to social networking

An effective collaboration marketing strategy is akin to the fundamental popularity of social networking websites. Individuals, as well as small businesses, are looking to utilize the internet as a wealth of knowledge. The best way to research a company, product, or even supermarket is to ask someone who has experienced it. Thus, social networking sites, such as Yelp, are abounding with individuals asking for advice and recommendations.

This is where collaboration marketing comes in powerfully – it strikes the core need for individuals to garner “first hand” advice regarding the products and services they should purchase. Therefore, any successful collaboration marketing campaign utilizes the trust built between the company and its client base to promote with credibility.

Successfully bridging the business and community relationship

However, there is a fine line that must be walked in collaboration marketing, which is parallel to marketing efforts through social networking sites. In a relationship where trust and credibility play important roles in the end user’s buying decision, it is critical that the sense of “community” is developed. If the customer believes that the company is not contributing to the relationship – or worse yet, are exploiting the customer – then the efforts become negative.

Therefore, when you are formulating your collaboration marketing strategy, it is absolutely essential to ensure that the “recommendation” does not appear exploitative or too aggressive. In fact, the more “real” the recommendation sounds, such as the use of minor critiques, the more likely the customers will trust the recommendation and convert into a paying client. Another effective strategy is to couple the recommendation with a discount – which prompts the end users to believe that indeed, the “recommendation” is in their very best interest.

Utilizing collaboration marketing, IBM and Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories have entered into a joint venture to penetrate into China’s call center market. Although IBM and Genesys have been working together for many years, this is the first time they will engage in a joint venture to market call center technology in China.

Capitalization on each partner’s strength

The joint venture will bring Genesys and IBM together to create, implement, and market their new call center solution in China.

IBM has a very strong reputation in China, which will be a strategic advantage to the sales of Genesys’ products to new customers. In addition, this collaboration with IBM will also give Genesys’ current clients enhanced value and branding for their solutions.

According to Michael McBrien, the senior VP of Asia Pacific at Genesys, “we are now tapping into IBM’s sales and marketing expertise to expand our presence in the Greater China market.”

The VP of Strategic Partnerships at IBM, Mark Hanny, commented that the joint venture with Genesys for call center technology will allow both partners to achieve greater market exposure in the continuously growing Chinese market.

This joint venture together will also increase the strength of their sales in other collaboration arenas in China, such as the telecommunications, banking, government, and insurance sectors.

Collaboration marketing analysis

As evidenced in many collaboration marketing efforts, one partner has a stronger branding value, while the other presents a specialization, either in products or service. In this case, IBM’s widespread market recognition lends this marketing collaboration greater exposure – especially for Genesys’ sales of its specialized contact center technologies.

If you are considering utilizing collaboration marketing or a strategic alliance to take your business to the next level, determine what your strengths are as a partner. Do you have strong branding or widespread market penetration? Or, does your company offer specialized services or products that could be easily synergized with a powerful brand? When you understand where your strongest contributions as a partner are, you can then target your offerings strategically – leading you to the most beneficial collaboration marketing partnership combination.

As 2007 winds down, IT executives are looking to take their businesses to the next level in 2008 with collaboration. Despite the threats of recession and mortgage crisis that are hurting the overall economy, IT executives remain confident in pursuing 2008 growth.

Research demonstrates collaboration reigns as a top 2008 priority

According to a Ziff Davis Enterprise Editorial Research survey, combined with interviews with IT professionals, collaboration is one of the top IT initiatives targeted for 2008. Interestingly enough, it is not green IT and Web 2.0 technologies that are not on the list, but instead, a desire to collaborate to enhance the delivery of better services.

In addition, in a research survey for CIO Insight, the IT professionals surveyed were asked to designate the three most important IT business strategies for 2008. More than 35% of the respondents stated that collaboration and workflow would reign as the most important aspects in 2008.

Increased supply of applications to meet collaboration needs

Specifically in the IT field, many companies have released new software applications to address collaboration and strategic alliance efforts. For example, Google released its Google Apps Premier Edition in 2007, demonstrating the growing strength in the collaboration movement. The increased supply of collaboration software is symbolic of how the popularity of collaboration and strategic alliances is increasing.

Collaboration and strategic alliances go beyond IT

The economic weakening in the United States, as well as in the rest of the world, changes many industry dynamics. Many luxury and leisure industries will feel the economic pinch starting in 2008, as the ramifications of the mortgage crisis and lack of expendable income begin their waves of impact.

Therefore, more important than ever, it is important that existing and new businesses explore collaboration marketing and strategic alliances as a way to maintain and grow their revenues. Relying solely upon one’s established client base may cause stagnation or a decrease in revenues. However, by developing new means of collaborative marketing, combined with exploring strategic alliance opportunities, businesses can expand their target audience reach, which will result in increased revenues – even in times of economic fluctuation.

According to research conducted by Best Practices, a pharmaceutical research firm, collaboration marketing is a critical factor in the successful launch of pharmaceutical products.  Thus, the power of collaboration marketing is once again demonstrated across diverse industries.

Collaboration marketing closely tied with successful launches

On average, pharmaceutical companies begin their collaboration marketing efforts for a product five years before the anticipated launch.  The collaboration is critical in identifying whether the launch, which costs hundreds of millions of dollars, will be successful – and if it should be undertaken at all.  Thus, many players in the industry are involved.  For example, many large pharmaceutical firms employ licensing partnerships with small biotech companies, enabling significant benefits for both parties.

Critical elements of successful strategic alliances

In the research findings, pharmaceutical companies reported that the maintenance of strategic alliances were critical in the success of the collaboration.  Thus, through the comprehensive research, three major factors were revealed that were indicative of a successful strategic alliance:

1.    Business management and human resource relationship skills are fundamental to creating positive partnerships.
2.    Synergistic approach to risk management will alleviate any tensions in strategic alliance partnerships.
3.    Formal, clearly developed collaboration goals, along with the management of decision-making, play a large role in determining the success of the strategic alliance.

With the proper management, synergistic approach, and clearly defined goals, a strategic alliance results in effective collaboration efforts – both in pharmaceutical and other industries.

The power of collaboration marketing continues to certainly gain steam.  Recently, Microsoft and CAE announced their marketing collaboration strategy, specifically targeted towards the audience of defense, homeland security, and public safety.

This is a powerful synergistic relationship that will let both brands capitalize on the resources and reputation of its partner.  Microsoft, as we all know, is the ultimate powerhouse in both business and consumer operating systems – but what is its track record for software related to defense?  This is where CAE enters the picture.  CAE is the international forerunner in developing simulation and training software for the defense industries.

By combining the software giant of the world with the civil defense simulation leader, this marketing collaboration relationship allows both companies to take their businesses one step higher – especially in revenues.  Sharing services, products, and specialist knowledge, CAE and Microsoft will utilize each others resources and reputation to create solutions – and marketing strategies – for the defense industries.  This gives both companies a broader and more profitable reach into the niche industry.

For both CAE and Microsoft, they can penetrate into new markets through new software solutions and distribution channels.  Without each other, the upward growth of the two companies would have been limited in the sector, but capitalizing upon their strengths, they can both achieve significantly more than individual efforts.

The marketing collaboration relationship between Microsoft and CAE is an excellent example of how significantly partnerships can contribute to a company’s growth.  Collaboration marketing increases the revenues pie for both parties involved, allowing each company to have a great slice of profits.

The manufacturing giants once kept the innovation in marketing minimal, viewing any partnerships as a potential conflict of interests.  With an industry market of competitiveness and secrecy, collaboration was a faux pas word that was not utilized during strategy meetings.  However, without collaboration marketing, one company can only accomplish so much.

The analogy is simple.  One man, regardless of how strong and bulky his muscles are, cannot move a boulder as efficiently as a team of people.  It is only through collaboration that companies can overcome market boulders to fully penetrate their target audience.

Take the famous “Got Milk?” campaign as a great example of the power of collaboration marketing.  Through key partnerships, the milk industry capitalized upon the branding and strength of other companies and industries – to massively penetrate consumer psychology.  Instead of viewing marketing as an individual effort, the “Got Milk?” campaign teamed up with Oreos, Hershey’s, Girl Scouts of America, Barbie, and even the Cookie Monster.  This multi-faceted campaign no only increased the marketing efforts of all the collaboration partners, but also allowed milk to capitalize upon the identification of each product’s client base.

The key to utilizing collaboration marketing effectively is to think outside of the box, pursuing relationships that are creatively compatible.  For example, Apple iPods and Swarovski crystals would make a very effective collaboration marketing partnerships; while in completely different industries with varying target audiences, this collaboration would effectively boost the market presence of both companies – resulting in greater sales.

It is not necessarily an easy feat to develop, strategize, and negotiate a collaboration marketing strategy.  Often, an independent third party strategist is an effective partner in bringing together companies that will lift each other’s sales and market penetration.

Your business has achieved great success, with significant growth since its first inception.  With a loyal client base and great PR outreach, you enjoy both repeat and new business.

Why are your revenues no longer growing?  For all business owners, the earnings plateau of the original business model is inevitable.  Every business experiences a growth phase, which plateaus and enters into the “cash cow” scenario, where you obtain a steady stream of revenues.

Overcoming the revenues plateau and current market dynamics

However, the key to taking your business to the next level is to think beyond your current marketing plan.  Yes, it certainly has been successful and effective at achieving your goals, but if you want to grow your business to the next stage, you must think outside of the box – or original business plan.

With the significant shifts in business, no longer are businesses enjoying a one-to-one relationship with customers.  With the barrage of competition and information available at the click of a button, customers do not have enough attention to focus on your business.  They also know that they hold the power – so they demand more, expect more, and if you do not give them their expectations, they instantly move onto the next business.

You know this.  That is why you have been quite successful at the three “I’s” needed for marketing success: Intercept, Isolate, and Inhibit.

Now, according to marketing guru John Hagel, your marketing must shift into the three “A’s”: Assist, Attract, and Affiliate.   This essentially changes your “one on one” focus to a “many on one” marketing strategy – a collaboration strategy.

The fundamentals of the collaboration strategy

At its core, a collaboration strategy increases the overall economic pie, allowing each player to get a better piece.  This is a tremendous shift away from the traditional business model, where each business fights the others to gain a bigger piece of a small piece.   To understand how collaboration strategy works, let us evaluate each piece of the puzzle:

•    Assist:  When you help, empower, and engage individuals, you instantly develop an attractive rapport with them.  Therefore, you must not only understand your product deeply, but also remain open to your customers’ inputs to create “co-op” products.
•    Attract:  You must understand underlying consumer psychology, and then utilize motivational incentives to draw individuals towards your business.
•    Affiliate:  Whereas you are a single voice, developing networks give you an exponential reach to potential customers.  Affiliates are any third-party partner that can develop synergies with your business.

Collaboration strategy capitalizes upon power in numbers – the more people and businesses that you can bring value to, the greater value your own business will achieve.  In a sense, the more “generous” you are with sharing to your customers and partners, the more you will receive in return.

Whether you run a successful business or are engaging in a start-up, collaboration marketing is an effective tool in helping you achieve your goals.  Remember, the power is in numbers – the more people you can engage in your marketing process, the broader your reach, and the greater your revenues.

How much “work” do you do yourself? How much time, money, and market share are you loosing by figuring everything out for yourself instead of using other recourses that can move you towards profitability in a fraction of the time? If you write down everything you do by yourself during your work days for the next 7 days, I guarantee you’ll be shocked at all the time you waste on “figuring it out” instead of “getting it done”. Please don’t confuse the illusion of productivity simply because your busy.

By using a Collaboration Marketing Strategy, you can operate in Parallel Streams of Productivity. This means you can, in all practicality, double, triple, or quadruple your profit enhancing activities by exercising a fraction of the time, effort, and money that your most likely exerting today.

Here’s an idea that could multiply your sales by a factor of 2x in less then 30 days. Write down the top 3 things you think you need to do to get your idea, project, or goal to the next level. For example, if your objective is to get more prospects to call you for your services. Think about who else has an existing relationship with the highest probability purchaser that would also be interested in your laterally related product or service. If you offer a Blog setup service for $149, you could collaborate with a Graphic Designer (there are tens of thousands of them out there) and offer a $49 referral fee to the designer as an up-sale that they do for you (Parallel Stream #1) to all their clients that they create logos, web sites, headers, and web based videos for. The key here is practical application of the Parallel Stream Concept. Once you get this Parallel system in place with one other Collaboration Actor you can repeat this process over and over. Now your productivity can increase dramatically while you apply another Parallel Stream to another Collaboration Actor. In this case a Graphic Designer, but how about an Illustrator, a Video Editor, or a PC/MAC repair service. Your choices really are only limited by your inactions.