Category: Marketing Ideas & Innovation

On Cafe Conversations, Connections & Collaboration

Its about conversation and collaboration. Wake up and smell the coffee..

The historian and philosopher Theodore Zeldin – founder of Oxford Muse.com says a lot with few words; “the kind of conversation I am interested in is one where you start it prepared to emerge from it a slightly different person”. As befits a great mind, this is a deceptively simple insight that contains within it a quite a profound truth. How often in business do you engage in a conversation where you are truly open to the ideas of others?

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Matt Ridley: On The Exchange Of Ideas..

Matt Ridley is one of the world’s great science journalists and the ex-Science editor for The Economist. A common theme in his work  – is the story of how collaboration and the exchange of ideas is the vital ingredient that powers great invention, trade, social change – and (and this is the important lesson for marketers) – commercial  innovation. In the TED video below, Ridley explains the importance of specialism and working together.  It’s an uplifting, fun and positive presentation – with a valuable message. This is something he explores in his excellent book – The Rational Optimist. Ridley points out that businesses manage a whole ecosystem of specialist suppliers, experts and increasingly, in our hyper connected super fast world, accessing those most valuable of raw business materials: knowledge and ideas. Nobody can do it alone.  At Benchstone we believe in the vital importance of critical third party collaborations that need be driven by relationship managers with attention to Fit, Planning – and Momentum. For more information on how effective partnership management and smarter collaboration strategies can sharpen your marketing approach visit Benchstone Marketing

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Collaborate To Innovate – Don’t Just Cannibalise

A very interesting article in HBR, Vicki Gardner highlights recent research from Nielsen showing that most of what is deemed marketing innovation actually just cannibalized existing products and market shares – and that genuine innovation should come from collaboration. As Gardner says; ” Regarding innovation, the numbers indicate that the vast majority of innovation also results in splitting the pie vs. growing the pie — and in some cases, innovation inadvertently shrinks the pie”.

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Partnerships That Every Small Business Can Build

Smart and cost effective partnership marketing tactics are not just for large brands – small businesses can benefit from them too.

Partnerships and alliances are good for business. Big business has always known this — from McDonald’s building global co-promotions with Coca-Cola and Walt Disney, to Nike building trainers that talk to your iPhone. But alliances can bring significant benefits for small firms too – something I discuss in this article within MarketingDonut. In the article I outline the four main partnership tactics that small businesses can use; (1) Revenue Partners (2) Supplier Partners, (3) Industry Alliances and (4) Promotional and PR. These are the kind of marketing programmes that are used by some of the world’s biggest brands – because they’re cost effective and work. So if they’re not already doing so, isn’t it time small businesses started to build these approaches into their plans too? For more information on partnership tips and advice see Benchstone.co.uk

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Solutions For Small Business Partnership No-No’s

As an advocate in partnership marketing it’s just as important for me to point out that not all partnership and collaborative offers are good ones – and that sometimes it is best solution is to walk away from the deal.  As an old boss once wisely told me ‘do not fall in love with the deal’ – but keep a clear idea of what you really want from the relationship. In an interesting piece published in Business Insider in 2010, Venture Capitalist Don Rainey pointed out that small businesses need to just say no to certain partnership deals. I agree with Rainey up to a point but I think some of the ‘no-no’s’  he points out can be overcome with a sharper partnership approach too.

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Feeling The Squeeze – Time To Get Out More?

Marketers need to power up the radar, can the horizones and hone their ‘collaborative’ streak and realise, as some of the best brands in the world have, that the future is all about ‘partner or perish’ (to quote Xerox). Brands cannot go it alone they need to find collaborative allies.

In a recent article published in Marketing Society the editor of ‘Market Leader’ – Judie Lannon commented that marketers are getting ‘squeezed’ – as aspects of their role fall increasingly within the domain of others. She’s right of course – they’re getting squeezed. And to get away from the internal squeeze – marketers need to get out and engage and collaborate more. (You can see the original article and comments here. )

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‘Partnering Is A Matter Of Smarts’ – Says Judith Hurwitz, HBR

Hewlett Packard grew its business using powerful partnerships with Intel (chips) , Oracle (databases) and Cisco (networking) – but as Judith Hurwitz points out in a recent article published in Harvard Business Review (HBR) –  it now needs to revisit and reinvigorate these key relationships to regain its innovative edge.

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Partnership> Why It Is Not a Purchase Order

The term partnership can mean different things to different people and in many cases that makes sense but it should never just be about the purchase orders. This is a point that has been made very clear recently by Ben Gomes-Casseres. If the shared definition is not understood and agreed by the parties early on, it can frustrate and poison any chance of a long-term relationship – be it one based on sales, marketing collaboration or anything else.

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Chance Favours The Connected Mind: TED Video, Steven Johnson

Steven Johnson presents at TED 2010 on his great book; ‘Where Do Good Ideas Come From’

Those who have not had time to read Steven Johnson’s great book ‘Where Good Ideas Come From’ can catch his TED presentation from 2010 below. If you don’t know his work, Johnson explored how the most creative business and societal ideas evolved and the environments that best stimulate them. For marketers, who continually stress the importance of innovating this is worth a moment. A key finding is that ‘coffee house’ style collaboration, connection, relationship building  (i.e. partnerships) – and using existing resources is key to good ideas. As Johnson says ‘Chance favours the connected mind’ and connecting those ideas is more important than protecting them.

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Why Benchstone?

A bench stone is used to build and sharpen valuable blades and other important tools. Bench stones are specialist resources and some are even diamond coated. Over twenty years I have come to passionately believe that partnerships and alliances are vital and valuable marketing tools that when properly managed can give businesses a unique cutting edge  – creating an advantage that is difficult, expensive if not impossible for rivals to replicate. And Benchstone Marketing Limited is established to support senior management, brands and organisations plan, pioneer and sharpen their marketing partnerships.

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