Have you rethought your alliance strategy in terms of
what new opportunities lie ahead? Are you prepared to find the
opportunity in disruption? We can assume that business as usual is not going to
work in today's volatile economic climate because business has become unusual.
Yet, disruptive times are times of great opportunity for those who are alert in
spotting them.
I recently dusted
off a white paper written in 2004 which discussed the results of Cisco's
alliance strategy during the dot.com implosion. By continuing to invest in alliances and
realigning their strategy, Cisco generated 12% growth in alliance
revenue during a time of economic contraction. In today's environment, they are
realigning their alliances around technologies they believe will address
shifting buyer behavior. With businesses restricting travel to control costs,
telepresence is a lower cost alternative to business travel and has stronger
appeal now than in prosperous times.
A colleague of mine
works with partners who specialize in the financial sector. I erroneously
assumed that his business cratered with the financial institutions. I was
wrong. Business is booming. Financial institutions are facing mergers,
acquisitions, and consolidation. They are addressing compliance and regulatory
issues that were overlooked, leading to this crises and looking ahead to new
regulations and compliance issues that are likely to be legislated. My colleague
is in a unique position to help solve the big problems these businesses are
facing.
In the last downturn
a marketing colleague shifted all marketing spending to co-marketing with
partners resulting in lead generation at half the costs. A bonus of this
strategy was that cross marketing on partner house lists yielded much higher
quality leads.
Follow the shifts in
buying behavior. Spending might be reduced in a recession, but it also shifts.
Buying behavior changes. Smart businesses realign their strategies to take
advantage of those shifts. In the last downturn, there was greater emphasis
on cost saving technologies. Webinars replaced seminars. Companies that marketed
those technologies, such as WebEx, did well even as many internet companies
collapsed.
Solve the big
problems created by disruption. The financial sector is not the only industry
facing restructure. Auto manufacturers, transportation companies,
pharmaceuticals, and retailers are facing industry restructuring. These are
opportunities for those who can address those pain points and provide solutions.
How can you realign your alliance strategy to focus on where companies will be
compelled to spend to stay viable?
Share costs and
opportunities. Leverage partner marketing and combine forces to provide even
stronger customer value.
Disruption creates
opportunity and those who weather the economic climate successfully will be
those who can adapt their strategy to take advantage of the changes ahead.
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