Go-To-Market & Alliance Development
Innovative applications based on connected products don’t have linear relationships. The companies that survive and prosper in the era of “smart things” will be those that embrace the disruption and respond to it with genuinely new thinking about alliances and value-creation in a world of nearly “real-time” information. Cooperation is a minimum requirement for success. Well-constructed alliances can provide the opportunity to cross-breed capabilities, particularly across disparate markets and geographies.
In Harbor’s work with leading product OEM companies, we have found that while most companies make “allies” a key part of their strategy, many fail to make the crucial power-shift from point-focused “command and control” models to broader alliance webs of knowledge, power, and influence in shaping new markets. The real value in an alliance web comes not from the list of participants but rather from why they are participating. An effective eco-system or customer fulfillment network requires intelligent selection of participants and a willingness to relinquish antiquated notions of “control” to achieve genuine collaboration.
A sound creative strategy for building a web of influence is often elusive and challenging. It requires creative thinking rooted in a deep strategic understanding of markets, customers, and competitors. Strategists should consider which evolving alliances to embrace and whether to do so as an organizer or supporting participant. From our experience, doing so requires:
In Harbor’s work with leading product OEM companies, we have found that while most companies make “allies” a key part of their strategy, many fail to make the crucial power-shift from point-focused “command and control” models to broader alliance webs of knowledge, power, and influence in shaping new markets. The real value in an alliance web comes not from the list of participants but rather from why they are participating. An effective eco-system or customer fulfillment network requires intelligent selection of participants and a willingness to relinquish antiquated notions of “control” to achieve genuine collaboration.
A sound creative strategy for building a web of influence is often elusive and challenging. It requires creative thinking rooted in a deep strategic understanding of markets, customers, and competitors. Strategists should consider which evolving alliances to embrace and whether to do so as an organizer or supporting participant. From our experience, doing so requires:
- Understanding Your Market’s Potential Futures
Central to building a web is a clear notion of how a market will evolve. Scenario planning—based on a rigorous review and analysis of customers, technology, vendors, and social forces—presents a structured view of how a competitive arena may react to particular trends and forces and how a web strategy can influence which future actually occurs.
- Identifying Points of Influence
Based on market scenarios, identify a controlling point around which to build a web. Such a point might be a technical or architectural standard, a well-established product offering, or unique market access. This central point functions as the organizing principle because companies are not prosecuting a known opportunity. Rather, they are creating an environment in which a foreseen opportunity can flourish. Therefore, structure, modularity, and multiple points of contact (with real-time communications) are essential to growing the opportunity.
- Look for Non-Conflicting Business Models That Will Encourage Collaboration
Alliance webs differ from command-and-control strategies in that they are coalitions of self-motivated market participants that pursue a common goal, not mere subcontractors to a single corporate entity. Accordingly, a business web’s design needs to allow participants to invest resources and reap rewards—indeed, to compete with one another—while pursuing a common agenda.
- Building and Nurturing Your Alliance Web
Assembling a web of influence calls for mastery of timing and participants. Most webbing opportunities have a finite window—they need a strategic response before the opportunity expires or a competitive web emerges in its place. In addition, successful webs are usually composed of leading market participants, not simply a group of companies in and around a particular market space.The ability to closely couple products and a wide variety of after market 'connected' services has emerged as a requirement to stay ahead. However, trying to coordinate and leverage the respective roles of products and services in a networked context often creates contention, particularly in the channel. Many leading manufacturing organizations have come to understand that smart service offerings have distinctive strategies, operating modes and organizational requirements, and most importantly, these initiatives will reach beyond traditional product-centric go-to-market thinking to fully impact the market.
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