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The Fish That Got Away
My neighbor's
son is passionate about fishing. This summer, he partook in
three weeks of "fishing camp", as he has for the
last several years. On occasion, we reap the benefit of fresh
fish for dinner, but mostly, we hear about the fish that
got away.
The
highlight of each week is the trip for tuna to Stellwagen
Bank, a national marine sanctuary located about 25 miles off
the coast of Massachusetts. It takes an hour to get there
and as you head out, the shoreline becomes faint, until it
disappears eventually from sight. You are out there!
On
good days, the campers may see a school of tuna feeding frantically
on a mass of smaller fish that the tuna have successfully
entrapped. If the campers are so fortunate, they drop their
lines and troll slowly through the school hoping that one
of the fish opens and closes its mouth on the hook. If
the fish aren't feeding, however, the campers are left casting
a baited line and hoping for the best.
For
all the time my neighbor's son has spent fishing, he has yet
to see a tuna snared successfully (one large enough to take
home anyway.) Still, he remains ever enthusiastic about
the hunt. When asked about the day, he plays back the
sensational details of the journey (the splendor of trolling,
how big the tuna were, how close to the boat, and on and on).
And,
therein lies the lesson.
Like
the elusive tuna, Strategic Alliances, the mother lode of
all partnerships, remains an enigma for many companies. Common
concerns include:
-
Challenges
getting the attention of the "big fish"
-
Definition
of "results"
-
Length
of time it takes to see those results
-
Number
of resources required to make progress
-
Uncertainty
of pay-off and difficulty tracking revenue
Still,
companies continue to pursue each other in search of a partnership
that will dramatically impact their market advantage. At the
end of the day, however, Strategic Alliances are complex
and challenging to administer.
Strategic
Alliances require commitment and peer-to-peer relationships
at multiple levels within two (or more) companies. Typically,
this means at the executive, director, and management levels
of the organization. Simultaneously, functional relationships
must be forged across product development, operations, marketing,
and sales.
At
the intersection of all this is the customer's business requirement
and the pesky little matter of having a differentiating and
compelling offer that customers could not get otherwise.
If
you struggle with Strategic Alliances, consider six tips for
ensuring success:
1)
Business strategy alignment - They're
not called "tactical alliances"
for a reason. Tactical relationships
are set up to affect short-term sales
and marketing objectives, resulting in
product bundles and joint
promotional campaigns. A Strategic Alliance,
on the other hand, isn't
time-bound, offers multiple threads of
opportunity, and involves strategic
investment from both sides. If you can't
rationalize your pursuit of a
Strategic Alliance with your company's
business strategy, think twice
before you cast your line. In turn,
ensuring that your objectives map to
your partner's business strategy reduces
the risk of wasting your bait
on the wrong kind of fish.
2)
Long-term view -
Strategic Alliances take time to find, lure, and reel
in.
There's a lot of work to do, not the
least of which is conceiving, developing,
and testing a customer offer. If you're
not able to invest time in a Strategic
Alliance, work at the tactical level
until which time it makes sense to invest
more.
3)
Invest in resources - This does not necessarily
mean hiring incremental resources.
It does mean, however, that there are resources aligned
with
your initiative across functional groups.
At the end of the day though, if
it's no
one's job, it's no one's job -- so someone has to be accountable
for
the results.
4) Size matters - If you're a small company
without a brand, a sea-changing
value proposition, or a lot of customer
traction, it's unlikely that you will
make much headway with a big fish.
The frustrating part is that large
companies will nibble at your bait
all day long, masterfully avoiding
the hook. So, be careful about
how long you hang out in one spot.
5)
Get over the revenue
- While revenue matters, you won't be able to track
it easily. Blasphemous, perhaps, but
Strategic Alliances are often times
formed for influence and association.
Done well, the revenue will come,
but it may be attributable only indirectly
to the alliance.
6)
Be selective - If you think about the classic
partner program triangle,
with "authorized" partners
at the base and "gold" at the top, Strategic
Alliances are the "uber-partner,"
nearly in a class by themselves. Less is
more when it comes to the number of Strategic
Alliances any one
company can manage.
Here's
to your success in capturing "The Big One" that
keeps you ahead of the curve in your quest for wildly successful
Strategic Alliances.
Clients
Seeking Candidates
Several
of our clients are looking for candidates to fill the
following positions:
-
Director
Marketing Strategy & Intelligence - Boston, MA
-
Channel
Programs Project Manager - Long Island, NY
-
Channel
Sales Manager, Cambridge, MA
If you know of anyone who might be interested,
please have him or her contact us for more information.
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Thoughtwav
helps companies build and execute profitable go-to-market strategies
through direct, partner and alliance channels.
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 email:
jwilkinson@thoughtwav.com
phone: 781-652-8727
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