There is a branch of marketing some call partner marketing and others call business development. When I talk about business development, I'm not talking about people who have the title and a quota. That's business sales (or b.s. for short). I'm talking about people who are focused on helping a potential partner acheive their goals and strategies and aligning them with their own companies goals and strategies.
Some biz dev departments are totally focused on quantity, "And thou shall know them by the sheer number of press releases generated on a quarterly basis." But others are driven by a sense of inadequacy. They always wanted to be one of the cool kids, but just couldn't get there. So instead they figure by hanging out with the cool kids, some of the coolness would rub off on them. So instead of picking partners based on the highest mutual gain quotient, instead they try to hitch their wagons to those partners which are the darlings of the press at the moment.
Bad move. Your job is getting your company where it wants to go. And to do so you pick thoses partners who can help you. Not as a leech, but as a contributor. From a marketing perspective you determine what your partner needs, and deliver the goods. Then you are partners. It requires a blending of marketing, management, negotiations and some pretty good understanding of contract law and intellectual property. Do so, and you gain respect and move both your company and your partners to achieving their objectives. And that is what business development is all about.
One time I was handed a major strategic partner. We made software, they made hardware, chips and other very interesting things. After several meetings with my counter part, she told me our company was viewed as nothing more than an OEM partner. Ouch! Part of the complication came from our new CEO who came from one of their competitors. So we delivered the goods. We tuned our software so our partner's boxes blew the doors off of the competitor's box. Within the year we were invited to meet with their CEO, Andy and his executive staff. Must have made a good impression because we worked together on a very significant project after that. And yes, the announcement kicked up the stock price. A very nice side benefit.
Comments