What partners might be attracted to your Authentic Brand Ecosystem?
Every brand’s ecosystem can be expanded—always. There are always undiscovered new species of customer and untapped new species of strategic partner out there, just waiting for you to discover them.
Look for ways to define your market space and create uncontested mindshare. Investigate other channels and industries. Talk to your resellers and buyers. Scan the brandscape for potential partners who offer complementary products and services.
Seek out strategic partners who share your brand culture, core philosophy, values and vision.
Compatibility in business marriages (as in all marriages) is essential. By all accounts, the Fed-Ex-Kinko’s marriage has been a happy one. AOL-Time Warner’s troubled marriage, on the other hand, has been widely chronicled in the media; their two cultures did not mesh.
And scan the future horizon. Pay special attention to hot trends and topics in the public’s collective consciousness that you can piggyback, including short-term trends that you can react to quickly, and trends that you believe have staying power and will drive market direction. Notice how trends differ among generations.
How can you make your business model more flexible? Look for ways that technology can help you innovate.