Thought Leadership

Programs Background

Grow From the Right Intro

Strategies for Business Partner Matching + Opportunity Sourcing

This milestone study seeks to assess the state of strategic partnering and business development in the SME sector, and the level of competency, success and value derived from this critical business process.

The Strategic Partnering Imperative

In a recent executive survey by Frost & Sullivan, CEOs cited strategic partnerships as their number one growth strategy. Big companies today are making strategic partnerships a centerpiece of corporate strategy, committing more than 20 percent of their assets to developing and managing partnerships, notes Frost & Sullivan.

However small to medium sized firms are at a disadvantage. They do not have the domain expertise, business networks, or management bandwidth to support the arduous and time-consuming process of identifying, cultivating and making the right partner connections. No matter whether this is for revenue gain, new market access, product line extension, geographic expansion, customer access, domain knowledge, IP licensing, or capital sourcing.

Making smarter, more appropriate and functional fits can spur the global economy by multiplying the potential and value of synergistic and compatible partnerships. It can also greatly reduce the vast amount of financial and human energy drain associated with ailing, ill-conceived or dysfunctional linkages. New ways to create greater efficiency and better utilization of resources and time are critical areas of need in the business development process.

Campaign Platform & Focus

The Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council have teamed on a new thought leadership program, entitled “GROW FROM THE RIGHT INTRO: Strategies for Optimal Business Partner Matching + Opportunity Sourcing.” This milestone study seeks to assess the state of strategic partnering and business development in the SME sector, and the level of competency, success and value derived from this critical business process.

Areas of exploration and discovery will include:

The role and value of strategic partnerships and alliances in contributing to corporate growth and development
Capacity to identify, qualify and secure the right introductions to relevant and valued partners and business opportunities
Challenges and complexities associated with selecting, closing and nurturing the right partnerships
Reasons for partnership failure and how to manage and maintain relationships
The types of strategic partnerships that benefit companies the most, including customer, channel, distribution, technology, strategic, financial, supply chain, outsourced manufacturing, etc.
Incidence of formal partnering strategies and how these are implemented, staffed and funded
Intentions and plans to improve networking, partnering and sourcing of growth opportunities worldwide
Channels, networks or resources that are being evaluated or used to advance business networking and relationship building
Variations in business partnering capability across industry sectors, cultures and company sizes
Internal systems or outsourced services that are helping to automate and optimize business partnering and customer acquisition

Research will include qualitative interactions with a 20-30 SME leaders and a comprehensive online audit of partnering needs, strategies, predispositions, experiences, challenges, capabilities and outcomes. This will be undertaken in cooperation with Penton, NetLine and The Business Journals. Collectively, these media partners give access to millions of SME executives and business owners across hundreds of industry sectors and local markets. A detailed report will be prepared and taken to market to generate exposure, downloads, Powerlinx platform use, and market predisposition. Content will be promoted and discussed through a variety of engagement strategies including press relations, social media, content syndication, email communications, web site posting, webinars, conferences and dinner dialogues.

Reports

Grow from the Right Intro
More than ever, businesses must rely on strategic partnering to grow revenue, acquire customers, expand market reach and innovate products, services and customer experiences. But many are struggling to get it right. This report examines the state of partnering in today’s fast-changing, global marketplace and shets new light into the motivations, rewards, pitfalls and proven practices that companies must consider as they seek growth and inspiration through business alliance building.
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Leaders

Dean Phizacklea
Divisional Vice President, Global Strategic Marketing
Abbott

Heidi Lorenzen
CMO
Cloudwords

Lance Walter
CMO
Host Analytics

Dhruva Rajendra
President
Latch

Don Keane
Vice President of Marketing
MetTel

Charles Veley
VP of Strategic Development
MicroStrategy

Greg Van Ullen
CMO
OMilk

Jeff Noel
President
Optimal Alliances

Laurence Kemball-Cook
CEO & Founder
Pavegen Systems

Carolyn Paynton
Chief Marketing Officer
Rhombus

Kip Martin
Vice President, Customer Experience Management Program Office
SDL

Kevin Nerney
Business Development Manager
Service Source

Erin Cece
Director of Marketing & Business Development
Simon Property Group

Billy Goldberg
President
The Buckeye Group

Larraine Segil
Partner Emeritus
Vantage Partners

Simon Dryer
National Partner Manager
VMware

show all leaders

Media Coverage

April 20, 2016 - Huffington Post
Lisa Nirell, Huffington Post
In our 3rd annual CMO Innovation Trends study, participants told us their two biggest challenges are a lack of talent to address business imperatives and effectively building a strong brand across online and offline touch points. What’s a CMO to do when resources are this scarce, yet growth is an imperative? Many turn to partnering. Read more »

October 14, 2015 - Building Strategic Alliances in the US
Powerlinx Staff, Powerlinx
In a study by the CMO Council and BPI Network, 85 percent of executives said that strategic alliances and partnerships were vital to their growth plans. While the vast majority of businesses value strategic partnerships, many are unaware of how to choose, approach and work with prospective business partners. Read more »

July 23, 2015 - Getting Access to New Ideas, Insights and Innovations is Biggest Reason to Partner
MediavataarMe News Desk, MediavaraarMe
New ideas and innovation are the lifeblood of 21st century businesses. They’re also the number-one driver for strategic partnerships worldwide, according to a new study by the CMO Council and the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network. Read more »

July 23, 2015 - Billy Goldberg’s interview comments in recent marketing study: ”Grow From the Right Intro”
Billy Goldberg, http://billygoldberg.com/
Read Billy Goldberg’s interview comments in recent marketing study: “Grow From the Right Intro” (pg. 6, 31, 36, 37) Read more »

July 22, 2015 - Big Data Will Select Your Next Strategic Partner
Christine Crandell, Forbes
It is a dominant trend in business that has been overlooked because it has lacked a common language and central marketplace. But the numbers reveal just how big the world of business collaboration is. In a study by theCMO Council and Business Performance and Innovation Network (sponsored by Powerlinx), 85% of executives stated that strategic partnerships were vital to their growth plans. Read more »

February 23, 2015 - 3 Ways to Cultivate Mutually Beneficial Strategic Partnerships
Sean Pomeroy, Business 2 Community
You’re an entrepreneur for a reason. You’ve successfully developed a product or service that poses a real benefit to the greater population or other businesses. Now to get to the marketing, the finances, the technology… the truth is, you can’t do it all yourself. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s critical for you and your organization to build strategic partnerships. Read more »

October 24, 2014 - Why Strategic Alliances Fail: New CMO Council Report
Kimberly A. Whitler, Forbes
In a recent study conducted by The CMO Council (for a complimentary report, click here), 85% of respondents viewed partnerships and alliances as essential or important to their businesses. In today’s more complex world, where expertise is often gained through strategic relationships, this isn’t surprising. However, what was unexpected was that although strategic partnerships were rated as important, almost half reported high failure rates (failure rate of 60% or more). Read more »

October 1, 2014 - How to Improve Strategic Partnerships (It's Important)
Staff, eMarketer
Strategic alliances are more critical than ever before, according to research released in September 2014 by the CMO Council and BPI Network. The report noted that such partnerships help companies expand their reach globally, generate revenues and target new customers, and because of this, 56% of senior marketing executives worldwide called out such efforts as extremely important to their businesses. - See more at: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/How-Improve-Strategic-Partnerships-Its-Important/1011244#sthash.yyxHf7rU.dpuf Read more »

September 23, 2014 - 6 Things Entrepreneurs Should Know
Rieva Lesonsky, Essergy
What’s the number-one driver for global strategic partnerships? According to a new study, Grow From the Right Intro, by the CMO Council and the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network, it’s “new ideas and innovation.” Read more »

September 16, 2014 - Grow from the Right Intro: The State of Strategic Partnerships in 2014
Staff, SlideShare
This special report - Grow from the Right Intro - examines the importance of strategic partnerships and alliances in business growth, explores the challenges and opportunities of identifying and creating them and discusses how to maximize the chances of success, which includes making use of big data analytics and automation. Read more »

September 12, 2014 - 6 Things Entrepreneurs Should Know
Rieva Lesonsky, Small Biz Daily
What’s the number-one driver for global strategic partnerships? According to a new study, Grow From the Right Intro, by the CMO Council and the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network, it’s “new ideas and innovation.” Read more »

September 11, 2014 - Businesses Struggle to Develop Rewarding, Strategic Partnerships
Anna Papachristos , 1 to 1 Media
According to the CMO Council and BPI Network's "Grow from the Right Intro" report, companies of all sizes and industries continuously strive to establish such partnerships in an effort to acquire customers, drive revenue, and enter new markets, yet most lack the knowledge, connections, and management capabilities needed for maximum impact. Read more »

September 10, 2014 - Partnerships Key to Business Success: Report
Beth Negus Viveiros, Chief Marketer
Finding new ideas and innovation are the top driver for strategic partnerships worldwide, according to a new study by the CMO Council and the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network. Forty-two percent of companies are not satisfied with how well they leverage their partnership and alliance potential according to the new study, based on a survey of 330 senior management executives and 20 in-depth qualitative interviews. Read more »

September 9, 2014 - New Ideas, Insights and Innovations is Biggest Reason to Partner
Staff, Hispanic Ad
The study, entitled “Grow From the Right Intro,” was sponsored by Powerlinx, the global online partner-matching network. The wide-ranging research initiative was conducted in the second quarter of this year to examine strategies and best practices for business partner opportunity sourcing. The study involved interviews and a global online audit of business decision makers at companies in a cross-section of industries and life stages. Read more »

September 9, 2014 - Partnerships Essential for Business Success
Ife Adedapo, Punch Magazine
New ideas and innovation are the lifeblood of twenty first century businesses. They are also the number-one driver for strategic partnerships worldwide, according to a new study by the CMO Council and the Business Performance Innovation Network. Read more »

September 9, 2014 - Partnering Seen as Essential to Success
Warc Staff, WARC
A study by the CMO Council and the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network, based on a survey of 330 senior management executives and 20 in-depth qualitative interviews, found that getting access to new ideas, insights and innovations was a major reason to partner. Read more »

September 9, 2014 - Business Partnerships Essential Yet Often Fail
Kaitlyn Hall, SMB Nation Blog
“Grow From the Right Intro,” a new study by the CMO Council and the Business Performance Innovation Network, found that today’s businesses highly value the importance of partnerships. Though 85 percent of the 330 management survey respondents believe it is important or essential to their business to have partnerships and alliances, almost half reported failure rates of at least 60 percent and only 10 percent felt they were extremely good at partner introductions. Read more »

September 8, 2014 - INside the Boardroom US: Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director, CMO Council
Donovan Neale-May, Inside Performance Advertising
The old mantra “You Can’t Go It Alone” has never been so true in business. Mostly gone are the vertically integrated corporate giants who once lumbered across the planet and controlled global markets. Today, business success depends on a company’s acumen and agility in identifying and collaborating with a wide range of value chain partners—from suppliers, manufacturers, IP owners and logistics companies to co-competitors, distributors and businesses of all types who provide access to new customers, markets and innovation. Read more »

September 8, 2014 - Building Strong Successful Partnerships is Necessary, But Not Easy
Barb Mosher Zinck, Digital Tech Diary
But as the CMO Council found, finding the right partner and ensuring the relationship stays strong and beneficial is not easy. The CMO Council and Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network recently completed a study of 330 senior management executives focused on what they develop partnerships for and how they work. The study showed the 85% believe partnerships are important to the businesses overall growth strategy, but many have not been able to develop successful relationships (44% have a high failure rate). Read more »

September 3, 2014 - INside the Boardroom US: Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director, CMO Council
Donovan Neale-May, PerformanceIN
Those are some of the insights of new research conducted by the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, in cooperation with Powerlinx, an intelligent BtoB partner matching platform. The study, called “Grow From The Right Intro,” examines the current state of partnering among businesses worldwide and demonstrates that alliance building is now a top priority for companies of all sizes. Read more »

August 26, 2014 - Grow From the Right Intro
Staff, Vertical Insider
This study, based on a survey of 330 senior management executives by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network, finds 42 percent of companies are not satisfied with how well they leverage their partnership and alliance potential. Read more »

August 26, 2014 - Grow From the Right Intro
Staff, White Paper World
This study, based on a survey of 330 senior management executives by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network, finds 42 percent of companies are not satisfied with how well they leverage their partnership and alliance potential Read more »

January 1, 1970 - Partnerships: A Critical Path to Grow the Business
Staff, Business Information Industry Association
The groundbreaking Grow from the Right Intro study by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network, in conjunction with Powerlinx, examines the role of strategic partnerships and alliances in driving growth, looks at the challenges experienced by many companies and discusses the ways firms can better identify, connect and do business with the right partner. Read more »

Facts & Stats

“In a global environment where collaboration is critical to business success, managing strategic partnerships is a crucial yet elusive competency – almost 50 percent of joint ventures, for instance, fail.” (Source)

“If executed successfully, strategic partnerships can deliver access to new markets or customers, accelerate new product development cycles, and improve a company’s competitive position…strategic partnerships represent a path to accelerated growth, but without the cost, risk, or complexity associated with M&A.” (Source)

“Partnering is a logical response to the globalization of markets, increasingly intense competition, the need for faster innovation and the growing complexity of technology. It makes good business sense to connect people, departments, companies, customers and suppliers.” (Source)

“More and more companies are turning to partnering to drive innovation and growth. However, all too often these efforts neglect the importance creating a partnering ecosystem and managing it profitably.” (Source)

53% of CEO's are partnering externally to drive innovation. (Source)

92% of CMOs are increasing use of external partners for customer and data analytics. (Source)

Two-thirds of growth-focused CIOs are partnering extensively to change the mix of skills, expertise and capabilities in their organizations (Source)

The most common way for U.S.-based Associations to grow internationally is through the formation of a strategic partnership network, states Mohamadouu Hayatou. (Source)

Many companies commit more than 20% of their assets to developing and managing partnerships, while others depend on partnerships for 30-50% of their research expenditures or annual revenues. (Source)

Articles

December 21, 2015 - Mutually Assured Disruption
Strategy + Business
Read more »

August 17, 2015 - Understanding the BIG DATA Opportunity
LinkedIn: Simon Crouch
Read more »

June 23, 2015 - Business Development In SMEs – A Growth Area
All Thing New Biz
Read more »

April 8, 2015 - How To Build Extraordinary Partnerships And Boost Business Performance
Forbes
Read more »

August 1, 2014 - Building Partnerships
e-COACH
Read more »

July 28, 2014 - Examples of Successful Strategic Alliances
Houston Chronicle
Read more »

May 13, 2014 - A South African Business Group Builds Global Connections Through Powerlinx
Internet Retailer
Read more »

April 29, 2014 - 4 Tips to Go Further, Faster with Strategic Partnerships
Entrepreneur
Read more »

April 16, 2014 - The Advantages of Bringing on a Business Partner
The Houston Chronicle
Read more »

March 26, 2014 - Six tips for developing successful strategic partnerships
The Globe and Mail
Read more »

May 13, 2013 - 5 Lessons for Strong Business Partnerships
Forbes
Read more »

April 2, 2013 - Does Your Business Have Strategic Partners? Why Not?
Forbes
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February 14, 2013 - 8 Steps to Create Successful Strategic Partnerships
WOBI
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December 9, 2012 - Top 3 Qualities Of A Successful Business Partnership
Forbes
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October 10, 2012 - How To: Create Strategic Partnerships
Success
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July 28, 2012 - Repeatability: How companies create enduring businesses in a world of constant change
Bain & Company
Read more »

April 19, 2012 - Strategic business partnerships can give small businesses the edge to help them compete with larger companies.
OPEN Forum
Read more »

January 25, 2012 - Marketing through Strategic Partnerships
The Marketing Bit
Read more »

November 3, 2011 - The Benefits of Strategic Partnerships to Startups ... and When to Walk Away
The Next Women
Read more »

October 4, 2010 - POV: Forging Strategic Partnerships with Businesses Can Advance Entrepreneurial Learning
Community College Week
Read more »

June 1, 2010 - 15 Steps for Successful Strategic Alliances (and Marriages)
Harvard Business Review
Read more »

White Papers

Strategic Partnering: Managing Joint Ventures and Alliances
A Thought Leadership Roundtable on Digital Strategies Read more »