Consumers in 2021, in fact, demand both positive-rational and positive-emotional shopping experiences. Today’s consumers are more informed and demanding than ever before, and yet we all often don’t know what we need until we need it. Successful ecosystems spread out to create a unified product and/or service environment.
A partner ecosystem serves as a network to keep consumers’ attention so that brand loyalty can naturally develop, leading to sustained, repeated purchases.
Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon are prime examples of brands that have successfully built ecosystems. They manage to simplify consumers’ lives by connecting different experiences across a range of touch points. The result: a great customer experience.
The easiest way to explain how a well-functioning partner ecosystem leads to higher customer engagement is to look at the traditional, biological definition of an ecosystem: that is, how plants, animals, microbes, air, soil and water interact with each other. This interaction leads to an interdependence. In a business setting, this would mean that the user is enabled to buy a particular product because it is offered as a logical and desired extension to another product. Each extension can then offer multiple extensions and so on.
This ultimately leads to a networked customer journey characterized by interdependence, resulting in increased customer loyalty.
A big misconception, when building strategic partnerships, would be to think that a large ecosystem automatically generates more value. In fact, every potential partnership should be critically examined from a customer perspective. Does a particular offering provide real added value for the consumer? What demands do you have on your partners and how can you enrich their business?
Only when you are able to answer these questions clearly, should you consider exploring the option of a partnership. Partnerships that are also concluded via a joint platform offer infinitely exciting possibilities along with them. Apart from that, a partner ecosystem can also provide access to new (geographic) markets, increase brand presence and, most importantly, intensify the customer relationship.
Yes, connecting with and/or building a partner ecosystem can clearly help retain customers. However, companies need to develop a customer loyalty strategy based on partnership of products, services and experiences. Otherwise, business as usual might lead to no business at all.
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