Hub, Spoke, or Toast
We're living in a networked world--business ecosystems of partners and customers. Companies must be a vital hub or spoke, or else risk the same fate as failed dot-coms that couldn't deliver value at a competitive cost.

A McKinsey study discovered that "network orchestrators" like Cisco, Schwab, Palm, and Qualcomm outperformed their peers, not only in the boom times of 1995 to 2000, but even during the recent downturn. IBM, Microsoft, and many software developers owe their success as much to their partner networks, as to their products.

Shared benefits are the essence of collaboration and should be part of a vision for world-class CRM. John Dillon, CEO of San Francisco-based salesforce.com, agrees that CRM is already heading in this direction. "CRM applications used to be inwardly focused, but now executives want to reach out to customers to create a better bond and ultimately better relationships."

In the collaborative future of CRM, customers reap rewards by receiving the products, services and interaction experiences that they want, at a cost they can afford. Partners, true value-added intermediaries rather than mere product-pushing or paper-shuffling middlemen, earn the trust and loyalty of both customers and suppliers. Profitably. And enterprises enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage built on loyal relationships, maximum market reach, and efficient business-to-business processes.

This collaborative e-business world will be as tough, and likely tougher to achieve than what we've known as CRM. New standards like XML and Web Services must mature. New applications must be developed to make B2B integration easier and less costly, and cultural issues must be overcome.

The effort is worthwhile. To increase your odds of success:

•Drive everything from a customer perspective. Start from the very top of the business. Check your ego at the door; act like you work for your customers and partners, not vice versa.
•Dare to share vital business information with partners and customers. Work through inevitable security issues and occasional missteps. While you're learning, however, be smart about the risks you do take.
•Think, plan, and then do. Focus on business problems and processes that are truly critical to the success of your relationships before selecting the tools. Can you imagine building a new home without a vision, architect's drawing and a construction plan?
•Motivate and monitor adoption rates. Think traditional CRM was hard? You'll need to work even
harder to encourage partners and customers to buy-in and use new systems supporting relationship networks. Keep at it--you'll never be completely done.
•Remember, it's still about people. At the core of successful relationships, networked or otherwise, are real people of flesh, blood and emotions whose main question is: "What's in it for me?" Better have an answer ready.

Collaboration is not just another buzzword, and neither is CRM. Collaborative Relationship Networks should deliver clear benefits to all parties. That's a competitive edge every company needs in the Customer Economy.