For SMEs, collaboration is fast becoming not only a realistic, but an essential route; working in partnership to win bigger contracts, access new markets and gain a stronger position in the marketplace. Collaboration solutions help people work smarter and drive business benefits by deepening valuable relationships, making better decisions faster, spurring innovation, and reducing costs.

However, for many businesses, there are very real concerns around knowledge sharing, particularly when it comes to disclosing ‘trade secrets’, and placing trust in external partners, often ‘competitors’, can be a huge hurdle to overcome.

So why should businesses collaborate? What are the personal skills and attributes required? How do you go about finding a partner to collaborate with? And once you have found that partner, how do you form an effective and mutually beneficial way of working together?

Service Network’s event ‘Friend or Foe? Not going it alone’ on the 17^th March will help to answer these questions.

Anne Cuthbertson, from collaborative leadership consultants CPCR, who will be speaking at the Service Network event, explains that, ‘For collaborative working to really be successful, partners have to adopt a new way of working.  Sometimes partnerships need in-depth, impartial, sustained support whether in the private sector, public sector or across both. We work alongside leaders to help them through complex change and create the conditions for high performing collaboration.’

Opportunities for communication are everywhere in today’s media landscape, and making these first connections is key to the genesis of successful collaborations. As Darren Richardson from brand communications agency Gardiner Richardson explains that you need to identify ‘a little spark. Something that brings two people together. If you can find a point of shared interest, however big or small, you’ve got something you can build on. Make that connection and you’ve got a reason to carry on talking and that’s when the possibilities open up.’

One regional example of successful and innovative collaboration can be seen in the joining of forces of two Service Network members, Newcastle-based market research company Explain with Teesside brand agency Better, to launch Better Communities.

The partnership between Explain and Better has created a completely different way of capturing consumer insight. This new approach is a digital platform allowing brands to engage with their customers in a private social community, and over the long term discover customer insight that directly influences product and service design, marketing strategy and valuable feedback.

It has already attracted interest from a number of blue chip organisations across Europe in several sectors including retail, manufacturing and utilities, and negotiations with a handful of multinational companies continue to progress.

Explain’s Managing Director, David Shiel comments ‘it has been an exciting and intense nine months of development and collaboration, and were proud to be winning national clients and shouting about a product that has been designed, built and privately funded in the region.’

David will be speaking at the Service Network event, alongside Mark Easby, Managing Director of Better, about their successful collaboration.  They will discuss why and how they went about collaborating, the challenges they faced and the benefits they derived from turning competition into collaboration.

Chair of Service Network, Neil Warwick says ‘Collaboration is more relevant today than ever before. In the tough economic climate, partnership is becoming an essential route for many businesses. We are so pleased that two of our Service Network members have come together so successfully and Better Communities is a prime example of the benefits of a creative and insightful collaboration.’

Don’t miss this truly collaborative event which could open up a whole new world of opportunity for your business.

For more information and to book places for the Service Network event, please visit http://service-network.co.uk/events/35. Or contact the team on 0191 244 4031.

About Service Network:

Service Network is the only independent voice of the service sector in the North East of England.  It is a dynamic, action orientated organisation.  Service Network’s mission is to provide a stimulating environment for ambitious businesses, both large and small to learn, grow and prosper. Service Network is part of the Entrust Group of companies. Service Network is funded by Regional Development Agency, One North East.

About Entrust:

Entrust was established in 1982 to assist small businesses in the North East with advice, consultancy and financial support, with a view to improving growth, development and sustainability. Whether you are looking to start-up in business, have just started trading or are an established business, Entrust can provide you with the support you need to reach your objectives. Over the years Entrust has grown and developed in line with the increasing demand for business development and enterprise support in the North East of England, playing an important part in its economic regeneration. Today this assistance manifests itself in three key areas; Money, Markets and People.

About Solutions for Business:

Service Network is a Business Collaboration Network which is part of Solutions for Business, the Government’s package of publicly funded support offering help to companies to start, grow and succeed. Solutions for Business make it easier for businesses to get the advice and assistance that they need.

Newcastle-based market research business Explain has joined forces with Teesside brand agency Better, to launch Better Communities. The Better Communities product is a bespoke private digital community backed up by specialist research software which allows companies with large customer bases to gain feedback and insight from their consumers.

The co-creation and engagement tool has already attracted interest from a number of blue chips from across Europe in several sectors including retail, manufacturing and utilities, and negotiations with a handful of multinational companies continue to progress.

A key target market for the product is large retail empires that may be looking to diversify into new areas and need to gauge opinions about the products and services they are developing.

Meanwhile, the product is also expected to be adopted by utilities firms which often need to research thoroughly into the likely impact of landmark decisions such as future price increases.

The partnership, which was launched earlier this month, is already developing a private community for Scottish Power Energy Networks, with Northumbria Water and a number of other national organisations in the pipeline.

David Shiel, managing director of Explain – which enables organisations to gain essential insight and intelligence on their target market and customers – said: “In the current climate, companies tell us they want better information without increasing budgets so it would seem the timing is right.

“Social media is now well established and such a powerful method of interaction that companies must embrace the opportunity for dialogue that is corporate, not just social.

“Having the confidence to let the consumer openly comment and choose who they want to buy from or use puts the power squarely in their hands and says that the provider wants their business and will take notice of what they say.”

The new system allows brands to discover information over the long term that could directly influence product and service design and marketing strategy and is estimated to help businesses save at least 20% of their research budget each year.

After being recruited into brand insight communities, members will then engage in a two-way exchange of information with the company and fellow members, responding to topics and suggesting topics for future debate.

The online platform also encourages collaboration through one-to-ones, focus groups, polls and questionnaires which are constantly monitored using Explain’s research software.

The system can analyse responses by demographic, geographic location or any single profile variable in real time, giving invaluable data on the likes, dislikes and preferences of customers.

It is likely to create around six jobs this year at Explain’s Tyneside headquarters and Better’s Stokesley office, where the product’s technical development and support will be managed.

Better’s managing director Mark Easby said: “‘Engaging consumers at every level, be that through social media touch points that generate buzz through to private online communities that provide a catalyst for mass collaboration, innovation in product and service design through co-creation is a game changer for brands.”

“Better has been heavily involved in social media from the outset and have long championed its inclusion within our clients’ communication strategies. We’ve seen how the space has been developing and see private online communities as a key tool for brands going forward. The conversation has been online for many years and now we’re harnessing that power within our private communities to drive loyalty, engagement, innovation and co-creation.”

“We are all excited about seeing the fruits of an intensive nine months of development during which both companies shared a considerable investment to make this digital platform a reality. It’s what the North East business community is built upon and we’re proud to be winning national clients and shouting about a product that has been designed, built and privately funded in the region.”

Explain employs 30 people at its offices on Leazes Park Road and in South Gosforth, Newcastle, and provides customer insight for some of the UK’s biggest companies.

Better is an award winning brand agency who work with it’s diverse range of clients to improve the way they talk to their audiences through its brand, design, marketing, social media, web and digital services.

The Better Communities website provides more information at www.bettercommunities.co.uk but to discuss further please contact David on 0191 2615261 or Mark on 0845 122 2611.

The two companies had been brought together through a long standing relationship between Steven Bell, a board director of The Entrepreneurs Forum and David Shiel, managing director of Explain, a relationship that stretched back over 25 years when they both worked in the supermarket industry.

Better have almost thirty years experience within the team and have won numerous awards for their work within the digital and social media sectors, working with some of the biggest organisations in the public sector as well as blue chip private sector organisations in sectors such as renewable energy, arts and culture, retail, tourism and service.

Explain, with nearly twenty years customer insight experience and outstanding skills in the field of customer, stakeholder and employee engagement has built long term partnerships with leading service organisations across social housing providers, utilities, building societies, the NHS and the public sector; businesses with millions of customers.

The growth of social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter, along with blogging, has made companies take notice of the way customers and brands interact online. These platforms are now becoming an established part of their communication strategy, however the level of interaction through social media doesn’t tap into the power of communities.

The partnership between Explain and Better has created a completely different way of capturing customer insight and putting them at the heart of brand innovation through engagement and co-creation. The new digital platform allows brands to engage with their customers in a private social community and over the long term discover customer insight that directly influences product & service design, marketing strategy and valuable feedback.

Members are recruited into the communities where they can then engage in a two way exchange of information with the brand and other members of the community, responding to topics and suggesting topics for future debate. But the really powerful bit is the collaboration that takes place one to one and and in focus group exchanges, polls, questionnaires that is constantly monitored by Explain research software, which overlaps with the digital platform. The outcomes represent real time insight in to the likes, dislikes and preferences of every customer, wherever they may be. The model can analyse responses by demographic, geographic or any single profile variable and the timeframe is immediate. It is the ultimate customer insight and co-creation model.

Traditional research has many challenges and the set up costs and inevitable delays while fieldwork is planned means that a project can take several weeks to deliver. A key means of gathering quantitative data is CATI (computer aided telephone interviews) but some members of the public consider them intrusive whereas digital feedback is provided in the comfort of their home at a time they find convenient.

The response has been overwhelming with many companies telling us this is exactly what they have been waiting for. A real time means of customer engagement that uses social media in a private community of customers with in-built research which can feed into product and process development.

David Shiel, managing director of Explain commented;

“In the current climate, companies tell us they want better information without increasing budgets so it would seem the timing is right. Digital media is now well established and such a powerful method of interaction that companies must embrace the opportunity for dialogue that is corporate, not just social.

Having the confidence to let the consumer openly comment and choose who they want to buy from or use, puts the power squarely in their hands and says that the provider wants their business and will taken notice of what they say. The role of Explain is to monitor the online conversation within the community, interpret the findings and help companies improve what they make or do.

The new product will provide a completely new revenue stream for both companies from January 2011 and the product has application across all sectors provided the business talks to a large volume of customers.

We are already building 3 communities which will launch in spring 2011 for Northumbrian water, CE-Electric and Scottish Power Energy Networks and are at the second stage with 10 clients, including a leading motor manufacturer, a national member organisation and several social housing providers. The new product will provide a completely new revenue stream for both companies from January 2011 and the product has application across all sectors provided the business talks to a large volume of customers.”

Mark Easby, managing director at Better said;

‘Engaging consumers at every level, be that through social media touch points that generate buzz through to private online communities that provide a catalyst for mass collaboration, innovation in product and service design through co-creation is a game changer for brands.

Better has been heavily involved in social media from the outset and have long championed its inclusion within our clients’ communication strategies. We’ve seen how the space has been developing and see private online communities as a key tool for brands going forward. The conversation has been online for many years and now we’re harnessing that power within our private communities to drive loyalty, engagement, innovation and co-creation.

We are all excited about seeing the fruits of an intensive nine months of development during which both companies shared a considerable investment to make this digital platform a reality. It’s what the North East business community is built upon and we’re proud to be wining national clients and shouting about a product that has been designed, built and privately funded in the North East. We’re a young brand agency who understand digital and social media and this is the first of many tools we’ll be developing to help brands harness the power of their consumers’.