On giving away ideas

I had coffee with a potential partner and our conversation ebbed to a discussion about marketing philosophy and lead generation.  He said something like, "I think companies [like yours] give away many of their trade secrets on their website. They provide too much information.  If I wanted to compete with you... all I would need to do is read your website or blog. The purpose of a website is to solicit interest... you've got to get people to respond... to generate leads."

My response...

People use the web for research; they are looking for fresh ideas, insight and actionable information.  Intellectual property is difficult to protect and is quickly commoditized by the market. Why not leverage some of your IP to your advantage? Leverage it and demonstrate your thought leadership. 

It’s difficult to defend technology that can easily become commoditized and your processes can be copied or improved upon as well. You can't even keep all of your people indefinitely. There are more protections for tangible products but not many for service based business, which most companies are evolving to anyway.

I have a friend who is a NASCAR fan and what he loves is that it's more about the driver than the car. All the cars are the same.  It’s the driver and the crew that make the difference. It's kind of like that with business now. 

Most companies have the same basic car. It's really about how well you drive it. The driver and crew in this metaphor can be seen as thought leadership; the ideas and talents that set the team apart from others. It’s what people remember and identify with. Features and benefit are cool, but sooner than later everyone’s car has the same features anyway.

This is particularity important for companies engaged in a complex sale, where up to 70% of a customer’s perception of your brand comes from their interactions with your sales people. I believe that the people and companies who succeed today are those who learn faster and teach others what they know more effectively. 

My skeptical coffee companion had a schotoma (blind spot) because his viewpoint came from a product driven, B2C, branding perspective.

I didn't have any formal training in marketing before I got started. At first that seemed like a disadvantage, but now I realize that having a clean slate gave me the advantage of being untainted. I strive to not have preconceived notion of how it SHOULD BE.  Instead, I listen to the voice of my customers and what I hear is that they want a relationship with a trusted advisor, not someone who guards their thoughts and ideas.

So what happens to people/companies that keep the ideas to themselves?

Jure Cuhalev over at the g. blog also has some great thoughts on giving away ideas. Jure writes, "...I have a theory of what happens to them. They start losing their ability to produce new ideas, since their current idea preoccupies them. They think about it all the time to the point that they can not think of anything fresh." 

Jure also quotes David Kelley, one of the most visible product designers in the world, especially in the world of high technology. Kelly is founder of IDEO, America's largest independent product design and development firm.

I think Kelly's viewpoint goes well beyond design. Read the following quote and replace "designers" with your role (ie. CEOs, Marketers and so on)... I think it will ring true.

According to Kelly, "Successful designers just send out their vision to the world; and then, when somebody else builds on it, that’s okay. They’re not protective of their ideas because they’re so used to having ideas. A creative designer has an idea a minute. Publicizing an idea is a way to improve on the idea—someone else can build on it, expand it. If you’re fluent with ideas, as most design people are, you don’t have to be fearful. You don’t protect your one good idea because your afraid you’ll never have another good one."

Again, it's not the car. It's the crew and driver.

Comments

[COD]

This is a constant debate in my company. I'm always pushing in favor of opening up the web site and eliminating the onerous registration requirements for white paper or demo site access. I never win that debate and in fact we are trending in the opposite direction. It's very frustrating as part of a small sales team knowing that we are losing countless good leads because nobody wants to hand over their first born to access our marketing materials.

[Brian Carroll]

Thanks for reading and you’re not alone in your plight. Many other marketers face this same challenge. I’ve got some suggestions on what you can do (at least while you’re waiting for your leaders see the light.)

Why not focus on how you can do a better serve those who do jump through hoops and fill out forms to get your good content?

Think about the following questions:

How else can you create value for people who already raised their hand?
What else can you do to make their day?
Can you do something that’s pleasantly unexpected?

I’ve some tangible ideas:

Give them special access to more content.
Give them a bonus report… white paper, podcast etc.
Create a personal portal page that they can access again and again
Offer them more value for each step

I wrote a blog post on why Why Most B2B Sites Fail to Convert Sales Leads
http://blog.startwithalead.com/weblog/2006/06/most_btob_sites.html

[Michael]

Interesting discussion and I think your points are valid. Having been on both sides of this fence at different points, I think that "protecting" one's good idea has faults. One, it really is an excuse for inaction. Two, it assumes that the idea is unique and you can't really know that without talking about it (in fact, I've read that ideas tend to percolate up in several people at the same time. It's just a matter of who acts on fastest.) Three, the current "good" idea might only be the foundation for a better, more important idea but you don't discover it without letting it react with the rest of the world.

[Lena L. West]

I agree 100%.

We just had a conversation a few moments ago with a potential client. I gave away an idea based on a related project he was already working on without us.

The revenue-saving, business-building strategy that I gave him showcased our thought leadership, expertise and ability to think on the fly - but it also showcased that we're not idea hogs.

There's something stinky about someone who's only willing to help you if you're cutting them a check. I'm all for getting paid but, the ultimate goal (at least for us) is to develop relationships.

Result? They're bringing us on as "corrective" consultants for the existing project and we've got another meeting set up to discuss their overall internet strategy. All that for one idea...

There is also another element to this "give away" discussion. And, this might be a little "woo woo" but, I really believe that what's for me (us), is for me (us). Unfortunately, in today's business climate the scarcity mindset prevails. People mistakenly think that there's just not enough business to go around. I have a hard time buying into that knowing what I know to be true.

No one can do what we do the way we can. You can take our methodology, ideas, approach and thoughts. But, what you can't take is the way our brains put pieces together to form a strategy. You can't take how we innately see links between seemingly disparate pieces of information. You can't take our ability to assess a potential client's situation in no time flat.

I would say that for the most part anyone who thinks the way your colleague does about "giving away ideas", has challenges in the area of confidence. Confidence in their value (or lack thereof), approach or expertise.

Can someone "steal" your "stuff"...can you lose it all today...and be able to recreate your success? That's the mark of a true expert.

[Michael A. Stelzner]

Brian;

I have been giving away my trade secrets for years (against the advice of advisors).

The results have been amazing.

The fact is that folks look to you as a thought leader when you share your secrets.

In addition, the discussion that comes from sharing results is a better idea.

To COD's comments. Registration forms are not the problem for white papers. That's a key way to keep a lead. The trick is to provide enough content before the registration form so the reader won't mind filling out the form (trading their info for access).

Mike

[Keith Gregory]

Great piece- but I can relate to the flip side. I'm working on a number of web sites. Simple concepts, but no one is really doing it this one way. To a potential employer who, if they don't employ me I am competing with, how can I really 'show off'?

A lot of great inventions are simple solutions that no one thought to do before, or a unique combination of elements.

Granted, I could say- my idea's, someone can use and perhaps they won't be able to execute as well.

[Graham Hill]

Brian

Having worked extensively in B2C, Professional Services and B2B, I agree wholeheartedly with you.

Competitive advantage for most companies comes through the complex delivery capabilities they develelop over time; unique mixtures of business processes, information flows, work routines, relationships, plus, a sprinkling of patents and other protected marks. These are hard to understand, hard to copy and often take time to develop. Companies take great care not to share these with others, even with their best customers. Competitive advantage does not come from great ideas.

The idea of the Toyota Production System (TPS) is a perfect example. TPS took over 20 years to develop inside Toyota. And it is still being evoplved through continuous improvement. Although much has been written about the TPS, you have to work at Toyota for a number of years before you even start to understand how it really works. Sharing the Idea of TPS has not done Toyota any harm at all. Non of its competitors is realistically able to implement it from what they read. They would have to reinvent it themselves over a similar period of time. BMW is the one auto manufacturer who has come closes to this through developing their its unique BMW Manufacturing System.

Companies should showcase their smart thinking as often and as widely as possible. But they should keep their smart doing under tight wraps.

Graham Hill
Independent Marketing Consultant
Interim Marketing Manager

[Ed Gandia]

Brian,

I like your NASCAR analogy. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. In my business (freelance copywriting and marketing consulting), everyone seems to lead with the same old "our writing is the best, the most 'hypnotic,' the most impactful."

But you know what? It's not so much about the mechanical aspects of the writing. Sure, you need to be able to write clear and persuasive copy. But the real differentiator in this business (and in any professional services business) is your background. Your experiences. Your track record. Your ability to show prospects that you've helped similar companies solve similar problems.

Everything else can be copied too easily, so it's not a true differentiator.

Few service busiensses seem to get this.

[GerryC]

I agree that in order to get more, you at least need to give a little. I also think that you can give information and advice without giving away your competitive edge. For example, ThomasNet interviewed the president of Efunda (Engineering Fundamentals) about how to best engage engineers online. Interview found here Marketing to Engineers. Now a great portion of ThomasNet's audience is engineers, so why would they be helping other companies better capture their audience? Well in b2b, your audience can also be your clients which can also be your vendor and so on. Therefore in helping others better serve engineers, they are also setting themselves up for greater success in turning users and readers into clients and current clients into larger clients.

[Patrick Kilhoffer]

I'm of the opinion that if they don't Trust you know what you are talking about, they aren't likely to call you anyway, so you might as well put the information on your site.

Yes, other firms can "steal" your information. I've had other firms actually copy my testimonials and put them on their site, word for word. But the bottom line is, without knowing if you have the skills to help them, they can't decide to call you.