• by Aaron Baar , August 7, 2015

Brands looking to be successful in the world of fragmented, distracted and time-crunched consumers, might not be rated just on how well they serve customers’ needs, but how well they work with others to combine forces. 

In the latest edition of its Sentinel Report, software developer and technology services company Globant suggests companies that find partners to provide a “seamless ecosystem” will be well-positioned to meet consumers’ needs in the future. 

“The main goal for brand ecosystems is to lean on the best attributes of both companies to improve the offering with the clear goal of making life easier for consumers,” Martín Migoya, Globant CEO and co-founder, tells Marketing Daily. “As a result, consumers are often more engaged with brands and share a greater stake in their success.”

In the report, the company explains these ecosystems as brand networks that provide a number of services and products that encourage greater consumer loyalty and behavior. The ecosystems will be built around four key advantages:

• Fluidity and shortcuts, which enable smoother customer interaction and service through a single touchpoint, such as Uber’s recent feature allowing others to integrate its services into their mobile offerings to order a car from one interface. 

• Total personalization through which brand partnerships give fuller pictures of their shared customers for more tailored and customized products and offerings. Mercedes-Benz and Nest, for instance, have partnered to enable in-car integration of the home automation products, giving the latter a chance to learn more personalized behaviors.

• Targeted discounts and perks that can transform low engagement moments into more cross- and up-selling, and increased loyalty. Starwood’s cross-promotion with Uber for its loyalty program (in which SPG customers received points for every dollar spent with Uber) is a prime example of this. 

• Co-created offers that combine brand equities and products to reach distinct brand enthusiasts, such as Ben & Jerry’s partnership with New Belgium Brewing on a Salted Caramel Brownie Ale. 

Rather than the more traditional brand partnerships of the past, these ecosystems are more than “simply adding features to you existing product for the sake of adding them,” Migoya says. “An ecosystem allows for healthy and organic growth for those that are involved,” he says. “Brands need to make decisions based on a broad understanding of customer expectations and habits. With that knowledge in hand, they can create more tailored services, products and interactions.