IBM’s Innovation Jam: Marketing to Customers Through the Innovation Process

The traditional model of research and development is withering, as high costs and limited returns make it harder for companies to justify the investment. But some companies are reinvigorating the research and development process by bringing customers into it. Turns out it’s a great way to market to them at the same time. At the 2008 ITSMA Annual Conference, David Wong, director of Solutions and Service Line Marketing with IBM Global Business Services, discussed IBM’s Innovation Jam program, which emphasizes collaboration as a route to innovation. He also discussed IBM’s latest Global CEO Study and the implications for marketing. IBM conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,130 CEOs in 45 countries and uncovered the characteristics of the Enterprise of the Future.

This year’s ITSMA Annual Conference will have many more great speakers like Wong. For more information on this year’s conference, go here.

ITSMA: David, in its recent Global CEO Study, IBM identified five key traits of the Enterprise of the Future. What do these traits mean to marketers?

Wong: These are key changes that are happening within organizations today. As a result, this presents a real opportunity for marketing to be aligned to those changes and change the way we think about marketing. I believe there are new rules to marketing associated with each trait:

• Hungry for change. Continually evolve marketing’s approach.
• Innovative beyond customer imagination. Market through direct customer collaboration.
• Globally integrated. Operate as a global marketing organization.
• Disruptive by nature. Encourage renewed and compelling thinking.
• Genuine, not just generous. Enable a genuine organization.

ITSMA: Can you give me an example of how IBM exemplifies one of these traits through marketing?

Wong: I’ll give you an example of how we’ve applied the concept of “disruptive by nature.” One of the ways we at IBM have done this is through something we call Innovation Jams. We just finished one that was only a few days long. We had over 90,000 logins from over 1,000 companies in more than 80 countries and 20 industries. This generated over 32,000 posts. Participants include client organizations as well as IBM employees. So it is not solely innovation within IBM’s doors but innovation in conjunction with our clients.

The idea with these Innovation Jams is to look for content and ideas, collaborate with our clients, and better understand their needs as well as the needs of the marketplace. This serves as a supplement to the traditional market insight function. We use the insights as a basis for how we think about change, the way we bring products to market, the type of services we focus on, and the focus of our value propositions.

What’s also interesting about these Jams is, although we did have some themes to kick-start the effort, many of the discussions take on a direction of their own and result in innovative insights that you would never have anticipated. It isn’t prescriptive—that’s why I think it’s a very innovative approach to marketing.

This also helps us maintain ongoing connections and relationships with the customers who participate in the Jams. However, we do find that the real power lies in the peer-to-peer interaction that we facilitate. We are enabling clients to have discussions with their peers around challenges they are facing and the ways others are dealing with them. In the end, through this facilitation, we are hoping that there will be a stronger affinity to IBM as a potential partner.

To learn more about the five traits of the Enterprise of the Future and how IBM is applying these traits to its marketing programs, go here.

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ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. We work with the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA annual program clients include business leaders such as AT&T, Cisco, Deloitte, EMC, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. Our comprehensive research, consulting, and training on topics including ITSMA Account-Based Marketing℠, Brand Positioning, and Solutions Development provide the insight and experience companies need to improve business results. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.