As you go about your business to market and engage with consumers and customers alike, you’ll find the places they visit are concentrated within a handful of ecosystem partners.
A strong ecosystem of channel partners
These partners include search engines like Google, retailers like Amazon and Walmart, social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook, and media platforms like Roku and Samsung.
The good news is these are high quality, well-lit partners that offer world-class platforms for engaging with your consumers and customers. They also typically want the same things you want: for you to engage more with your audience and reach new potential audiences.
Walled gardens are in control of the data
The flip side of that is their strong market positions with consumers and customers means these platforms get to dictate what, how, when, and why you engage with those consumers and customers. More importantly, they have full control over the data on what’s working and what’s not in your efforts.
Changes are coming and feedback has reached these platforms, and to varying degrees, they have heard you. They know you can’t open more budget and spend without knowing –in a neutral manner and method of your choosing – what’s working and what’s not.