Option #1: A Collaborative and Alliance Relationship

Case Study Analysis: B2B Collaboration
Mary Beth Fitzpatrick-King
MKG425 – Marketing Strategy for Small Business
Colorado State University – Global Campus
Professor Robin Reiss
August 25, 2017
Introduction
With the rise of internet and the companies which operate though this media, it is not anymore surprising that collaborations between different companies provides a vital part of any business model. Mainly, this is because of the rapid increase in the interconnectivity of everyone, whether it be individuals, corporate entities, and even international public institutions. Aside from this, another reason for the inevitability of collaborative models is the fact that almost every part of the end-to-end processes of a company necessitates the use of the tools provided by the internet and/or the internet itself (e.g. communication, marketing, data analysis, etc.). Nonetheless, the increase interconnectivity between everyone does not necessarily mean an “open-sharing” of one’s business models and strategies, especially if those are the main reason for the success of one’s company CITATION Boo15 \l 1033 (Boone & Kurtz, 2015). This is what made the case of Zappos insights exemplary. Zappos did what most business models are just doing today, which is giving away information which has proven to be successful for their trade, years (if not decades) earlier than the rest of them. In the succeeding section, the author would like to expound on the business model that Zappos propagated as well as the relationships that it built in between business. The author believes that Zappos Insights has followed a type of “collaborative and alliance relationships” for their B2B model. Also, in light of today’s marketplace context, the author would also try to analyze market demand for Zappos Insights’ services.
A Collaborative and Alliance Relationship
Upon reading the case of Zappos insights, one could easily notice how the business model aims to create “value”, rather than competition. This is due to the fact that for most traditional companies, keeping one’s secrets is essential to stay ahead of the game. As stated in the article, for Zappos, this secret is their “top-notch customer service and building a culture that spreads happiness” as well as an “open and honest communication” CITATION Boo15 \l 1033 (Boone & Kurtz, 2015). Because of these two core values that serves as the bastions of their company’s culture, it wouldn’t come as a surprise for anyone when they hear that the company has offered its consultancy services for free (or at least a major part of it). More particularly, being subscribed to a collaborative and alliance B2B model, Zappos Insights creates a relationship between companies which results in “the procurement of non–commodity items and services tend to result in lower total costs than do transactional relationships” CITATION Bur03 \l 1033 (Burt, Dobler, & Starling, 2003). More specifically, Burt, Dobler, and Starling (2003), stated that as compared to traditional types of transactional alliances, this B2B mode...