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Traditionally, businesses have been focused on gaining a bigger market share by outperforming their competitors. In today’s highly competitive markets, companies are starting to adopt different mindsets for success. Instead of just focusing on how they are better than their competitors, they’re also focusing on what they have in common to create mutual benefits or how they can use their strength points to turn their competitors into collaborators and work together on achieving common goals.
From a Competitive to a Collaborative Approach
The need for collaboration is a growing trend because it is an effective way to accelerate growth and bring about more innovation. By working together instead of just against each other, companies can be more powerful and can share their resources, which will help them cut out some costs, making faster and more efficient progress. This is the reason why giant brands are also moving towards collaborative innovation.
A real-time example is the two tech giants, Apple and Samsung. Samsung has been a supplier of various components for Apple devices, although they compete in the smartphone market!
The Power of Co-Creation to Foster Collaboration
The collaboration model does not only mean that the competitors will collaborate on their existing products and services, but it can also be an opportunity for co-creation. The competitors can collaborate to create a new product together or offer a new shared service. Co-innovation can bring new ideas to the market with a bigger potential for success. An example is Doritos and Taco Bell when they collaborated in 2012 to create the new product “Doritos Locos Taco”, which was a successful product and became a fan favorite. There are many other successful examples of co-innovation.
“Collaboration always wins over competition and is more fun too”
– Professor Silvio Micali-
Case Study: Successful Collaboration in the Real Estate Market
One of the perfect examples of companies that are applying the collaboration-based business model and were able to turn competition into successful collaboration amid the highly competitive market in Egypt is Real Estate Domain (RED).
RED is a respected real estate consultancy that is continuously expanding and building co-operations with other brokers, they have reached up to 30+ RED Collaborators and they’re still working on increasing the number of collaborators to ensure the goal of making the real estate market as efficient and authentic as possible. RED works on bridging the gap between real estate buyers, developers, and sellers, positioning itself as a real estate experts consultancy firm. RED created REDEXPO, the fast-growing Real Estate Expo today, takes place 2-3 times a year, where it showcases a variety of properties from the East and West to the North Coast and other destinations by Egypt’s leading developers. It gives RED Collaborators a perfect opportunity to sell the properties to a targeted audience that is interested in buying a home or investing in properties.
When Collaboration Fosters Social Innovation
Collaboration is not just powerful between competitors but can also allow companies to form strategic alliances that can foster growth and innovation and reflect positively on the economy. Fawry, the leading company in banking technology and electronic payments, cooperated with LA Market, a local one-stop shop for local designers, to empower local brands in Egypt. This can contribute positively to Egypt’s economy as it facilitates local projects and spreads the culture of digitization.
How to Guarantee a Successful Collaboration?
An important point to consider is that when you and your potential collaborator have a big competitor in the market, collaborating may help you both face the competition and survive, but you will need to carefully assess how to collaborate in a way that will give you the competitive advantage you need. Since the collaboration-based approach has its challenges too, you need to be careful when trying to cooperate with a competitor to avoid future challenges and conflicts of interest. You need to make sure that you have a shared vision and that you will be working together towards an identified goal. To avoid resistance in later stages, the goal must be communicated clearly with the whole team for both competitors, highlighting the positive impact they can all experience when it’s applied.
Conclusion
Embracing new approaches like collaboration is essential for long-term success in today’s highly competitive business landscape. Collaboration can help you save time and money and meet your shared goals more quickly. It also promotes growth and innovation and can contribute positively to society’s overall well-being and advancement. This does not mean you need to give up the competitive spirit that keeps you more challenged, but you need the right balance between competition and collaboration to get the best results for your business.
