Contributed by Rahna Barthelmess, Chief Marketing Strategist, Beacon Marketing

Anyone who has ever participated in a brainstorming event or worked on the high school dance committee knows this very simple truth, that two heads are always better than one.   The contributors to this blog have started this discussion because they believe that collaboration is one of the Top Ten Secrets of Digital Branding.  Each of us feels that 1+1+1+1 really does equal so much more than four.  Collaboration is a cornerstone to the digital world, underpinning such mastermind concepts as Wikipedia, that captures the world’s collective definition of all things and Amazon’s “ratings and recommendations” for music, movies, books and more.

As a Marketing Strategist, it’s my job to guide my clients in the development of the best, most business-building strategies available.  Collaboration is one strategy we always employ when developing massively successful marketing plans.  The tactics we use to execute those strategies are multitudinous.  Blogs, wikis, forums, message boards, rating systems all work to foster that collaboration.  And the beautiful thing about the digital world is that these many tools automate the collaboration process, which means that the collaboration process can go on…even when you are not there.

This blog is an example of one such automated tool.  Blogs are a place where you can start a conversation and have anyone jump in at any time of the day or night.  It provides a forum for listening to your consumers, an avenue for inspiration, and a way to connect with others who have similar interests, ideas, and investigations that they are undertaking.

We hope you will participate in our discussions here at this blog.  Our aim is to provide inspiration and practical advice on a variety of web-related topics.  All of the contributors of this blog have been involved with the web since its inception and have gained a great deal of expertise about how to market something on-line.  So what is your question?  Tell us what you want to know.  In the meantime, we’ll share some of our wisdom and pose questions about contemporary marketing issues.  Share your thoughts with us!  We’re eager to engage in conversation with you!

So here’s a question for today: While you’re reading this, ask yourself, “What am I doing to engage with my customers?  Who can I collaborate with to supercharge my customer’s business and my own business?”  Here are some idea starters:

• Ajacent categories: What else does my customer need that relates to my product or service, but does not directly compete with me?

• “Add-ons:” Are there other services or product enhancements that could provide partnership opportunities?

• Distribution Opportunities: Perhaps there are retailers or distributors that deliver your product or service to the end user that you could collaborate with.

• Passionate Consumers: There may be concentrated enthusiast groups that you could work with to deliver even more powerful consumer experiences.

• Employees: Are there some highly customer-oriented employees that you could tap into for even greater delivery of customer engagement and satisfaction?
  

These are just a few of the examples of collaboration that may inspire a new delivery mechanism for you, a new section of your website, or a new product opportunity.  Let us know what has worked for you (and what hasn’t!).  We want to know.