The fast pace of change in the digital marketing industry is encouraging consultancies in the sector to investigate new ways to remain creative and innovative and become more profitable. Dr Terry Corner (pictured below), Knowledge Transfer Partnerships adviser, here provides an insight into how collaborating with universities to increase knowledge transfer could unlock a range of benefits for online marketers.

Across the globe, the pace of change in digital marketing has forged ahead in recent years as brands rush to seek out ways to manage and enhance their online reputation. This trend has led to an increased range of support and initiatives to help harness the business opportunities available.

In the UK, for example, the Government recently launched its ‘Digital Britain’ report which aims to set-out a strategy for how Britain can sustain its position as a leading digital economy and society. The report details a series of actions and recommendations to promote talent and innovation in the UK’s creative industries.

Alongside this strategic work, practical support is also being made available in the form of programmes such as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) which helps the business community to unlock the valuable knowledge that resides within the UK’s leading academic institutions.

However, reliant as it is on technology, the digital marketing sector’s future success cannot rely on products and process alone, the knowledge and ideas that people themselves bring to the table are often the lifeblood of a business. Investors and stakeholders can provide businesses with advice based on their own experience. But KTP builds on this by bringing to life a simple theme – collaborate to innovate.

It operates as three-way partnership between a company, which has a specific and strategic project, a Knowledge Base (academic or research institution) that has skills relevant to the project and a high calibre Associate (recently qualified person) who works in the company on the project, while being supported by the Knowledge Base. Projects are part-funded by the Government and, since April 2009, SMEs have been eligible for additional funding to help them take part.

Over the last two years, more than 150 marketing-related KTPs have been undertaken, ranging from the development of new marketing strategies to the exploration of emerging new media technologies. In fact, for more than 30 years KTP has helped businesses survive three economic recessions by helping them develop new capabilities and respond more quickly to market changes.

Case study

One company which saw the benefits of knowledge transfer in setting itself apart from its competitors was the rapidly growing Brighton-based digital marketing agency called SiteVisibility, now the 17th largest search engine marketing agency in the UK.

The company was motivated to undertake a KTP with the University of Brighton to investigate new ways to improve its business processes and internal communications. Specifically, SiteVisibility wanted to focus on developing new ways for staff to share their digital knowledge and expertise. It also wanted to improve its evaluation methods to better demonstrate more accurate return on investment (ROI) to clients.

As well as creating more scalable business processes, akin to those found in much larger organisations, the company also wanted to achieve ISO9001 to enhance credibility and better position SiteVisibility to work with larger companies.

In August 2008, Jason Woodford, SiteVisibility sales & marketing director, met with KTP advisers to discuss how KTP could help the company address these ongoing business issues. After a series of project meetings, the company decided to embark on a KTP and employed Shirin Maurer, a graduate in business management, as the KTP associate who would be responsible for the implementation of the project.

A key aspect of Shirin’s work was to extract improvements throughout the team by setting up new processes whereby staff could more easily share their digital marketing knowledge. This included the creation of an internal Wiki page which allowed staff to post innovative techniques and processes that all staff could share.

In addition, Shirin set up regular round table discussions for staff to share their search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and skills, a key service offering for the business. This led to the creation of a multitude of new ideas and recommendations that SiteVisibility could provide to its existing customers and offer to future prospects. A skills matrix was also created as result of ongoing staff liaison, which allowed senior staff to identify skills gaps that could then be plugged within the team and from recruitment.

The impact of these internal changes led to a vast improvement in both the base level and the sharing of advanced SEO knowledge throughout the company. This in turn significantly improved the consistency and quality of work which is critical for its UK and international business prospects. The company already has a number of international clients, including Lexis Nexis and Air Partner, but the improved business structure facilitated through KTP has significantly increased the potential to grow the business with fewer operational constraints. Importantly, the KTP has allowed the company to develop a more robust and auditable set of key performance indicators, which, for clients and investors is a crucial deciding factor when looking to invest in digital marketing.

Jason Woodford said: “Since we started the KTP our business processes and overall team knowledge has vastly improved. We are now much better organised and the results of our work are more predictable which has improved our confidence and pro-activity when developing commercial proposals for our customers. It is no coincidence that we have also been enjoying significantly improved profitability, reduced business stress and increased customer satisfaction during 2009.

“Above all, our clients want to improve their online reputation and increase online traffic to their brand. Through KTP we have increased our capability and capacity to deliver in these areas without having to undertake a time consuming and expensive recruitment process.

”Our business has been streamlined and our knowledge has been vastly increased. In addition, our plans for ISO9001 accreditation during 2010 will make us more appealing to customers, not just in the UK but across the globe. The whole process has vastly improved our credibility and we are very pleased with the impact it is having on our business as a whole.”

The KTP is now in its final year and the company is already reaping the rewards in terms of knowledge, expertise and customer relationships. It has also addressed the culture change necessary within the company to help spark innovation and dynamism on a daily basis.

Sharing knowledge across sectors

I have been directly involved in a wide range of KTPs for more than 15 years and I have seen first-hand how knowledge can be shared across many different sectors. I believe KTP could help other fast-growing businesses in the marketing sector stand out as trendsetters through harnessing innovation and the commercial benefits it can bring.

Find out more about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and funding available, visit www.ktponline.org.uk or call the KTP helpline on +44 (0)870 190 2829.

Dr Terry Corner has been a KTP regional adviser for Kent, East Sussex and central/south-east London since August 2006. He has extensive experience of working at the interface between business and the knowledge base; both in the UK and overseas. This was obtained in senior technical and board level positions in various companies over a 35-year period.

Over the past 15 years, he has been directly involved with several KTP Schemes as both company supervisor and as LMC chairman. In addition, he has vast experience of other collaborative activities such as CASE Awards, EPSRC projects and European Joint Research Schemes. Corner is a passionate advocate for innovation and partnership to exploit technology and knowledge between universities and companies.