What is the main message of Moving to Outcomes?

The main message of Moving to Outcomes is to shift focus from outputs to outcomes for sustainable success.

How long does it take to read Moving to Outcomes?

The estimated reading time for Moving to Outcomes is a few hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in under 15 minutes.

Who is the author of Moving to Outcomes?

Robert Glazer and Matthew Wool are the authors of Moving to Outcomes.

Management & Leadership

Moving to Outcomes Book Summary - Moving to Outcomes Book explained in key points

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Moving to Outcomes summary

Name: Moving to Outcomes
Rating: 4.3 (56 reviews)
Author: Robert Glazer & Matthew Wool

Robert Glazer Matthew Wool

Why Partnerships Are the Future of Marketing

4.3 (56 ratings)

18 mins

Brief summary

Moving to Outcomes delves into achieving measurable marketing success by aligning tactics with business objectives. Robert Glazer and Matthew Wool provide a strategic framework to drive results, helping organizations maximize their marketing investments.

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Strategy Leadership Work Culture Marketing Success Branding

Table of Contents

Moving to Outcomes
Summary of 5 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 5

What’s in it for me? Insights into innovative marketing strategies.

Marketers are always on the lookout for the next big thing – after all, things move fast in the world of digital marketing. The real challenge isn’t just keeping pace, though – it’s staying ahead, accurately predicting trends, and investing wisely in a future that’s always in motion.

Imagine, for a moment, you're a financial investor. The golden rule you’ve always followed? Diversify your portfolio. This principle isn’t just limited to stocks and bonds; it's equally applicable and vital in the marketing arena.

Just as an investor seeks to diversify their portfolio to hedge against the unpredictability of the market, marketers must step beyond the comfort zones of today’s digital giants. That, in a nutshell, is the argument of Robert Glazer’s Moving to Outcomes. Investing in known digital behemoths that dominate the advertising world is akin to stashing your investments in mature, stable stocks. Comfortable? Sure. But it’s unlikely to yield above-average returns.

So what’s the alternative? Simply put, you have to wade into the turbulent waters of innovation. And that’s exactly what we’ll be talking about in this Blink.

Partnership marketing focuses on outcomes, not processes.

Marketers of all stripes share a dream: getting the most bang for your buck, especially when it comes to advertising. So how do you do it? What principles can you apply?

Well, here’s a question for you: Would you rather spend a chunk of your budget on an ad that might not bring in much business, or would you prefer paying only when you actually make a sale? It’s an easy choice, right? That’s the beauty of partnership marketing. What that means in practice is mutual cooperation between parties for shared goals and mutual benefits.

Take a simple offline example to see how this works in practice. Imagine a boat rental shop offers a local resort concierge a $10 fee for every referral. The concierge is motivated to send over any guest, regardless of their actual interest in renting a boat. But if the shop instead offers a 10 percent commission on actual bookings, the concierge becomes more selective, referring only highly interested customers. This approach ensures the concierge earns more for successful referrals, the shop receives fewer but higher quality leads, and both parties benefit more from the arrangement.

Partnership marketing stands out because it operates on a simple yet powerful principle: you only pay for success. Unlike traditional advertising, where money is spent upfront without any guarantees of results, partnership marketing allows brands to define what success looks like for them – be it sales, new customers, or leads – and then pay partners based on achieving those outcomes. This alignment of interests between brands and their marketing partners ensures that both parties are working toward the same goal: tangible, beneficial results.

Partnership marketing offers three standout benefits that make it an attractive option for marketers.

First off, it’s inherently profitable. Since companies only compensate their partners based on actual sales or leads, they can easily manage their budget to meet profit margins. Second, it’s scalable. With the help of technology and partnership platforms, brands can efficiently manage numerous partnerships, expanding their reach without a proportional increase in effort or resources. This scalability doesn’t compromise efficiency; the cost-benefit ratio remains constant, whether you’re making $10 or $1,000 in revenue.

Lastly, partnership marketing is sustainable. It fosters long-term relationships between brands and partners, built on fairness and mutual benefit, rather than the fleeting advantages and escalating costs associated with other digital marketing channels.

This model avoids the pitfalls of the digital marketing rat race, where companies often find themselves paying more for diminishing returns, or hopping from one trending platform to another, only to end up investing in channels that lose relevance over time. By focusing on outcomes, partnership marketing ensures that marketing budgets are spent wisely, fostering relationships that deliver consistent value over time. It’s a strategic approach that not only meets the immediate needs of businesses but also supports sustainable growth and profitability in the competitive digital marketplace.

Smaller brands have a distinct advantage over giants like Amazon – the key is to unlock it.

Today, every brand, no matter how big or small, finds itself in a David versus Goliath battle with Amazon. This juggernaut, with its colossal marketing budget and country-sized customer base, sets a high bar for competition. Partnership marketing is your slingshot in this fight, offering your brand a means of navigating the Amazon challenge more effectively.

Partnership marketing allows brands to bypass direct competition with Amazon by cultivating relationships with partners who are incentivized to help them succeed. This approach hinges on creating a win-win scenario where both the brand and its partners thrive by achieving shared objectives. For smaller brands, this strategy opens up a unique advantage: the ability to offer a personal touch and deeper engagement that a behemoth like Amazon, reliant on automation for its massive affiliate program, simply can’t match.

Partnership marketing can slash your company’s upfront costs.

In the digital era, innovative companies like Uber and Airbnb have revolutionized traditional markets without owning the primary assets of their industries – cars for Uber and properties for Airbnb. Instead, they’ve mastered the art of creating scalable marketplaces that connect supply with demand, proving that facilitating connections can be highly profitable. This model hasn't only transformed transportation and vacation rentals – it also holds significant lessons for the future of marketing, particularly in the realm of partnership marketing.

These businesses have demonstrated the importance of establishing clear rules and standards within their marketplaces, ensuring transparency, growth, and seamless transactions. This approach to running a marketplace is directly applicable to the marketing sector, especially when considering the rise of partnership marketing. The essence of the strategy lies in brands leveraging these marketplace dynamics, so that marketers become the driving force behind sales and customer acquisition, all while adhering to a brand’s rules and standards.

Outcome-based influencer marketing works well for smaller brands.

The allure of celebrity endorsements has evolved into the digital age’s influencer marketing phenomenon. With the rise of social media, brands have eagerly turned to influencers, offering them products and fees in exchange for promotions. This trend has given birth to a plethora of influencer networks designed to connect these digital personalities with brands. But as the sector has matured, the initial rush of investment has calmed, leading to a consolidation with fewer, but more robust, networks remaining.

The landscape of influencer marketing is undergoing significant shifts. Brands are increasingly seeking tangible outcomes from their investments in this channel. There’s a growing preference for authenticity over follower counts, with companies favoring influencers who have smaller but more engaged and loyal audiences. These “micro-influencers”, often specialists in niches like beauty or gaming, offer brands a more direct and genuine connection to potential customers. The shift toward these influencers underscores a broader movement within marketing toward authenticity and relevance.

Partnership marketing works – but you still need to persuade your company’s leadership.

By now we’ve learned about all the benefits that partnership marketing can offer. But how do you integrate it into your company’s marketing strategy?

If you’re spearheading a partnership marketing program, demonstrating its value is key to securing the necessary budget and resources for expansion. This task is more straightforward if your organization has already dabbled in affiliate marketing or similar initiatives, but it can still be challenging if your leadership hasn't used this model in its current form.

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What is Moving to Outcomes about?

Moving to Outcomes (2021) explores the evolution of partnership marketing from its traditional roots to its current automated and scalable form, a transformation driven by technological advancements and shifts in supply and demand. Packed with insights into leveraging this model to its fullest, it enables companies to navigate and thrive in the digital marketplace.

Moving to Outcomes Review

Moving to Outcomes (2020) discusses how to drive overall business improvement through outcome-oriented thinking. Here's why this book is a valuable read:

Offers practical frameworks for implementing an outcomes-based approach, ensuring tangible results and effective decision-making.
Provides insightful case studies that highlight successful outcomes strategies in action, offering hands-on lessons for application.
Engages readers with its dynamic perspective on shifting from output-focused to outcome-driven mindsets, ensuring a thought-provoking and actionable read.

Who should read Moving to Outcomes?

Forward-thinking marketers seeking innovative strategies
Business leaders aiming for growth through diversification
Investors interested in marketing trends and future potentials

About the Author

Robert Glazer is the founder of the Board of Acceleration Partners, a global partner marketing agency. Under Glazer's guidance, the company has been recognized with Glassdoor's Employees’ Choice Awards and Ad Age’s Best Place to Work. Glazer is also the bestselling author of six books, including Elevate and How To Thrive In The Virtual Workplace. His podcast, also called Elevate, has been downloaded over 1,000,000 times.

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