What is Extended Enterprise?

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The Extended Enterprise is the entire network of external 3rd parties who can directly influence the success of a business, whether through a formal or informal commercial relationship.

Entities typically seen as part of the extended enterprise include:

  • Component and support service providers
  • The supply chain, including warehousing, transport and logistics companies
  • Sales partners and distributors
  • External product training specialists
  • Affiliates

Even customers are sometimes seen as part of an extended enterprise. This is because how they accept and adopt your product or service will influence the success of your business, and customer onboarding and training is increasingly seen as an important part of marketing and distribution.

Customers are also fundamental to word of mouth marketing, which is generally seen as the most powerful type of marketing, as well as offering the lowest cost per acquisition (CPA).

Savvy business leaders are increasingly seeing extended enterprise as an important part of their marketing strategy.