Kowlede Management, or KM, must surely be on the radar screen of every marketer and every business, either because a system is being implemented in their companies, or at the very least, through literature and magazines which have found their way to the marketer's desk. The idea that if we look at what we have done in the past, to avoid repeating mistakes, and similarly to copy the best of the past, is hardly new. What is new is that technology now gives us a convenient framework on which to hang this information and channel it in useful ways, so that we can drop in and learn from experience.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
The other new dimension is that online chat areas and company intranets allow thoughts and ideas to be passed around and built on. Therefore, used correctly, this is a powerful tool for New Product Development (NPD) and innovation. It allows different functions to communicate with each other in a non-linear non-time or geography-dependent manner, producing a creatively synergistic environment. The technology is just a framework on which to place knowledge. What is also needed is a business culture that rewards contributions to the online KM system. The knowledge marketer has a crucial contribution to this because the individual with this responsibility will have to pull together the contributions from all the marketers and add these to the system. Some information will be reluctantly given because people will not want to associate themselves with a campaign that has been deemed a failure. This chapter explores some of the benefits of knowledge management that have been experienced by leading companies in various environments, and offers guidelines for the management of knowledge. I will conclude with an analysis of the role and skills required to succeed.