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26 Apr 2012
Dove's FB campaign shows how thought leadership can drive innovation across a variety of platforms
Despite the obvious benefits, the beauty of a great thought leadership campaign is the spin off it can create for that person or the brand.
Take Dove for example. Their Campaign for Real Beauty is one of the best examples of a consumer thought leadership campaign I
have seen (see the case study I wrote up about it here). It has spawned a content-rich environment for them around this topic to such a degree that they pretty much ‘own’ the discussions around real beauty.Dove displays innovation driven by their thought leadership position
Their next move announced this week is brilliant – a ‘Dove ad makeover’ Facebook app, which allows Facebook users to displace existing advertising messages on their pages with positive ads from Dove.
This is great innovation driven by a thought leadership position on real beauty.
Check this brief You Tube clip out to get the idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhI3Wzs2gJA&feature=player_embedded
I’d be interested in your thoughts.
I’m a director at Sydney-based, Cannings Corporate Communications. Please check out my book: Brand Stand: seven steps
to thought leadership, follow me on twitter @thoughtstrategy or join me on LinkedIn.
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30 Mar 2012
Springsteen has some valuable lessons for thought leaders
I remember first seeing Bruce Springsteen perform at the Amnesty International Human Rights Concert in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1988. The concert co-starred Peter Gabriel, Sting, Tracy Chapman and Youssou N’Dour. What a concert what a night.
Now 24 years later Springsteen is still relevant and has just released Wrecking Ball. What relevance does this all have to thought leadership?
Well Andy Beaupre writes a refreshingly different blog http://www.brodeur.com/blog/. His latest post entitled “8 Lessons from Bruce Springsteen on staying relevant’ has some gems for aspiring thought leaders.
I’ve summed them up in four points key points. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, all thought leaders could take a leaf out of ‘The Bosses’ book.
- He has a novel point of view that aligns closely with his values.
- He shares and engages with his community and gets under the skin of his audience regarding their issues and life’s challenges.
- It’s about us not him – this is all important for thought leaders. It’s not about your product or services rather it’s about your audience’s issues and delivering insights that address these.
- He’s innovative and he stays relevant to his market.
Keep on rocking Bruce and thanks Andre for a wonderfully revealing post.
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23 Dec 2011
The overwhelming sense from these experts is that content curation alone does not lead to thought leadership
I asked 12 people who I consider to be leading global commentators on thought leadership as well as a couple who have produced some amazing thought leadership programs in-house over the years to comment on four critical thought leadership questions for 2012.
Inspired by their answers I couldn’t help chipping in with my own thoughts.
As a result of the overwhelmingly positive response, I have split the interviews into four different posts – one post per question.
In the New Year I will make available an e book containing all the answers.
Interviewees include: Bob Buday, Erica Klein, David Meerman Scott, Jeff Ernst, Rob Leavitt, Britton Manasco, Dana van den Heuvel, Matt Church, Fiona Czerniawska, Dale Bryce, Elizabeth Sosnow, Marte Semb Aaasmundsen and me.
This is the last post in the series and it covers their answers to question four:
Question four: Can content curation alone turn an individual or company
into a thought leader?Bob Buday, president of Bloom Group LLC, a firm that helps professional services and other B2B companies gain market leadership through thought leadership (http://www.bloomgroup.com)
“No – especially if all you do is collect articles. There are tons of automated ways to do it without a human intermediary – Twitter feeds, Google alerts, etc.
“At the very least, content curators need to provide more value to readers than simply identifying and collecting content on a topic. They need to explain why some piece of content is worth someone’s time – what new light it sheds.
“Yet still, even if you add that kind of value – providing commentary on interesting content – playing the role of content curator doesn’t go far enough to demonstrate that you are a leading expert on a topic.
“All to say there are no short cuts in becoming a thought leader.”
Erica Klein, Thought Leadership Writer and Strategist Specializing in Financial and Technology Companies(http://www.ThoughtLeadershipWriter.com)
“This may be totally self-serving on my part, but I think aggregating content marks a company as a “me too” provider and not a distinctive brand able to offer prospects and customers real, quantifiable value.
“True thought leadership can do so much more for a company than round up content at the OK Corral!”
Matt Church, founder of the Global Thought Leaders Movement and creator of the Million Dollar Expert Program. He is the author of 5 books including Thought Leaders and his latest Sell Your Thoughts (http://www.mattchurch.com)
“In the next 36 months maybe. But after that those who synthesise, aggregate and curate Thought Leadership will lose position. It’s about extending the conversations or contradicting them. This means you have to go beyond ‘here is a good idea’ and start to say ‘here is what I think about X idea’.
“It’s about contribution and contradiction as ways of extending an idea. A reader reads a book and goes ‘cool’, a curator reads an idea and goes ‘how can I share that?’ a Thought Leader reads an idea and goes ‘What do I think about that?’
Elizabeth Sosnow, managing director of Bliss PR a business-to-business strategic public relations and marketing communications firm based in New York City (http://www.blisspr.com)
“I love this question – it’s one I’ve debated myself. I think the short answer is “yes,” but the long answer is “no.”
“In the short term, curation is a way to signal to your audience that you understand industry trends and “what’s ahead.” However, longer term, curation signals a “me, too” marketing posture.
“True thought leadership requires differentiation to succeed, so curation just isn’t enough.”
Jeff Ernst, is the Principal Analyst, serving CMO and Marketing Leadership Professionals at Forrester Research and is probably best described as a thought leader in B2B marketing and sales strategy(http://www.forrester.com/rb/analyst/jeff_ernst)
“No, content curation alone is not enough to be a true thought leader.
“For people to trust you to curate or filter content for them, they need to already view you as an authority and trust that you are able to filter through the noise to deliver the content that is most useful to them.
“At minimum, as you curate content, you need to be providing your perspectives on the content you are delivering. But ideally, you need a steady stream of your own fresh ideas and perspectives, while using content curation to supplement that.”
David Meerman Scott is one of the pre-eminent thought leaders on PR and marketing. He is a marketing strategist, keynote speaker, seminar leader, and author of the #1 bestseller The New Rules of Marketing & PR (which has been published in 26 languages) and the Wall Street Journal bestseller Real-Time Marketing & PR. He recently launched his new online book: “Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage”. (http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/)
“No. While content that is interesting will be passed on, I am a perfect example as I tweet interesting content, however, some
component of original content is important.“Content simply created by others is not nearly as valuable.”
Dale Bryce is the group manager marketing for Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM), a global strategic consulting, engineering and project delivery firm. He has been instrumental in their successful ‘client first’ thought leadership approach (http://www.skmconsulting.com/Home/)
“Content curation is an essential ingredient in the overall mix that is thought leadership.
“Great content needs to be relevant of course but it should act as a social lubricant for engagement with an audience. Ideally content is just the conversation starter; a catalyst to a real dialogue about how people might react and respond to the idea just placed on the metaphorical table. And from that first conversation, big things can come….!”
Marte Semb Aasmundsen, graduated this month with her MSc Strategic Public Relations and Communications
Management at The University of Stirling in the UK. Her thesis was on thought leadership.“No, I don’t think so.
“I think content curation may perhaps be a reason why critics are inveighing against thought leadership in the first place.
“Of course it is a useful way of identifying and re-branding an issue. But I think the trend will be to move towards more sophisticated thought leadership initiatives. For that to happen, a thought leader must be authentic.
“Authenticity, transparency and trust are values that will become even more important in the coming years.”
Britton Manasco is the founder of Manasco Marketing Partners which specializes in creating thought leadership marketing and sales enablement solutions. Britton produces a thought leadership strategy blog Illuminating the Future and the executive journal, Elevation Quarterly. (http://www.brittonmanasco.com/)
“Yes, but only if they are a skilled curator.
“Among other things, I have billed myself as a “connoisseur of contrarians.” I seek out unexpected perspectives and provocative points of view. By tapping into their contrarian insights of others, I’m able to generate content for my clients that truly resonates with their customers.
“I’m thrilled that I can get paid to do it.”
Rob Leavitt is a B2B marketing strategist, specializing in issues-based marketing. He is currently Director of Thought Leadership at PTC, a $1 billion enterprise software firm. (http://www.reputationtorevenue.com/)
“Definitely not.
“Curation is useful both internally (for education and customer/competitive/market perspective) and externally (to build interest, traffic, and credibility) but it is no substitute for your own content and conversation that provide strong and different points of view.
“I’m all for curation initiatives but strictly as a complement to your own more substantial research, publications, and presentations. Done well (which itself requires a great deal of work), curation can help you become a useful and valued resource for information and ideas, but if they are not your own ideas you are still not a thought leader.”
Dana VanDen Heuvel is a marketing consultant, author and speaker. He is a recognized expert on blogging, podcasting, RSS, Internet communities and interactive marketing trends and best practices as well as thought leadership (http://www.marketingsavant.com/)
“No, it can’t.
“I’ve seen a lot of back and forth on Twitter this year about this, but at the end of the day, curation is helpful and even essential.
“I often tell my clients that the best leaders don’t always have the answers, but they know where to get them, which is how the thought leader should approach curation. Know where to get good content, know who to trust and know what your audience values but never think for a second that curation = thought leadership.
“The Bloom Group has articulated, what I believe, to be one of the staples in thought leadership discipline with their “seven fundamentals of a thought leadership point of view”, which every would-be thought leader should use to check their work. Moreover, “novelty”, that is, saying something new about an issue and “validity”, having proof, are two of the most critical points of a thought leadership position.
“Curation satisfies neither of those.”
Craig Badings – author of this blog and the book “Brand Stand: seven steps to thought leadership”, and a consultant at Sydney-based Cannings Corporate Communications.
“Find me one recognised thought leader who has attained their position as a result of curating content only.
“If you can I will be convinced that content curation can create thought leaders.
“The very nature of the term ’thought leadership’ implies original, creative or innovative thought. In contrast, curating content implies that you are not the original generator of that content and therefore cannot claim to be a thought leader off the back of it.
“That said, I believe that curated content can play a very important role in supporting and informing a thought leadership content program. Furthermore, if the person curating the content arrives at new ideas or insights as a result of that content then it could be construed as thought leadership.”
Please download my free e book top right of this page. Follow me on twitter @thoughtstrategy and join me on LinkedIn.
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22 Dec 2011
Thought leadership can deliver great outcomes
I asked 12 people who I consider to be leading global commentators on thought leadership as well as a couple who have produced some amazing thought leadership programs in-house over the years to comment on four critical thought leadership questions for 2012.
Inspired by their answers I couldn’t help chipping in with my own thoughts.
As a result of the overwhelmingly positive response, I have split the interviews into four different posts – one post per question.
In the New Year I will make available an e book containing all the answers.
Interviewees include: Bob Buday, Erica Klein, David Meerman Scott, Jeff Ernst, Rob Leavitt, Britton Manasco, Dana van den Heuvel, Matt Church, Fiona Czerniawska, Dale Bryce, Elizabeth Sosnow, Marte Semb Aaasmundsen and me.
This post covers their answers to question three:
Question three: What are the top three outcomes of a thought leadership
campaign?Bob Buday, president of Bloom Group LLC, a firm that helps professional services and other B2B companies gain market leadership through thought leadership (http://www.bloomgroup.com)
“One, increased awareness by your target audience that your firm possesses some expertise and a higher number of inquiries about it .
“Two, higher and faster close rates because of the ability to far better demonstrate to a prospect that you indeed do have the expertise you claim to have.
“Three, higher fees because of the ability to differentiate your expertise, and thus higher and more profitable revenue from your work.”
Erica Klein, Thought Leadership Writer and Strategist Specializing in Financial and Technology Companies(http://www.ThoughtLeadershipWriter.com)
“For my financial and technology clients, the most sought-after outcomes are:
“One, generating revenue from both new prospects and existing customers.
“Two, building reputation and brand as insightful, innovative thinkers, and lest we forget, three, establishing
the boss as a thought leader!”Matt Church, founder of the Global Thought Leaders Movement and creator of the Million Dollar Expert Program. He is the author of 5 books including Thought Leaders and his latest Sell Your Thoughts http://www.mattchurch.com)
“One, talent retention, attraction and development.
“Two, business growth through positioning activities in the marketplace.
“Three, innovation around process and professional subject matter expertise.”
Elizabeth Sosnow, managing director of Bliss PR a business-to-business strategic public relations and marketing communications firm based in New York City (http://www.blisspr.com)
“One, new or deepened relationships with prospects or customers.
“Two, better defined competitive positioning.
“Three, holistic “glue” that integrates previously siloed marketing programs.”
Jeff Ernst, is the Principal Analyst, serving CMO and Marketing Leadership Professionals at Forrester Research and is probably best described as a thought leader in B2B marketing and sales strategy (http://www.forrester.com/rb/analyst/jeff_ernst)
“When you go from thinking of thought leadership as a campaign to thinking of it as a cornerstone of your go-to-market strategy, you can expect to have these outcomes:
- Customers, prospects, influencers, and competitors admire your company as having ground-breaking ideas and incredibly
insightful POVs on the critical issues your buyers face. - People who engage with your thought leadership ideas are so inspired they immediately share them with colleagues within their company and within their professional and social networks.
- Prospective customers knock on your door, already philosophically aligned with your company’s approach to solving their problems, ready to engage with your sales executives.”
David Meerman Scott is one of the pre-eminent thought leaders on PR and marketing. He is a marketing strategist, keynote speaker, seminar leader, and author of the #1 bestseller The New Rules of Marketing & PR (which has been published in 26 languages) and the Wall Street Journal bestseller Real-Time Marketing & PR. He recently launched his new online book: “Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage”. (http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/)
“First, content will be shared if it is valuable. People will share it on twitter, Facebook, blogs and the like with the result your content will reach far more people.
“Second, people will subscribe to your content either whether that is via e mail, RSS feeds, etc. They’ll want more if you do a good job.
“Finally, it will brand your organisation as one worthy with which to do business. People will seek you out if you’re smart about providing content that educates and helps them solve their problems.”
Dale Bryce is the group manager marketing for Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM), a global strategic consulting, engineering and project delivery firm. He has been instrumental in their successful ‘client first’ thought leadership approach (http://www.skmconsulting.com/Home/)
“Client engagement, reputation building and winning the work you want to win.”
Marte Semb Aasmundsen, graduated this month with her MSc Strategic Public Relations and Communications
Management at The University of Stirling in the UK. Her thesis was on thought leadership.“Building expertise and reputation internally and externally. Changing industry standards and perhaps even drive paradigm shifts, and gaining influence and becoming industry leaders.
“And I must add a fourth point; stakeholder engagement. Thought leadership encourages two-way communication and is therefore a great way to include stakeholders in the decision-making process.”
Britton Manasco is the founder of Manasco Marketing Partners which specializes in creating thought leadership marketing and sales enablement solutions. Britton produces a thought leadership strategy blog Illuminating the Future and the executive journal, Elevation Quarterly. (http://www.brittonmanasco.com/)
“That would be: customer awareness (as measured by marketing qualified leads); customer engagement (as measured by sales qualified leads); and customer commitment (as measured by closed deals).
“SiriusDecisions has done a good job of articulating the relevant metrics.”
Rob Leavitt is a B2B marketing strategist, specializing in issues-based marketing. He is currently Director of Thought Leadership at PTC, a $1 billion enterprise software firm. (http://www.reputationtorevenue.com/)
“Increased credibility with customers and market influencers (analysts, bloggers, media, etc.) that the company is an important voice on the issue; new relationships and opportunities with customers focused on forward thinking solutions; and increased internal support for a thought leadership-oriented approach to the market.”
Fiona Czerniawska is one of the foremost global authorities on thought leadership, particularly in the management consultancy space. She is the co-founder of Source, a company specialising in researching the consulting industry (http://www.sourceforconsulting.com)
“A client who, having read your article, acts on something in it. This may be quite a small, apparently insignificant action (forwarding an email to a colleague) but all of our research indicates that any action increases the chance that the ideas in the article and the firm associated with them will be remembered.
“A partner/consultant making a trip to see a client. We tend to think that the outcomes of TL should be external, but there are huge benefits to articles/reports etc, which galvanize account managers and partners to visit their clients, taking the material with them and explaining to their client in person why it’s relevant to them.
“The ability to own an issue. Thought leadership should be good enough to ensure that, on a particular issue, your firm will always be on the shortlist because you’re seen as the pre-eminent experts in that field.”
Dana VanDen Heuvel is a marketing consultant, author and speaker. He is a recognized expert on blogging, podcasting, RSS, Internet communities and interactive marketing trends and best practices as well as thought leadership (http://www.marketingsavant.com/)
“I like to refer back to my original “thought leadership marketing equation” and state that Share of Voice, Share of Mind and Share of Market are the key outcomes of any thought leadership campaign, but I have a few others that I believe are critical.
- “Marketplace momentum. Thought leadership is cumulative where an advertising or promotions-centered approach is diminishing. Pursuing the road of the thought leader, over time, builds tremendous momentum that can continue to propel an organization’s message long after the original piece of content was published.
- “Quicker cycle times. In our experience thought leadership actually helps the customer decide (as opposed to helps the organization sell) who is best for them based on the advance knowledge they can obtain about an organization and how they think, act and work via their content.
- “Category of One companies. I’m a fan of Joe Calloway’s book “Becoming a Category of One” and I believe that the thought
leadership approach allows an organization to tell a customer-centric story in a way that positions that organization as the only one telling that story and give that organization an opportunity to be seen as truly unique.”
Craig Badings – author of this blog and the book “Brand Stand: seven steps to thought leadership”, and a consultant at Sydney-based Cannings Corporate Communications.
“For me the most powerful is the emotional connection you forge with your client.
“If, as a result of your thought leadership campaign, your clients or your target audience get a sense that you really get them and the issues they face and that you are helping them overcome these it leads to the second outcome – differentiation.
“Your thought leadership needs to differentiate your brand from the competition.
“Finally it should position you as the ‘go to’ expert in your field and with this comes that all important brand quality – trust.
“I have created a list of 70+ thought leadership benefits here if you want to take a look.”
Please download my free e book top right of this page. Follow me on twitter @thoughtstrategy and join me on LinkedIn.
- Customers, prospects, influencers, and competitors admire your company as having ground-breaking ideas and incredibly
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21 Dec 2011
Experts share the challenges faced by thought leadership
I asked 12 people who I consider to be leading global commentators on thought leadership as well as some who have produced some amazing thought leadership programs in-house over the years to comment on four critical thought leadership questions for 2012.
Inspired by their answers I couldn’t help chipping in with my own thoughts.
As a result of the overwhelmingly positive response, I have split the interviews into four different posts – one post per question.
In the New Year I will make available an e book containing all the answers.
Interviewees include: Bob Buday, Erica Klein, David Meerman Scott, Jeff Ernst, Rob Leavitt, Britton Manasco, Dana van den Heuvel, Matt Church, Fiona Czerniawska, Dale Bryce, Elizabeth Sosnow, Marte Semb Aaasmundsen and me.
This post covers their answers to question two:
Question two: From your experience, what are the biggest challenges in
getting a thought leadership program off the ground?Bob Buday, president of Bloom Group LLC, a firm that helps professional services and other B2B companies gain market leadership through thought leadership (http://www.bloomgroup.com)
“It’s easy to get a thought leadership program off the ground. Many firms start by outsourcing a white paper to a third party like my firm and then do little else. In my experience, this rarely works because the expectations are so high (“We expect the white paper to generate hundreds of leads quickly”) and the understanding of what it takes to have an effective thought leadership program so low.
“These firms typically have little appetite for creating a thought leadership machine because that takes budget and time. Even more important, they don’t realize how much time that their internal experts will need to spend on the program – in writing, developing their ideas, presenting them publically, and in working with others to capture their ideas.
“So I’ll change the question slightly and then answer it: The biggest challenge to getting a highly effective thought leadership program off the ground (“effective” defined as generating leads and revenue) is a recognition by those who are funding the program that they will need to commit sufficient time (no quick miracle results) and resources (yes, budget, and as important people’s time to participate in it) to the endeavor.
“If they don’t, there will be initial excitement and eventual disinterest as they find “that thought leadership white paper didn’t do much.”
Erica Klein, Thought Leadership Writer and Strategist Specializing in Financial and Technology Companies(http://www.ThoughtLeadershipWriter.com)
“As a thought leadership writer and consultant, I develop a detailed Project Brief for my clients upfront, something they generally don’t have enough time to do themselves, but which can serve as a solid foundation for every step of the process.
“The single greatest obstacle in launching a thought leadership initiative is not having a detailed document that clearly articulates the desired results, expected budget range, the list of key approvers and important influencers, content and graphics development stages, and realistic timeframes.
“Many a terrific thought leadership program has foundered on the rocks of project management and time management.”
Matt Church, founder of the Global Thought Leaders Movement and creator of the Million Dollar Expert Program. He is the author of 5 books including Thought Leaders and his latest Sell Your Thoughts http://www.mattchurch.com)
“Mediocrity!
“A thought leadership program is not for the faint of heart, it’s not a short-term trend or cool idea. It’s about focussing on your best and brightest and communicating their uniqueness to the internal and external audiences. “
Elizabeth Sosnow, managing director of Bliss PR a business-to-business strategic public elations and marketing communications firm based in New York City (http://www.blisspr.com)
“Thought leadership projects almost always falter without a differentiated, actionable idea. It’s pretty simple. If you spend the
time to get your ideas in order, the rest of program falls neatly into place.“Another frequent challenge – finding the right thought leader.
“A good program requires an articulate thinker who understands how to inspire their audience segment. Ideally, that thought
leader actually becomes the embodiment of the idea.”Jeff Ernst, is the Principal Analyst, serving CMO and Marketing Leadership Professionals at Forrester Research and is probably best described as a thought leader in B2B marketing and sales strategy (http://www.forrester.com/rb/analyst/jeff_ernst)
“The biggest challenge my clients face is getting the commitment from senior management to make thought leadership a top priority and to allocate time from the subject matter experts in the company who are needed to define the thought leadership platform and develop the idea hierarchy.”
David Meerman Scott is one of the pre-eminent thought leaders on PR and marketing. He is a marketing strategist, keynote speaker, seminar leader, and author of the #1 bestseller The New Rules of Marketing & PR (which has been published in 26 languages) and the Wall Street Journal bestseller Real-Time Marketing & PR. He recently launched his new online book: “Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage”. (http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/)
“Typically marketing people spend their time talking about products and services. The average marketing person is very good at
doing things like brochures and advertising but they have great difficulty in providing thought leadership-type content that has nothing to do with their products or services.“In fact most of them are terrible at not talking about their products and services. Even a lot of the thought leadership campaigns out there currently contain too many product and service mentions.”
Dale Bryce is the group manager marketing for Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM), a global strategic consulting, engineering and project delivery firm. He has been instrumental in their successful ‘client first’ thought leadership approach (http://www.skmconsulting.com/Home/)
“The challenge in professional services is often to get the gurus to see the big picture. Ironic isn’t it?
“Why?” is always a great first question to ask, or to answer.
“It is a delight working with such brilliant people, in my case engineering and before that the law, but even brilliant people need context. And that context usually needs to come from a deeper understanding of clients and their business – their commercial and technical issues and personal needs too.
“We have been running a Client Insights program for a while now. Our clients are clearly telling us they want us to stay in touch, “not just take the order”. They want someone to bring forward valuable ideas. And, they actually want unsolicited proposals that solve their problems.
“So, in terms of thought leadership, especially in professional services, time needs to be spent on the “Why?”, before we launch into the “What?”. And that can be a challenge.
“Subject matter expertise is a given in thought leadership. The key is connecting the dots, for clients and our thought leaders too.”
Marte Semb Aasmundsen, graduated this month with her MSc Strategic Public Relations and Communications Management at The University of Stirling in the UK. Her thesis was on thought leadership.
“It is absolutely necessary to get backing from the board. Also, companies must understand that true thought leadership takes time to build, and needs a great deal of work and resources.
“It must be well researched and align with the perceptions and values of a brand and their stakeholders.”
Britton Manasco is the founder of Manasco Marketing Partners which specializes in creating thought leadership marketing and sales enablement solutions. Britton produces a thought leadership strategy blog Illuminating the Future and the executive journal, Elevation Quarterly. (http://www.brittonmanasco.com/)
“If I switch to the marketing perspective (as opposed to sales), I’d say that the biggest challenge is the creation of relevant, compelling and insightful content.
“It’s best if you are strong at drawing on outside and independent perspectives – whether they come from market influencers or buyers/practitioners. It takes rigor, discipline and a defined program to generate content that works in an ongoing fashion.
“You’ll probably want to hire empathic and proven content creators – people who can produce interesting content in many formats and for many buyers.”
Rob Leavitt is a B2B marketing strategist, specializing in issues-based marketing. He is currently Director of Thought Leadership at PTC, a $1 billion enterprise software firm. (http://www.reputationtorevenue.com/)
“I’m actually doing this myself these days so the question is far from academic!
“Three of the biggest challenges I’m facing right now are turning general interest across the organization into a focused program with agreed priorities, processes, and production; balancing the desire for ramping up content production with the need to build serious, deep, and credible points of view on key customer issues; and building a strong enough network of relationships with
customers and sales people to make sure the program is truly focused on what is most useful with those two key groups.”Fiona Czerniawska is one of the foremost global authorities on thought leadership, particularly in the management consultancy space. She is the co-founder of Source, a company specialising in researching the consulting industry (http://www.sourceforconsulting.com)
“Where to start? The best thought leadership comes down to picking topical issues, researching them thoroughly to a point where you have something new to say, and then writing the results up in an appealing and engaging manner.
“The first of these (picking topical issues) depends on having a) a clear view of what your clients are interested in – ideally more than a vague sense, but something itself grounded in research – and b) a culture / decision-making process which makes it possible to make decisions. Many firms end up producing thought leadership on too many areas because they’re afraid to choose.
“The second (thorough research and new insights) comes down to what I term the ‘second day in the room’ syndrome: lots of firms are prepared to get their experts together for a day, but the firms that stand out in thought leadership terms are those who make them go back in for a second day – and that’s symptomatic of a commitment to research and investment.
“The third and final point (appeal and engagement) depends on recognition that there’s a lot of (too much!) thought leadership out there and you have to be brave if you’re going to stand out.
“So taking risks is a necessary part of doing thought leadership well.”
Dana VanDen Heuvel is a marketing consultant, author and speaker. He is a recognized expert on blogging, podcasting, RSS, Internet communities and interactive marketing trends and best practices as well as thought leadership (http://www.marketingsavant.com/)
“I have seen a few hurdles that typically keep an organization from thought leadership success:
“First, the confidence conundrum. In order to be a thought leader, an organization’s leadership must have the confidence that they can pull off the thought leader posture in the marketplace. If anyone on the leadership team feels that the organization is under-qualified, then the idea of thought leadership will smolder, so to speak, but never really catch fire within the organization. Moreover, if thought leadership can’t be sustained as an idea in the organization, it will never resonate with the
market.“Second, I’m not a publisher” mentality. In order to be a successful thought leader, organizations need to both think and publish. Yes, there’s more to it, but good strong content is as the core of a thought leadership program. I hear from countless organizations who would like to ascend to the “expert in their industry”, thought leader or “trusted advisor” status who just can’t get it together when it comes to creating content.
“Third, differentiation in the marketplace. Taking a position as a thought leader requires that you have true differentiation not only of products but more importantly of ideas. Organizations need to be “original thinkers” in order to manifest thought leadership. While I always believe that any business that’s been around for even a few years has found its differentiation, knowing that you’re different and being able to articulate that in a thought leadership position to the market remains a challenge.”
Craig Badings – author of this blog and the book “Brand Stand: seven steps to thought leadership”, and a consultant at Sydney-based Cannings Corporate Communications.
“Three things: if it’s not centred on your client issues and challenges it will fail or at best limp along; a lack of resources to properly plan, leverage and maintain your thought leadership point of view; and a lack of commitment from senior management.”
Please download my free e book top right of this page. Follow me on twitter @thoughtstrategy and join me on LinkedIn.
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20 Dec 2011
Experts gives their views on the changes facing thought leadership
I asked 12 people who I consider to be leading global commentators on thought leadership as well as those who have produced some amazing thought leadership programs in-house over the years to comment on four critical thought leadership questions for 2012.
Inspired by their answers I couldn’t help chipping in with my own thoughts.
As a result of the overwhelmingly positive response, I have split the interviews into four different posts – one post per question. In the New Year I will make available an e book containing all the answers.
Interviewees include: Bob Buday, Erica Klein, David Meerman Scott, Jeff Ernst, Rob Leavitt, Britton Manasco, Dana van den Heuvel, Matt Church, Fiona Czerniawska, Dale Bryce, Elizabeth Sosnow, Marte Semb Aaasmundsen and me.
This post covers their answers to question one:
Question one: What will be the single biggest change we will see in thought leadership over the coming year/s?
Bob Buday, president of Bloom Group LLC, a firm that helps professional services and other B2B companies gain market leadership through thought leadership (http://www.bloomgroup.com)
“I’m not sure there will be any one major change in thought leadership in the coming year. I believe we’ll continue to see small changes in the ways that current and aspiring experts create and market their ideas.
“Social media will continue to give us ways to more easily conduct research (to find organizations to study), as well as more easily spread our ideas. However, I don’t ever expect social media to supplant the old ways of gaining expertise on an issue (talking by phone and in person to people who have dealt with the issue at hand) and sharing that expertise with audiences (seminars, books,
whether online or print, management journals, online or print).“So while I’m dubious that we will see a major change in the next year in the way companies create and market content to educate their target audiences, I do expect to see a fundamental change in thought leadership over the course of this decade, and I hope sooner rather than later.
“The change I’m expecting is that organizations (especially firms that sell expertise) will see the emerging discipline of thought leadership not just as a marketing initiative but also as a service innovation initiative. By far, the largest return that companies can generate from thought leadership comes from not just displaying expertise on an issue but actually having superior services that
help clients solve the issue. I wrote about this in 2011 in a blog post ( http://bloomgroup.com/blogs/bob-buday/do-thought-leadership-marketing-and-knowledge-management-relate).“This is not the way most firms look at and use thought leadership today. A handful of consultants may write an article or book based on some research and client work. But they then typically use the article and book to generate more such work – not more internal capability in their organizations to deliver more such work.
“Using thought leadership as R&D for service innovation is the Holy Grail of thought leaders. As more and more professional services work – architectural and engineering designs, consulting services, legal advice, accounting work, etc. – moves to locations that can provide that expertise at far lower cost, professional firms whose services aren’t fundamentally unique and superior at
delivering results won’t be able to maintain their fees. Thought leadership, then, becomes the mechanism for de-commoditizing a commodity service.”Erica Klein, Thought Leadership Writer and Strategist Specializing in Financial and Technology Companies (http://www.ThoughtLeadershipWriter.com)
“I believe each company that recognizes the value of thought leadership will begin to develop a strategic blueprint that integrates these programs into the overall framework of their business development and marketing efforts.
“I also think you’ll see more of an attempt to integrate LinkedIn individual profile pages with company-wide thought leadership initiatives, significantly increasing the impact of these programs over the long term.”
Matt Church, founder of the Global Thought Leaders Movement and creator of the Million Dollar Expert Program. He is the author of 5 books including Thought Leaders and his latest Sell Your Thoughts (http://www.mattchurch.com)
“The need for those who are true thought leaders to be able to prove that depth of expertise in an efficient manner. Many will claim the title of thought leader but the challenge is for those who are to be as equally obsessed with the development of IP as they are in the promotion of same.”
Elizabeth Sosnow, managing director of Bliss PR a business-to-business strategic public relations and marketing communications firm based in New York City (http://www.blisspr.com)
“We expect the biggest change to occur in the formatting of thought leadership. Companies are slowly beginning to recognize that
traditional thought leadership packages such as “white papers” or “POV pieces” may not be nimble enough to survive in today’s highly cluttered marketplace.“Winners will embrace an exciting array of design opportunities, from e-books to cartoons and even songs.”
Jeff Ernst, is the Principal Analyst, serving CMO and Marketing Leadership Professionals at Forrester Research and is probably best described as a thought leader in B2B marketing and sales strategy (http://www.forrester.com/rb/analyst/jeff_ernst)
“Companies will get frustrated that even their most compelling thought leadership ideas/Point of Views get lost in the noise in the
market and don’t stand out from what everyone else is saying, so they will shift from taking a “random acts of thought leadership” approach (a webinar here, a whitepaper there, a blog post) to a more methodical, orchestrated approach.“This will require them to develop a thought leadership platform in a similar manner to how political candidates develop a campaign platform.”
David Meerman Scott is one of the pre-eminent thought leaders on PR and marketing. He is a marketing strategist, keynote speaker, seminar leader, and author of the #1 bestseller The New Rules of Marketing & PR (which has been published in 26 languages) and the Wall Street Journal bestseller Real-Time Marketing & PR. He recently launched his new online book: “Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage”. (http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/)
“I’m big on real-time thought leadership. By this I mean people or companies that can respond to what’s going on now. For example if there is a regulatory issue impacting their sector, can they comment on it right away?
“I’ve noticed that traditional thought leadership content on the web is very campaign-like in its approach – it’s planned well in advance. There is nothing wrong with that, except that the web is a very now medium and too few companies are taking advantage of this.”
Dale Bryce is the group manager marketing for Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM), a global strategic consulting, engineering and project delivery firm. He has been instrumental in their successful ‘client first’ thought leadership approach (http://www.skmconsulting.com/Home/)
“More will not be more!
“With the proliferation of digital and social media platforms, distribution of thought leadership will be easier. That’s good. But with this, impact could be less unless we keep an eye on quality and intent.
“I have always thought that building and engaging with a select and loyal audience is the main game. Just think of the power of presenting thought leadership as a genuine and tailored gift to a particular client: “We were thinking of you just the other day, and believe this piece here is really relevant to you and your business.”
“Cheesy? It depends on your intent…”
Marte Semb Aasmundsen, graduated this month with her MSc Strategic Public Relations and Communications
Management at The University of Stirling in the UK. Her thesis was on thought leadership.“I believe that thought leadership is the future of communication and reputation management.
“More and more companies have begun, and will continue, to realize the potential of the strategy; the competition within the thought leadership realm will thus be intensified and as a result, the message will need to become more sophisticated.
“Thought leadership initiatives lacking substance will no longer be recognized as thought leadership.
“I also think that the strategy will be more recognized globally, which opens up the opportunities for cross-cultural thought leadership.”
Britton Manasco is the founder of Manasco Marketing Partners which specializes in creating thought leadership marketing and sales enablement solutions. Britton produces a thought leadership strategy blog Illuminating the Future and the executive journal, Elevation Quarterly. (http://www.brittonmanasco.com/)
“I spend most of my time working in the B2B arena, particularly with companies engaged in a complex sale. With regard to that type of company, I am seeing a definite focus on how to empower sales (as opposed to simply marketing) with thought leadership. So, I will venture that it’s a significant trend: positioning sales people as thought leaders and trusted authorities.
“To become thought leaders, they must also be challengers – individuals who have the confidence and perspective to challenge the buyer’s status quo thinking.
“They must offer a new point of view – a new angle on things. They must be, in essence, provocateurs. And they must be prepared to guide their prospective clients through a complex and demanding decision.”
Rob Leavitt is a B2B marketing strategist, specializing in issues-based marketing. He is currently Director of Thought Leadership at PTC, a $1 billion enterprise software firm. (http://www.reputationtorevenue.com/)
“I think we’ll see another whole wave of thought leadership development and marketing.
“Clearly thought leadership has gained tremendous interest, support, and investment in the last few years, but we’re still very early in a maturity cycle. Many companies are still getting a basic foundation in place in terms of defining issues to address, creating a publication engine, enlisting subject matter experts, and testing the social media waters.
“All this is critical, but much of it is not actual “thought leadership” if by this term we literally mean “leading thoughts.”
“Many of us producing useful, non-promotional, educational content, but examples of more innovative and ground-breaking thinking is more rare, and requires far more investment, discipline, and experience.
“As more of us get past the foundation stage, I expect a great deal more innovative work in next few years.”
Fiona Czerniawska is one of the foremost global authorities on thought leadership, particularly in the management consultancy space. She is the co-founder of Source, a company specialising in researching the consulting industry (http://www.sourceforconsulting.com)
“There are lots of things I’d like to see change but am not sure will actually happen: seeing consulting firms produce less, but higher quality thought leadership and pulling more of their output around a small number of over-arching themes would both be high up my agenda, but that’s hard to achieve in an environment where volume still matters.
“I would also like to see firms being more thoughtful in their use of different digital formats and social media for thought leadership purposes, rather than the pretty random experimentation that’s the norm at the moment. But I do think that 2012 will prove to be the year in which a minority of consulting firms will stand out in their ability to use these formats/media much more
effectively.”Dana VanDen Heuvel is a marketing consultant, author and speaker. He is a recognized expert on blogging, podcasting, RSS, Internet communities and interactive marketing trends and best practices as well as thought leadership (http://www.marketingsavant.com/)
“I believe that marketers are realizing that thought leadership is really a ”supply side” construct, and in order to ensure that our thought leadership efforts are valid in the marketplace, we need to take a “demand side” approach and focus not only on what makes for great thought leadership, but rather what makes for great “attention leadership” where we’re attracting and maintaining the attention of our audience over time.”
Craig Badings – author of this blog and the book “Brand Stand: seven steps to thought leadership”, and a consultant at Sydney-based Cannings Corporate Communications.
“We will see more sophistication in terms of focus, how thought leadership is researched, how it is targeted, packaged and presented and how it is integrated into the sales process.
“Cloud computing will also present a big opportunity in showcasing and ordering intellectual property but this will be a longer term play.
“Finally I think thought leadership will continue to gain traction as a strategic business tool as opposed to a pure communications/ marketing tool.”
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30 Mar 2011
The four secret questions for effective thought leadership
Good thought leaders or thought leadership campaigns should ask four key questions before they even start:
1. Where do we get most of our business and what are their key issues/challenges?
Without this knowledge your thought leadership position is much like shooting in the dark in terms of whether it will have the desired impact on your targets.
2. What knowledge/expertise do I/we have that we can research further to deliver something of real value to address these issues/challenges?
You want your thought leadership position to enable you to play to your expertise and showcase this and your thinking in your chosen space. Wherever that knowledge or intellectual property can inform your thought leadership point of view, use it wisely.
3. For what do I/we want to be known/famous?
When your ideal client base says that is the firm/person who has incredible insights into x. What is that x? What is it you want to be famous for?
4. How do I/we best leverage our thought leadership content to share it with our market?
Many thought leadership campaigns I have seen are not leveraged to their full extent. Once you have identified your point of view, make sure you apply a sound, strategic content management strategy to your thought leadership property. Are you squeezing every element of your content across every touch point your target audiences?
How you answer these four questions is critical to your thought leadership point of view and how you take it to market.
Thought leadership must have a business objective
However, there is one, űber thought leadership question that remains. It is the glue that should bind and guide your whole campaign:
“What are our business objectives for this thought leadership campaign?”
This should underpin everything you do. Without a business objective or objectives your campaign isn’t measureable and you will probably have difficulty eliciting the commitment from senior executives.
I can’t stress this enough – your thought leadership needs to be drive very clear business objectives in order to gain the credence and top-level commitment it requires to succeed.
It can be as simple and focused as: “We want to gain one-on-one access to the CFOs of the top 200 listed companies.”
Alternatively, you can have two or three objectives. My view is that if you have more than three you are probably spreading your objectives to thin.
Your objectives should:
· Be singular in focus
· Be easy to measure
· Rally everyone around it
Get these fundamentals right and you give yourself every chance of success for your thought leadership campaign.
Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions you think should be framed up front to help guide your campaign.
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17 Mar 2011
Fiona Czerniawska shares her insights on thought leadership
For this interview on thought leadership, I had the privilege of interviewing Fiona Czerniawska, one of the foremost global authorities on thought leadership, particularly in the management consultancy space. There are few people who understand as much about thought leadership as Fiona. She is the co-founder of Source, a company specialising in researching the consulting industry www.sourceforconsulting.com . She has authored numerous management reports, books and articles.
I would urge you to visit her site and join up to her thought leadership newsletter White Space http://www.sourceforconsulting.com/whitespace/ . White Space is a subscriber-based web service which provides detailed analysis of the thought leadership of around 30 leading global consulting firms.She is also the Director of the Management Consultancies Association’s Think Tank, she is a Programme Director for the Centre of Management Development at London Business School, and also lectures at Kingston Business School in London and Haarlem School of Advanced Management Studies in Holland.
Trends in thought leadership
1. Fiona your firm White Space does an exhaustive annual analysis of the thought leadership material of around 30 leading global consulting firms. What trends have you seen emerging in this field from the leaders in the thought leadership space?
The overall quality of thought leadership in 2010 slipped a bit – at least in our opinion. We think there were two main reasons for this. The first is that many firms cut their thought leadership and research budgets during the recession and the cracks this opened up really began to show in the latter half of the year. Thankfully that particular trend seems to being reversed. The second reason is to do with the way in which people are publishing their material: we’ll all have noticed a plethora of new formats, including Twitter, videos, podcasts and design-your-own graphs. But these share a common challenge which is that you have less space to say things and I think consulting firms are struggling with the transition from back-breaking flagship reports to a pithier, more opinionated style. A five-minute video shouldn’t be a balding man in a grey suit reading the executive summary, but someone saying something memorable and thought-provoking, as well as fast. This type of thought leadership should be like the tip of an iceberg, with the underlying research below the waterline, but it often becomes an excuse for not doing the research in the first place – and that shows.
Content and thought leadership
2. There’s a lot written these days about marketing content but what’s your view that content alone doesn’t make you a thought leader?
I’d agree, but with some caveats. I honestly don’t think you can beat good content: that’s easy to forget because so much of the content we do see isn’t that good. If you look back at the block-buster management ideas of the past, they were all based on serious research, not a sudden brainwave or luck. I don’t believe in eureka moments except those that emerge from deeper-than-deep content. That being said, I do think that innovation in thought leadership will come from the way this content is assembled and disseminated. I’m watching McKinsey’s What Matters micro-site with interest and I know that other firms are looking at this issue too.
Thought leadership quantity vs quality
3. You talk about four factors likely to attract a client’s attention as appeal, differentiation, practical application and quality of thinking but do you think the volume of thought leadership these firms produce these days means they are having to be more creative with the way it is packaged?
These four factors relate to the quality of a firm’s output and that’s independent of quality (although, almost inevitably, a firm that decides to increase the quantity of its material takes a hit on quality). It’s tempting to say that quantity should never matter but it does: if you produce one piece of thought leadership on, say, strategy in the banking sector, but your competitor produces 20, then there’s a fair chance that you’ll get shouted down, however great your piece is. Quantity also sends a not-so-subliminal message to clients about how much a firm specialises in a particular area. However, I think firms could indeed be more creative about the way they package their content. In particular, I’d like to seem more “bundling” (putting related articles, in a mix of different formats, together in the same place); better recommendations (suggesting articles I might find of interest); and, please, please, please, better search engines. It’s incredibly frustrating to put a keyword in but not be able to sort the results by date or filter them.
Thought leadership as a term
4. The term thought leadership is bandied about quite loosely do you think the term itself is dated and if so are there better terms to encapsulate thought leadership?
Like all jargon (the first book I wrote was on business language… ), “thought leadership” has its uses. People – at least consultants – know what it refers to means and broadly understand what’s involved even if they might quibble about its exact meaning. The trouble is that it’s an inherently arrogant term that set itself up for a fall: it’s an old joke that most thought leadership is really thought “followship.” And of course the even bigger problem is that no one, certainly not us, has a better term.
Thought leadership – a growing discipline
5. Are you seeing signs that thought leadership is becoming a discipline in its own right? Are there any examples of it being split in terms of resourcing and manpower from the traditional marketing and corporate communication roles?
We’re certainly seeing this more – and I think that’s the right thing to do. If you ask clients what influences their choice of consulting firm, they almost always cite personal recommendations, case studies and thought leadership, but these components have an impact in different ways and at different times. A personal recommendation is very much about which firm to use for a specific piece of work, but case studies and thought leadership are important at an earlier stage in the thinking process. Long before they reach the point when they decide to hire a consulting firm, clients need evidence that it makes sense to invest time and effort in an idea or problem they’ve been mulling over – and case studies and thought leadership can provide this. In other words, done well the latter help stimulate demand for consulting in general even if they don’t convert into a sale for a specific firm. That’s why it makes sense to view these functions separately – but of course you can go too far in the opposite direction and it’s important for marketing, corporate comms and thought leadership to plan and act in unison.
The client’s view on thought leadership
6. What are clients of the firms you analyse saying about the thought leadership material they receive?
They have mixed reactions, depending on the subject-matter and their position. Overall, clients dismiss most thought leadership simply because it’s not relevant to them. There’s a lesson in this about ensuring all material is focused on as tight a group of clients as possible, otherwise – a bit like infections treated with antibiotics – they become resistant! Where it is relevant, views are much more positive: indeed, it’s quite clear that producing good thought leadership is, in many senior managers’ eye, a fundamental characteristic of a certain type of established, high-class consulting.
Thought leadership case study
7. What’s the best thought leadership campaign you’ve seen and why?
The BBC’s A History of the World in 100 Objects. Not exactly a conventional programme, but it gives us a clear sense and standard about what can be achieved when you mix great content with an intelligent use of new media. It should be required listening for all marketing departments.
The future of thought leadership
8. What is your view on where thought leadership is heading over the next five years?
I like to think that it will become a serious battleground for really good ideas. I may be laughed at for this on the quite reasonable grounds that (a) clients value small-scale insights more than grandiose conceptual models and (b) the extent to which thought leadership is – or can be – a crucible for innovation is questionable. But I do get frustrated by the lack of ambitious in much thought leadership. There are some big and interesting questions about business that never seem to get debated – and it would be good to think that some of these will start to be discussed. The prerequisites to this, and I suspect to upping the overall quality of thought leadership, are investment and collaboration. I can’t believe we won’t see more money going into thought leadership in the future, as it’s clear that it is one of the few marketing activities which can differentiate a firm. And I also think consulting firms will realise that they have to work with people (clients and other consultants) outside the boundaries of their firms for inspiration.
If you have any comments on Fiona’s points of view I’d love to hear from you – also don’t forget to sign up for Fiona’s newsletter here http://www.sourceforconsulting.com/whitespace/
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29 Mar 2010
I love what Chad and Linda Nelson from The Basis Group have to say about sales and thought leadership in their paper “Thought Leadership is the New Sales Pitch.” These guys absolutely get it. It is a must read for anyone in sales and marketing.In my all my research and writings on the topic I have come across only a handful of people who can articulate so succinctly the impact thought leadership has on selling a brand, product or service . Dana vandenHeuvel and David Meerman Scott are two others who spring to mind.
Consumers actively seek experts
Chad and Linda point out that consumers no longer passively accept marketing information. Instead, they actively seek experts who have answers or insights into their world and who through these insights help them manage better this world and the issues and challenges they face. Consumers today crave relationships and resources in the form of knowledge and insights and herein lies the opportunity for selling differently.
While traditional marketing is still the bread and butter of many sales efforts, as the Nelsons point out: “When you begin your marketing efforts by establishing trust and demonstrating thought leadership, you create a new more effective entry point for your brand message.”
Stop pushing products and services
Very true. But before this happens, companies need to unlearn current habits of pushing products and services down their customers’ throats. Instead they should start demonstrating their insights, knowledge and expertise in their sector and in particular the issues and challenges facing their consumers.
Underpinning this approach is thought leadership. There are many positive outcomes of thought leadership, I have a table illustrating these in an earlier blog post, but the ultimate outcome should always be that your customers seek you out because they trust you based on the knowledge and insights you have shared so openly with them.
Thought leadership builds trust which underpins sales
While thought leadership may not result in a quick sell, what it will do is truly cement your brand with your publics in a way that has a far deeper stickability factor. But this is what most marketers and salespeople have difficulty getting their heads around – thought leadership does not primarily drive sales. Rather it builds trust, takes your conversations with customers to another level so that when the time comes to present your offering they are so vested in your brand that the sale is as good as done.
As the Nelsons point out: ”you need to be out in your marketplace talking to people, learning what they know, discussing ideas, taking the pulse of the industry to see where it’s going, responding to concerns and expanding your understanding of what is needed. This is the best kind of leadership because it demonstrates your intimacy with your audience and your industry.”
While there is nothing new in this and the best sales people will tell you that the best selling is all about listening, the difference is how you interpret, articulate and then package and share your insights and information.
Thought leaders have an abundance mentality. They share openly and freely and understand that it is not first and foremost about the sale but rather it is first and foremost about being available and being generous with your knowledge.
Only this way will take your place at the head of your industry’s table. The sales will naturally follow.
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11 Mar 2010
I was reading an article penned by veteran marketing strategist, Rob Leavitt. Rob is the Principal at Solutions Insights and he specializes in issues- and content-based marketing. Rob helps companies distinguish themselves in the marketplace and advises them on how to have strategic conversations with their clients, prospects, and market influencers.
Rob gets thought leadership and I thought the six lessons he has for thought leaders at any level were well worth sharing. Here they are:
Six thought leadership lessons
Stepping back from the specifics of these two initiatives, I see six general lessons for thought leadership marketers at any level:
- Put Customers First. It sounds obvious to say that thought leadership marketing should focus on what your customers really care about, but far too many marketers take a product- or solution-first approach and try to fit some larger issue neatly around their offering. Buyers don’t care about your offerings by themselves; they have their own problems to worry about. Engage them where they live. IBM is trying to build relationships with CEOs, so they research and talk about what other CEOs are doing. Deloitte works especially closely with Boards of Directors, CFOs, and other C-level executives; it’s hard to think of a C-suite issue more pressing these days than risk management. What do your customers and prospects really worry about?
- Do the Research. Thought leadership without real research is just opinion, and opinions are a dime a dozen. Show buyers serious research, though, and they’re much more likely to pay attention. You might not be able to interview 1,130 CEOs around the world, but you can survey and interview your customers and prospects, produce serious case studies (not puff piece “success stories”), and comb the literature and online conversation to produce new insights.
- Say Something New. Thought leadership without a differentiated point of view is just an echo of conventional wisdom. Why should customers listen to your version then they’ve already heard it before — or if you’re only telling them something they already know. Smart customers want to be challenged. If you’re not sparking at least some disagreement and debate, you probably haven’t said anything new. None of IBM’s five attributes are themselves shockingly new but the synthesis suggests and aggressive and innovative approach that goes well beyond conventional thinking. Deloitte’s focus on the upside as well as the downside of risk clearly stands apart from the post-Wall Street collapse mentality of compliance first, last, and always.
- Build a Pervasive Presence. Long gone are the days when thought leadership marketing meant publishing a white paper, research report, or journal article and then moving on to the next project. Media fragmentation, information overload, and the power of social media make it critical that thought leadership marketers put substantial energy into getting the word out across a broad range of media and activities. IBM’s 360 degree campaign for the CEO study included traditional activities (email, Web, direct mail, advertising, press and analyst briefings, sales enablement, video, etc.) as well as a number of newer approaches (blogs, podcasts, online innovation jams, and branded content). IBM also produced 15 “flavors” of the main report for different industries and C-suite positions. Deloitte has similarly tapped a wide variety of media and activities to engage clients, prospects, and market influencers. For thought leadership marketing today, think multi-media, social media, and complementary online and offline engagement to build a strong presence wherever your stakeholders already spend their time.
- Stick with It. IBM’s CEO study is a two year project, and the 2008 version is IBM’s third such study. To maximize marketing impact, IBM organizes a “teaser phase” (outreach to build awareness before the formal launch), a “reveal phase” (a multi-faceted public launch to build buzz internally and externally), and a “sustain phase” (ongoing engagement to dig more deeply into the issues with customers and others). Deloitte launched the Risk Intelligent Enterprise effort in 2006 and has continued to explore the issues, refine the point of view, publish, and engage. The point is to pick a core issue for your customers and stick with it. Thought leadership takes time. It’s better to pick one or two issues and work them hard for several years than to flit from one issue to the next in a more superficial way.
- Confirm the metrics. Far from an airy initiative, thought leadership marketing can and should focus on core metrics essential to business development and growth. Objectives for the IBM initiative revolved around relationship building with CEOs, corporate visibility and interest, ongoing engagement with key contacts, and sales leads. Deloitte takes a similar approach, focusing on competitive differentiation, influencer relations, client connections, and business development support. Setting and gaining organizational agreement on clear marketing and business development objectives provides the grounding and accountability that marketers need to justify the necessary investments.
Serious thought leadership marketing is not easy, but taking these six lessons to heart will go a long way toward success. At least that’s my opinion! What do you think?
I think Rob is right on the money and would be interested to see whether anyone else has any more ‘lessons’ to add to his list of six?
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