Thought Leadership: Positioning Yourself as an Expert in the Marketplace

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
POSITIONING YOURSELF AS AN EXPERT IN THE
MARKETPLACE
DEC 17, 2014
Sheboygan County Chamber

HI, I’M DANA VANDENHEUVEL
ProfessionallyPersonally Socially
/in/danavandenheuvel
/dvandenheuvel
/marketingsavant
/vandda
/danavan

• WHAT IS THOUGHT LEADERSHIP MARKETING?
• WHY BECOME A THOUGHT LEADER?
• HOW DO WE BECOME A THOUGHT LEADER?
• HOW HAVE OTHERS USED THOUGHT LEADERSHIP?
• ACTIVATING THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
• THOUGHT LEADERSHIP SELF-ASSESSMENT
PRESENTATION ROADMAP

WHAT IS THOUGHT LEADERSHIP?
RainToday.com
“Thought
leadership
centers
on
earning
trust
and

credibility.
Thought
leaders
get
no4ced
by
oﬀering

something
diﬀerent—informa6on,
insights,
and

ideas
–
for
instance.
Thought
leadership
posi4ons

you
and
your
company
as
an
industry
authority

and
resource
and
trusted
advisor
by
establishing

your
reputa4on
as
a
generous
contributor
to
your

industry.”

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP IS A WAY OF BEING
- Brian Carroll Author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale
“It’s not about trying to pontificate on how
great you are, or just trying to edify yourself.
In a lot of ways, it’s truly a way of being. It’s
something you can’t say about yourself…
it’s really what others say about you.”

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP IS (ALSO):
•  Possessing a genuinely
innovative insight into what
the consumer really wants
•  Not just being heard in
important debates but being
able to lead and shape
conversations by saying
something that matters
•  Not just appearing in leading
publications online and off, but
being seen as the go-to
source of opinion
•  Not just thinking and
expressing but integrating the
thought leadership into new
products
•  Not just marketing but
entering adjacent markets
Inspired by: http://ngethinktank.com/2011/07/09/the-growth-of-thought-leadership-as-a-marketing-strategy/

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP HAS MANY POSITIVE OUTCOMES…AND
STANDS UP TO TODAY’S TOUGH BUYING ENVIRONMENT
•  Coherency out of marketplace chaos
•  Diminished price resistance
•  Valid and credible value proposition
•  Self-qualified leads & opportunities
•  Shortened sales cycles
•  Initiates an ongoing market dialogue
•  Prospects experience your value before
buying
•  Gets buyers invested in your ideas before
purchasing
•  Growth in media placements & requests
•  Improves search engine find-ability
8
Customers Are Cutting Suppliers Out of
Their Learning...
Today’s customers are typically 57% of the way
through their purchase process before they
contact suppliers.
Marketing needs to be present where
customers are doing the bulk of their learning.
Source: Corporate Executive Board

•  There are two types of brand
leaders in a category: the market
leader and the thought leader.
•  The thought leader is the one that
everyone talks about
•  Thought leaders innovate through
their behavior
•  Thought leaders choose to break
some industry conventions,
while rooting themselves in
others
9
Source: Morgan, Adam. Eating the Big Fish. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
BECAUSE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP IS THE PATH TO
CHOOSE IF YOU’RE NOT THE MARKET LEADER
Representation
Medium
Product & Service
Experience
Product
Performance
Neighborhood &
Network
Relationship
Conventions

BECAUSE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP GETS THE
ATTENTION OF TODAY’S BUSINESS BUYER
•  9 of the top 11 effective ways of getting a business buyer’s
attention involve Thought Leadership Marketing
How would you rate the effectiveness of the following marketing vehicles in getting your attention?
Mean Rating (N~344)
Speech or presentation at a conference or trade show
Case studies describing successful customer solution implementations
Article in the business or trade press
Invitation to a Webinar, seminar, or workshop
Sporting or cultural event sponsorship
Online advertisement
Vendor's blog
TV or print advertisement
Phone call from a sales representative from the service firm
Email from a sales representative from the service firm
Direct mail brochure
Conference sponsorship
Electronic newsletter from the service firm
White paper offered on the Internet
Search engine hits when doing research or surfing the Web
Analyst firm recommendation (such as Gartner/IDC/Forrester)
Speech or presentation at a conference or trade show
Case studies describing successful customer solution implementations
Article in the business or trade press
Invitation to a Webinar, seminar, or workshop
Sporting or cultural event sponsorship
Online advertisement
Vendor's blog
TV or print advertisement
Phone call from a sales representative from the service firm
Email from a sales representative from the service firm
Direct mail brochure
Conference sponsorship
Electronic newsletter from the service firm
White paper offered on the Internet
Search engine hits when doing research or surfing the Web
Analyst firm recommendation (such as Gartner/IDC/Forrester)
2.0
2.2
2.3
2.3
2.3
2.3
2.5
2.8
2.9
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.4
3.7
3.7
Source: ITSMA, How Customers Choose Study, North America
þ
þ
þ
þ
þ
þ
þ
þ
þ

“Traditional approaches to B2B marketing are losing their impact.
Today, B2B marketers are turning to thought leadership marketing as a way to
differentiate their organization, products and services in an increasingly
competitive market.”
“Thought leadership marketing helps to position you as trusted advisor in your
industry.”
BECAUSE
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
WINS
THE
SALE

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit
A Cahners Research study
of business-to-business
buyers shows that selling
professionals who become
trusted advisors and
understand the needs of
economic buyers are 69%
more likely to come away
with a sale.

BECAUSE MARKETING IS CONVERGING ON
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP & INSIGHT SELLING

BECAUSE OF THE GROWING CHORUS OF TLM ADVOCATES
•  The Gartner Group cites Thought
Leadership Marketing (TLM) as a major
business trend that was incubated in high
technology and consulting circles but is now
rapidly becoming an established field in
marketing and a basis of competitive
differentiation.
•  The Economist Intelligence unit identified
Thought Leadership Marketing as a top
“Megatrend” in B2B marketing. B2B
marketers view “positioning the business as
a thought leader in the industry” and
“standing out from the competition” as top
challenges.
•  A recent analysis by the Corporate
Executive Board shows that high value
customers like business clients, wealthy
individuals or chief financial officers are
increasingly demand education and advice
as part of the sales experience.
•  Forrester Research also has ongoing
thought leadership research projects.

THOUGHT
LEADERS
ATTAIN
THEIR
STATUS
IN
THE
MARKET

–
ONE
CANNOT
SIMPLY
CLAIM
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP

“Thought
leadership
is
the
recogni4on
from
the
outside
world
that
the

company
deeply
understands
its
business,
the
needs
of
its
customers
and
the

broader
marketplace
in
which
it
operates.”
Elise Bauer
Thought
Leadership
Intellectual
Capital &
Content
Thought
Leadership
Execution
Resonance
Industry
Recognition
Followership
of Ideas
Movement of
Ideas in the
Marketplace

INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT LEADERS RISE ABOVE
THEIR PEERS ON THEIR UNIQUE POINT OF VIEW
Competence, purpose
and core market
understanding inform the
point of view & thought
leadership platform.
Thought leaders
outshine their
competitors who
compete on price and
advertising.
Strategic use of TLM
tools and channels with
media collaboration
garner your share voice
in the industry and
spark the industry
dialogue around your
ideas.
As buyers seek out
more real market
dialogue, SOV is an
increasingly important
factor contributing to
marketplace success.
Thought leaders and
trusted advisors occupy
the greatest share of mind
among business buyers.
Share of mind predicts
share of market.
Thought Leadership
Marketing steadily
increases your SOM
with buyers, growing
your share of market.
HIDDEN TALENT VISIBLE EXPERT

THOUGHT
LEADERS
DEVELOP…
A
THOUGHT

LEADER’S
MINDSET

Love what they do
Have the drive to teach
Reach out & communicate
Take risks with messaging
Balance confidence & curiosity
Put in the time today
Persistent presence
Everyone is in Marketing
Source: RainToday.com Report on Thought Leadership

Thought
Leadership
Opportunity
THOUGHT LEADERS RECOGNIZE OPPORTUNITY IN
THEIR INDUSTRY
Gap in the
Conversation
•  Customers
•  First-mover
•  Economic
Prediction Opportunity
•  Where is the market going?
•  What weaknesses exist?
•  Shape and shift the dialogue
Significant
Industry Shift
•  Trends
•  Competitors
•  Technology
•  Counter-cycle
Window of
Opportunity
•  Legislation
•  First-mover
•  Economic

THOUGHT LEADERS DEVELOP AND CURATE A UNIQUE
POINT OF VIEW
Source: The Bloom Group’s 2006 survey, Attaining Thought Leadership
Point of
View
Novelty
Develop a
unique problem
diagnosis
Relevance
Meet a specific
market need
Validity
Provide a
solution that is
proven
effective
Practicality
Demonstrate
implement-
ation
Focus
Develop a
single,
fundamental
message
Rigor
Deliver your
TL with tight,
consistent logic
Clarity
Language that
resonates with
the target
By "point of view," we mean
demonstrating uncanny insights on a
business problem in the world—its
impact on companies, what’s driving it,
why conventional approaches to solving
it fall short.
Even more important, a point of view must
explain how to solve the problem at hand, with
real examples that substantiate the solution.
- Bob Buday, The Bloom Group

DEVELOP A SINGLE FOCUSED MESSAGE
•  Born of customer-inspired insight.
•  A strong point of view must have a single,
overriding message that can be stated in one or
two sentences.
•  All explanation and evidence should reinforce the
main message.
•  The message should be clear, specific, and
intriguing, because of its relevancy and novelty.
•  It should deliver one or more of the following:
–  a new way of thinking about an issue,
–  a new solution to an emerging or existing
problem,
–  a new insight into a trend or phenomenon,
–  a new set of experiences that reinforce or
contradict conventional thinking or practice.

EXPRESS A NOVEL PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS
•  A point of view must be unique and break new
ground.
•  To ensure that their ideas are novel, a firm must
be thoroughly aware of other points of view on
the topic, both those in business and academia.
•  A novel point of view can address a topic that
has been addressed by others (e.g., Sarbanes-
Oxley, organizational change management,
labor negotiations)—but only if it sheds new
light on the nature of the problem and/or the
solution.
•  A new “label” applied to a previously stated
problem or solution, new case example of an
existing issue, or new statistics underscoring an
oft-discussed challenge do not make a point of
view novel.

EXPRESS A SOLUTION WHICH RESONATES WITH
RELEVANCE TO YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
•  A point of view must meet a critical and
specific market need.
•  It must demonstrate a “case for action.”
•  The target client must believe they share
the problem and that they have to take
action now.
•  If a target audience is unaware of a
problem that a firm discusses, the firm
must provide solid evidence that the
problem exists.
•  This requires real-life examples, statistics
that point to an inescapable trend.

PUBLISH CONCEPTS THAT ARE PROVEN
AND VALID
•  A firm’s solution must be supported with
strong evidence of how the solution works
and where it has been used.
•  This proof must take the form of case
studies of organizations that are willing to go
public and will vouch for the efficacy of the
solution.
•  If a point of view’s validity cannot be proven
conclusively, it is just an interesting theory.

DEMONSTRATE THE PRACTICALITY OF YOUR IDEAS
•  A firm must demonstrate that its solution can be
implemented.
•  The point of view must outline and detail the
approach, and must demonstrate that the firm
knows the biggest barriers to implementing its
approach and how to resolve them.
A firm must guard against communicating
blatantly that its target clients need outside help
to adopt the solution.
•  The difficulty of the problem and the solution—
and the insights and experience the firm
demonstrates through its point of view—should
make it clear to the target audience that it needs
assistance.

CRAFT YOUR SOLUTION WITH RIGOR AND
LOGIC
•  A point of view must have tight, consistent logic
throughout.
•  Assertions must follow from previous assertions,
and must be grounded in fact and be defendable.
•  The logic of the argument must follow the form of
problem/solution.
•  Logic “gaps”— assumptions made by the content
experts that may not be held by the target
audience—must be filled.

DELIVER YOUR POINT OF VIEW WITH
ABSOLUTE CLARITY
•  A point of view must be communicated in
language and concepts that the target
audience understands—not the firm’s
language and vernacular.
•  A point of view can be communicated in a
compelling way through the use of such
writing devices as analogies, metaphors,
anecdotal leads, and hypothetical examples.
•  The structure of the point of view should be:
–  statement of problem;
–  brief statement of solution and benefits of
solution;
–  elaboration of problem;
–  elaboration of solution (with examples);
–  challenges to implementing the solution;
and
–  summary/case for taking action now.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP MARKETER:
MIRON CONSTRUCTION

PHEEDO
•  Start the conversation & set the tone
for a new industry
•  First to market with data &
expectations
•  Built on blogging & community
•  Strong media & speaking presence
•  Over 50% of growth attributed to TLM
activities

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CATALYST:
THE PHEEDO PHEED READ REPORT
•  Created
“industry
ﬁrst”
data,
reports
and

research

•  Generated
over
2000
media
men:ons,
20

analyst
calls,
70
speaking
engagements

and
over
$1M
in
new
business

•  Thought
leadership
posi:on
is
s:ll

unmatched
by
compe:tors
today

•  Secured
stories
in
WSJ,
NY
Times,
Ad

Week,
Ad
Age,
Business
2.0,
and
over
25

other
major
press
hits
in
just
2
mos.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PLAN:
PHEEDO

LIFEMEETSWORK.COM
•  Startup company successfully
launched using thought leadership
principles
•  Executed full 12 month social media
& thought leadership plan
•  Chosen by Deloitte and Sara Lee to
lead a Flex Work roundtable
session & research project

LIFE MEETS WORK
WORK/LIFE ISSUES RESEARCH REPORT
•  Take
a
thought
leadership
posi:on
during

Na4onal
Work
&
Family
Month

•  Industry
wide
survey
that
reached
the
top
work-‐
life
Fortune
500
leaders

•  Used
to
inﬂuence
pending
work/life
legisla:on

(gathered
support
from
direct
compe:tors)

•  Garnered
over
100
media
men:ons

•  Generated
over
140
new
leads
for
LMW
services

Thought
Leadership
Toolkit

ü Research
survey

ü Whitepaper

ü Media
rela:ons

ü Blogger
rela:ons

ü Webinar

ü Lead
follow-‐up
and
nurturing

CONTENT
THAT
WORKS!
FINDING CONTENT THAT WORKS – THE CHALLENGE
THAT PLAGUES ALL THOUGHT LEADERSHIP EFFORTS
36
x
What your brand
can say to move
consumers
closer
What
consumers want
to hear from
your brand
BRANDS THAT HAVE NOT
GIVEN PEOPLE A REASON
TO CARE IN THE REAL
WORLD CANNOT DO SO
ONLINE
71% OF MILLENNIALS
WOULD RATHER GO
TO THE DENTIST
THAN LISTEN TO
WHAT THEIR BANKS
ARE SAYING.
– SCRATCH/VIACOM, 3/14
§  Awareness
§  Consideration
§  Purchase Intent
§  Purchase
§  Inbound Traffic
DIFFERENTIATION
CATEGORY

USE THE THOUGHT LEADER’S TOOLKIT

GET YOUR ENTIRE ORGANIZATION INVOLVED IN
CONTENT CREATION
•  Content has emerged as the centerpiece of most companies’ customer engagement efforts
•  Due to the rise of lead nurturing programs, blogging and social media, search optimization,
emphasis on providing richer user experiences, and consultative selling methodologies
•  “Content still seems to be everyone’s job and no one’s job.”
38

USE YOUR COMPLETE, CORRECT AND ACTIVE
LINKEDIN PROFILE
1
2
3
4
5

AN EFFECTIVE LINKEDIN MARKETING APPROACH BEGINS
WITH USEFUL AND SHAREABLE NATIVE CONTENT
40
Recommended
LinkedIn Content
•  Articles
•  Blogs/micro-blogs
•  Case studies
•  Links to digital videos
•  E-newsletters (link to)
•  Illustrations and graphics
•  Industry events/trade shows
•  Infographics
•  Product demonstrations
•  Slide decks/presentations
•  Soundbites/comments in social
media
•  Web copy (core and microsites)
•  Web-based tools/applications
•  Webinars
•  White papers/research reports/
e-books
Content
must
match
the
context:
keep
it
professional,

helpful,
and
aspiraOonal.

Display Ads
(3 sizes)
Text Ads
Company Updates
Develop a content calendar to share your best content
Sponsored Updates
“Boost” your best content from the newsfeed
Direct Sponsored Content
Content that won’t show up on the company page, but
will show in target prospect news feeds
Links to YouTube Videos
* Video links play directly in the feed

www.marketingsavant.com
888.989.7771The MarketingSavant
CONNECT WITH THOUGHT FOLLOWERS
•  Track who is looking at your
profile, then research those
people and their companies
in more depth
•  Follow-up with a connection
request, phone call, e-mail
or InMail

SHARE ARTICLES FROM YOUR BLOG
•  Share with your LinkedIn connections
•  Email to your prospects and clients
•  Contribute to industry forums
•  Print out for your next client visit

CURATE INSIGHTS FROM INDUSTRY SOURCES
•  Use in status updates to LinkedIn
•  Send links to your network
•  Share in LinkedIn Groups
•  Share on other social media profiles

DOES YOUR THOUGHT LEADERSHIP EMBODY
BOLD ATTRIBUTES?
•  To assess the strength of your thought
leadership position, place a 1 in each box
that you feel you have achieved.
•  If you score below a 7, your thought
leadership efforts will not have the strength
to drive business and your brand.
•  Strengthen your position on the missing
attributes and rescore.
45Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED AN ONLINESS STATEMENT?
The Onliness Statement distinguishes your organization from every
other organization. It is a positioning statement that says what you do
and for whom, and what makes it unique.
Onliness Our brand is… Harley Davidson is…
What: The only (category) The only motorcycle manufacturer
How: that (differentiation
characteristic)
that makes big, loud motorcycles
Who: for (customer) for macho guys (and “macho
wannabes”)
Where: in (market geography) mostly in the US
Why: who (need state) who want to join a gang of cowboys
When: during (underlying trend) in an era of decreasing personal
freedom.

"OUR BRAND IS THE ONLY _____ THAT ______."
47
What: The only (category)
How: that (differentiation)
Who: for (customer)
Where: in (market/
geography)
Why: who (need state)
When: during (underlying
trend)
What:_________________
How:__________________
Who:__________________
Where:________________
Why:__________________
When:_________________

WANT TO LEARN MORE?
TRY THESE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP MARKETING RESOURCES
•  The Pyramid Principle, Barbara Minto
•  Get Slightly Famous, Steven Van Yoder
•  Sustainable Thought Leadership, Sari Aapola
•  Brand Stand, Craig Badings
•  Thoughts on Thought Leadership, Robert Buday and Bernie Thiel
•  Value Forward Marketing, Paul R. DiModica
•  The Challenger Sale, CEB
•  The Trusted Advisor, David Maister
•  How to Become a Thought Leader, RainToday.com

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