How you can use thought leadership as a competitive advantage

What do companies like IBM, Philips, Unilever (Dove) and McKinsey & Company have in common? They are all considered “thought leaders” within their respective industries. A position that they have worked hard and purposefully over many years with appropriate large-scale content marketing programs. But what exactly distinguishes these few “true” opinion leaders from the large number of “self-proclaimed” and “wannabe” opinion leaders who use a wide variety of publication channels to convince potential customers of their competencies and know-how?

Definition of thought leadership

Thought leadership is a unique position that companies earn by developing and disseminating novel, inspiring ideas that permanently change the way customers and other stakeholders think and behave on issues that are of particular interest to them. For now, the marketing of our own products and services is not in the foreground. Opinion leaders “see the world differently and are primarily willing to share their unique insights; only then do they see how their products and services can help solve their customers' problems” (van Halderen et al, n.d.).

IBM, for example, was able to successfully position itself as an opinion leader when it comes to seriously addressing the question of how the world can be improved through the use of intelligent technologies such as big data. IBM's efforts to “make the planet a bit smarter” are in turn reflected in its business solutions, such as smart energy supply networks or traffic management systems.

Benefits of thought leadership

Thought leaders take on a pioneering role, which allows them to differentiate themselves from their competitors and distinguish themselves from customers, who are always in need of new ideas. On the one hand, this creates a pull effect, i.e. customers come to the provider because they trust him as a widely recognized expert in his field. On the other hand, by initiating new ways of thinking, opinion leaders can bring about changes in the market and business models and thus ultimately also in customer behavior. In their favor, of course. Other important benefits include that thought leaders can impose higher prices for their products and services and retain their customers more, as they can present new ideas and solutions to them over and over again.

Positive trend for the future

In a recently published Forbes articles On the subject, Russ Allan Prince states about the future of thought leadership: “[...] Thought leadership remains one of the most effective and challenging business development strategies in existence, and all signs point to the fact that the attractiveness of this marketing approach will continue to skyrocket in the future. ”

He identifies four interrelated trends for the coming years:

• Due to the great business potential associated with opinion leadership, more and more companies will take measures to become thought leaders or to further expand their existing position in this regard.
• In doing so, the wheat will increasingly separate from the chaff; i.e. only a few companies will be able to assert themselves as actual opinion leaders.
• At the same time, requirements will increase significantly. Companies that are unable or unwilling to commit themselves seriously should therefore refrain from thought leadership programs.
• In order to overcome the challenges and save costs, successful companies will increasingly enter into cooperation with others, for example with regard to the use of publication channels.

Best Practices

What should companies that strive for a thought leadership position consider?

• Integration with corporate strategy: Make sure that the topics you write and talk about are directly related to your organization's core competencies and goals. This is the only way your customers and you can ultimately benefit from the insights you have gained. If you don't have a strategy yet, get one.
• originality: As already mentioned, a thought leadership position can only be achieved if you really have new ideas that lead to new ways of addressing customer needs. Reheating old concepts is not enough. Tell people something they don't already know. Be bold and break with old conventions. Write about topics that are not yet addressed by your competitors.
• Relevance and timeliness: The content should be relevant to your customers. Make sure you have a good understanding of your customers' current and potential future needs, priorities, and challenges. The prerequisite for this is an ongoing open dialogue with customers.
• Trust: In addition to originality, trust is the most important prerequisite for thought leadership. Trust can be built primarily by fundamentally backing up statements with data and facts. A professional presentation and the credibility of the speaker, who represents the ideas to the outside world, are also important factors for gaining trust.
• Openness and flow of information: Be prepared to share a great deal of information with the general public. Resist the temptation to filter information so much that it loses value. And use all communication channels that are relevant to your specific target group and that you know well yourself, such as blogs, white papers, books, specialist articles, case studies, webinars, infographics or topic-focused websites.
• process: Develop a thought leadership process and implement it consistently. Establish quality rules for publications (Who is allowed to write about which topics? Which language style should be followed? How scientifically based should the findings be?) to ensure relevance, timeliness, and consistency. Develop a publication plan, provide the required resources and regularly evaluate the results of your efforts. Active support from top management is an important prerequisite for such a process to function smoothly.

Thought leadership is more than just a marketing tool. It is an effective and proven strategy tool for setting companies on course for success and growth. However, the road to get there is a long one and you should be prepared to take it consistently.

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literature

Halderen, M. van, Kettler-Paddock, K., & Badings, C. (n.d.). How to differentiate your company and stand out from the crowd: Thought leadership.

Russ Allan Prince, R.A. (17.06.2014). The future of thought leadership. Forbes Insights.