Lately the age-old business dilemma of how to stand out from the
crowd has been haunting companies and professional service firms
more than ever before. All too many firms nowadays look too much
alike, with marketing strategies seemingly unable to distinguish
them from their competition. Glossy brochures, snazzy websites,
press releases, advertising: when everyone employs the same
methods, everyone ends up vying for the same narrow window of
client and prospect attention.
To escape this marketing black hole, many companies have adopted
an uncommon strategy that elevates both principal and firm above
the fray. This approach positions the firm’s expert professionals
as “thought leaders.”
Names of superstar thought leaders are not only well known but
the stuff of legend: Bill Gates, Tom Peters, Richard Branson,
Martha Stewart, to name a few. Rather than abandoning marketing
to a marketing department, they inject themselves into the
heart of the process, churning out books, articles, conference
speeches, media interviews to keep their visibility machines
boiling. Amid the resulting excitement and industry debate, they
simultaneously personalize their company, expand their products’
exposure, and deepen both market share and loyalty from their
customers.
Richard Branson, for example, has taken his Virgin conglomerate
literally to new heights by attempting such stunts as piloting
an air balloon around the world. Martha Stewart, despite her
legal troubles, has made herself and her firm rich beyond words
by melting away the branding lines that traditionally divide a
company’s products from a CEO’s personality. These are only two
examples of results the process can produce.
This capacity to reach beyond traditional marketing approaches is
available to us all, a process that only needs to be committed to
and then implemented within often-ignored channels. There are two
main vehicles to employ: (a) publishing articles and/or books,
and (b) delivering talks and presentations. Such center-spotlight
marketing attracts attention and recognition from a target market
in ways that more commonplace marketing tools cannot attain.
Dan Cassidy, President of Argus Consulting Ltd (Concord MA), for
example, has published many articles in leading HR and benefits
planning journals in the US, Canada and the U.K. Attendant
publicity around these publishing credits has led to Cassidy
be interviewed by such high-profile media outlets as The
Street.Com, Institutional Investor and Wall Street Journal
Radio. As a result, Cassidy is known beyond the borders of
his own client/prospect community for a higher-level benefits
planning expertise. To capitalize on this heightened credibility,
he never fails to calls attention to these media credits whenever
strategically advantageous occasions arise, such as during a
trade show, marketing campaign or in the midst of an actual
sales call.
Given thought leadership's competitive advantages, taking the
plunge would seem to be a no-brainer. Yet many consultants and
companies hesitate out of fear that the process will not work
for them, or out of ignorance of where to begin. Yet embarking
on just two simple stages will get the process moving in the
right direction, building confidence as the effort succeeds.
Stage One: Publish your ideas as articles in business
publications, a seemingly daunting task until this challenge
is broken down into baby steps. First compose a list of article
ideas that align with your business objectives, asking yourself:
Which services do I most wish to promote? What expertise/service
do I most want to be known for? Are there services even my oldest
customers may not realize my company has to offer? Your answers
will translate into publishing ideas.
Next, after answering such questions, go searching for an editor
who sees a fit for your ideas with her publication. Pitch to
magazines read by decision-makers who typically hire your firm
or by referral sources that can spread word of month about your
firm. Create this list using library directories or by searching
the Web.
What’s important to realize at this point is that business
editors out there regularly depend on professionals just like
you to feed them publishable ideas. After all, they only can
know what to publish in their pages as a result of input from
those of us on the “front lines.” So don’t underestimate the
publishability of your day-to-day knowledge, expertise, value
or insights. Ideas that might seem mundane may be viewed as
among the best-kept leading edge secrets in the business world
when you share them with an editor.
After you getting published, Stage Two involves speaking at
business events. Some engagements may come about because a
conference planner read your article and invited you to come
and speak about it, but most gigs will get arranged when you
actively leverage your published works. Send email announcements
to your business e-list, send a news release announcing your
published articles, post the article on your company’s website,
pass out your article to customers, colleagues, prospects,
employees, even vendors. Don’t sit around and wait for people
to see it, instead leap into action, insuring that your work
gets read. Build a buzz!
At your actual talks, always distribute your article for free,
promoting your availability as a speaker too. And when you get
offered any kind of speaking gig, don’t turn it down! Larry
Winget, a highly sought-after motivational speaker, has stated,
“The very best way to get speaking engagements is to simply go
out and speak!” Exposure breeds exposure, exponentially growing
your speaking schedule. Speaking can then lead to more article
assignments as you never know when an editor may be sitting out
there in your audience and loving what you have to say.
By taking these actions, your credibility, and that of your
firm, will leapfrog you over your competitors. Third party
“endorsements” from publications and conference planners will
solidly establish you as an author/speaker and a leading thinker
in your field, elevating your firm’s services as well. Once this
happens, bona fide thought leadership will have officially
arrived. Once that happens, enjoy the ride!
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