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Thought Leadership

May 10, 2010 By 2 Comments

As I was going through email last week, I read that just since March 2010, the top 25 consulting firms have published more than 400 new thought leadership pieces. If you add what other firms and individuals published in the same period, you’ve got a seriously crowded market for new information.

Sometimes, it seems as though consultants adhere to the “more is better” rule. Firms keep cranking out articles, white papers, and surveys. Yet some complain that their efforts often go unnoticed. Their solution: publish more. Maybe the marketers believe that if you sling enough stuff against the wall, something will eventually stick.

With demand for services perking up, it’s a great time to get into the market with the essential ideas you’ve already developed. I’m not suggesting that you abandon your goal of being a thought leader in your field.

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Rethinking Thought Leadership
Be a Thought Leader—Not a Follower

Instead, I’m saying that to reap the value from your efforts, you have to do more than just toss more jetsam into the sea of thought leadership; you must engage directly with your clients on your ideas. After all, a good idea isn’t really worth much until someone makes use of it.

Before you write that next article or white paper, ask yourself two questions: First, have I done enough to help clients understand the ideas I’ve already developed for them? And second, what is my strategy for engaging with clients and getting their feedback once I put this new article out there?

It’s getting harder and harder to get clients’ attention. If your strategy is to simply add more to an already-flooded market, don’t expect anything better than mediocre results.

Filed Under: Managing Your Business, Marketing Tagged With: , ,
About Michael W. McLaughlin

Michael McLaughlin is the principal consultant with MindShare Consulting LLC, a firm specializing in the services industry.

  • http://www.b2bthoughtlead.com Mark Delfeld

    Michael,
    I very much like your advice on developing a strategy for engaging your clients and getting their feedback once the thought leadership content is published. Outside of getting comments, what strategies have you seen work? Second, do you believe that readers should reveal a little about themselves (like an email address) to get access to TL content? I ask the second question, because by getting the email address you have the opportunity to continue the dialogue with additional content.

  • Michael W. McLaughlin

    Mark

    Thanks for your thoughts. Getting comments on a blog is one good way to keep a dialogue going. But, there are other ways too. If you are using twitter, facebook, or most any other social networking site, you can initiate a conversation, in addition to receiving comments.

    Normally, I like to see content given without registration or requiring an email, especially if you have a newsletter that your readers can opt-in to. I prefer to let people opt-in to content, instead of pushing it to them. There are probably as many people who disagree with this approach as there are people who agree. So, use your best judgment to decide what you think works best for you.

    Cheers