The most powerful thought leadership influences the way people understand a particular topic, issue, or challenge. The higher the stakes of the topic (as in institutional finance where reputations and many billions of dollars can be at stake), the greater the need to make sense out of complexity and provide context.
This principle also means that you achieve the highest marketing impact from thought leadership when you are able to change people’s understanding in a way that also influences the buying decisions they make—in favor of what you offer.
All of this might seem obvious, yet I am continually surprised by how many thought leadership projects begin without understanding how potential customers make such buying decisions.
- Who participates?
- What is at stake for decision participants?
- What are the relevant patterns of influence and buy-in?
- Who ultimately decides, signs the deal, owns success or failure?
It’s just four simple questions. Most of the answers are already implicit in a company’s sales process. They simply need to be brought to the surface.
