Why Thought Leadership

Competition in B2B tech is brutal. Below is a market map of marketing tech vendors comparing 2011 to 2022. Every market has experienced a similar explosion in competition.

2011
2022
2022-image

All this competition means one thing: there’s more noise than ever before. To rise above all this noise, founders must prioritize two solving two problems:

  1. Awareness (the right customers know you exist & understand what you can do for them)
  2. Trust (getting those customers to trust you can solve their problem).

Two Different Ways Companies Address
Their Trust and Awareness Problem

The Old Playbook:
Traditional PR

  • Outbound: Spam journalists with product pitches, company updates, etc.
  • Quantity: Casts a wide net, getting exposure to mainstream media outlets that few buyers consume
  • Borrowed Audience: Aims to gain exposure to a media outlets audiences
  • Buys trust: Aims to earn trust by winning paid awards and paid conference speaking opportunities.
  • Corporate: Communication is done via the corporate brand.
  • Convenient: Pops up randomly whenever there is news to share
  • Old Media: Targets legacy media formats (TV, articles, etc.)

The New Playbook:
Thought Leadership

  • Inbound: Develops thought leadership content that attracts the attention of journalists
  • Quality: Laser focused on getting in front of the exact buyers that matter.
  • Owned Audience: Aims to build an audience that you own
  • Earns Trust: Earns trust by adding massive value to target customers
  • Founder-led: Communication is done via the founders.
  • Consistent: Consistently stays top of mind with target customers.
  • New Media: Targets new media formats (Podcasts, Youtube, Newsletters, LinkedIn live, etc)

Startups running this old playbook are going to get left behind. They will struggle to gain traction and hit the metrics they need to get to cash flow positive or raise their next round of funding.

How Rise Above the Noise with Thought Leadership

Winning with thought leadership requires more than just publishing the occasional article from the founder and product marketing content disguised  as thought leadership. It requires a dedicated strategy, carefully planned and perfectly executed.

Our Five Step Thought Leadership Positioning Process
Identify Strategic Conversations
Step : 1
Create Thought Leadership Assets
Step : 2
Distribution and Amplification
Step : 3
Build and Nurture Your Audience
Step : 4
Measure and Optimize
Step : 5

Our Thought Leadership Marketing Philosophy is defined by 10 core principles.

10 Core Principles of Thought Leadership Marketing Philosophy

People trust people, not logos. Put your founders out there.

Identify a common enemy then, declare war.

Evangelize a unique and differentiated POV.

Give your target customers a platform.

Embrace the mindset of a content creator.

Bring together like-minded people and build a movement.

Build and nurture your own audience

Consistently is the key to building trust.

Market the problem louder than anyone else.

Drive conversations forward with original data and insights.

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