In uncertain times, focus your marketing on thought leadership
The times they are a-changin’.
Don’t worry, I’m not about to strap on an acoustic and regale you with my best, or worst, Bob Dylan impression. It’s just a statement of fact.
2024 has been a year of big change. We’ve got a new Labour government looking to change up the way the country is run, the number of houses we build, how we plan for new buildings, and who is going to foot the bill for the myriad of underfunded public services that need a cash injection.
When added to the already staggering wave of change approaching our industry in the form of carbon targets, the skills crisis and building safety, you can start to see the scale of uncertainty before us.
Uncertainty is a bad thing though isn’t it?
Well, in a lot of ways, yes. But often it’s healthier to see it as an opportunity. Not just an opportunity for us as an industry to do things better, but for businesses and individuals to step into the void that uncertainty leaves and lead.
In this piece, we’re going to look at how thought leadership could be one of your most powerful marketing New Year’s resolutions.
“Are you banging on about thought leadership again?”
We’ve been banging the drum on thought leadership so much recently that it’s in danger of becoming a buzzword.
The fact of the matter is that in our world of built environment-focused, B2B marketplaces, we have to work damn hard to earn the trust of our clients and potential clients. When we start a contract or sell our services, it’s not an add-to-basket, input bank details and enter shipping information kind of deal.
Every single bit of business we do is backed up by a long line of marketing interactions and touch-points, each of them designed to grow relationships, demonstrate social proof and breed buyer confidence.
Many of these transactions are years in the making and are formed on the backs of the hard work of multiple branches of a business. No one is finding you on Google and ordering £2m of construction services off the bat.
For a data-led copywriter like me, I want to know how my marketing outputs can feed into this journey.
And to me, one of the biggest avenues I can add value to is through helping those business and business leaders with the lived experience and knowledge needed to be thought leaders.
What is thought leadership
For those who don’t know, thought leadership is the practice of positioning an individual, organisation, or brand as an authority, innovator, or trusted expert in a particular field or industry.
The key elements that make up powerful thought leadership are
The ability to demonstrate expertise
Innovation through the offering of new ideas, solutions and perspectives that push the boundaries of traditional thinking
Building trust and credibility through consistent, well-informed and authentic communication
Engagement with an audience that gets them to think differently, act, or collaborate.
An industry crying out for guidance and innovation
All of the many huge changes that face us in the built environment mean we’re operating in new territory. Let’s be honest, no one really knows exactly how we’re going to deliver 1.5m homes in 5 years, nor how the planning system is going to be reformed to achieve that.
The sticky wicket of carbon is ever present and we can’t stop the slow bleed-off of construction professionals leaving the industry with too little fresh blood to replace them.
We need a new way of doing things.
This is an opportunity for those with the capacity to lead.
In terms of marketing, that’s a guilt-edged opportunity.
Leaders of the pack
Whether it’s a brand that steps up or a leading individual within a business, stepping into the void left by uncertainty and providing thought leadership is a powerful marketing tool.
Earlier, we talked about the transactions our industry runs on and how these are built on weeks, months and years of relationship-building, trust and social proof.
Well, the very act of thought leadership interplays positively with every aspect of these activities. It draws eyes to you and your brand, it cements social proof and it has the power to start relationships.
Do it well and people will flock to you with questions, your input will be valued and you’ll rack up those all-important brand impressions without it looking like an overt sell.
You’re laying the groundwork for relationships that can turn into large contracts.
But what does it look like?
Thought leadership is a broad church. It’s not just one aspect of marketing. It can feed into most of your marketing outputs.
Long-form content
Whitepapers and reports
Round tables
Panel events
Keynote speeches
Paid media
Video content
Campaigns….
Journalistic comment
In fact, it can be the whole shebang (if you’ve got the budget for it).
If it’s that easy, why isn’t everyone doing it?
As if it needed saying, it isn’t easy.
Thought leadership is not like writing a blog or firing out a few social media posts. Not that those things don’t require thought and proper preparation. It’s just that thought leadership is something that requires careful thought and genuine high-level insight into the industry.
At its heart, It’s about adding to the body of information that’s already out there with novel takes that provoke thought, action and change. This in and of itself can’t be achieved by doing a bit of research on ChatGPT. It requires the background of hard-earned lived experience – the stuff that sits at the very foundation of innovation and change.
The knowledge needed to be a thought leader and the knowledge needed to implement it successfully are two different things
When delivering a thought leadership campaign, it’s important to realise that there are two bodies of knowledge at play.
As marketers, we can’t have the ideas for you. You’re the industry expert, after all. What we can do, is work with you to distil the right message and help you crystallise a suite of marketing outputs that are the perfect vehicles for that message.
You’re knowledge and experience are the raw materials. A skilled marketer will bring the tools and the knowledge of how to use those tools before helping you to sculpt that raw potential into something that will turn heads and deliver impact.
Still need convincing?
Here are a few cold hard stats on the power of thought leadership:
Influencing buyer behaviour – 75% of decision-makers, including c-suite execs report that thought leadership content has prompted them to explore products or services they hadn’t previously considered
Building Trust and Credibility – 73% of decision-makers view an organisation’s thought leadership content as a more trustworthy basis for assessing capabilities than traditional marketing materials and product sheets
Better Sales opportunities – 90% of decision makers say they’re moderately or very likely to be more receptive to sales or marketing outreach from a company that consistently produces high-quality thought leadership
Commanding premium pricing – 60% of decision-makers are more willing to pay a premium to work with an organisation that demonstrates strong thought leadership.
–
Got what it takes to be a thought leader? Luma can help you shape that raw potential into something targeted, results-focused and effective. Contact us today to get started.
This blog was originally published on Place North West.