Thought Leadership Marketing - Vinod 25th July Nass Chennai

Copyright 2008 CMO Axis Outsourcing Services Pvt Ltd

Thought Leadership Marketing‘Selling IT services is no longer a cost play. Learn how Thought Leadership

marketing can help you improve competitive positioning and value

realization’

Vinod Harith

Nasscom Emerging Companies Forum25th July 2008

Chennai


Defining thought leadership

� The term was first coined in 1994, by Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the magazine, Strategy & Business

� A commonly accepted definition is that thought leaders are individuals or organizations that are recognized by peers, customers and industry experts as someone who deeply understand the business they are in, the needs of their customers, and the broader marketplace in which they operate

� Thought leaders have a distinctively original idea, a unique point of view or an insight


Why thought leadership?

� Because customers now control the buying process



� Simple. Because your customers are looking for it

� And 4 of the top 5 effective marketing vehicles AS RANKED BY CUSTOMERS have to do with thought leadership



� And customers pay a lot of attention to thought leadership



� Customers will even read junk mail if the message or idea is compelling


What thought leadership marketing

delivers

� Moving beyond being just a cost player with your customer

� Building a strong brand – thereby helping you cut cost/ time of sale

� Increasing Marketing’s Business Impact

� Improving Competitive Positioning and Differentiation

� Implementing Demand Generation Tactics that Work

� Sharpening Marketing’s Edge


The Thought Leadership Ecosystem

Thought Leadership Creation

Build in-depth research

and compelling content around

the identified topics

Thought Leadership Partnerships

Identify the right fit partners for

joint research and papers

with academia and partners

Thought Leadership

Dissemination

Distribution of papers, PPTs, webinars

and podcasts though paid and unpaid channels

Thought Leadership

Repurposing

Convert the content into webinars,

Podcasts, speaking opps, etc

Niche Identification

and Positioning

Identify the unique space

you should occupy in the

Thought Leadership space

� 1/3rd of organizations don’t have a thought leadership strategy and another 1/3rd

don’t communicate it

� Identifying your unique ecosystem helps you maximize touch points, improve effectiveness and reduce cost of outreach

� Next practices – joint thought leadership with clients, customer councils


Where do we start

� Have a point of view - any view is better than no view

� Ideas, frameworks or hunches also qualify

� Build supports around your point of view – research, benefits…

� Get it endorsed by peers, customers and industry experts

� Find or create forums to communicate your thought leadership

� Be evangelical about your idea, don’t get side tracked


Measuring thought leadership

� We need to move away from traditional measures to business focused ones� Touch points analysis and messaging recall


[email protected]; [email protected]

Thought Leadership Marketing - Vinod 25th July Nass Chennai

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Transcript of Thought Leadership Marketing - Vinod 25th July Nass Chennai