Thought leadership in any business either on a small scale or large scale, B2B or B2C need some strategies to work effectively and efficiently. Though it acts as a factor that is subject to change as per the needs and the necessity of a business some common strategies work for them.
Have you ever come across with a question in your mind, “What are some of the long time brand positioning strategies to be adopted for venturing into a successful business ?” Brand positioning deals with the process of making your brand credible and reliable for the customers. For example if you consider two companies let’s take X and Y selling the same product let’s take cosmetics. X focuses on chemical based cosmetics and Y relies heavily on organic products.
The market value for the both varies accordingly with their nature of ingredients as people nowadays are more and more health conscious. Some strategies for long term brand positioning are:
- Differentiating your brand
- Identification of Target audience
- Developing an emotional connection with your customers
- Using digital tools
- Price-based positioning strategies
These are some of the handful of strategies one might come across while dealing about long term positioning of a company but it doesn’t work efficiently and effectively to an extent apart from this a brand or a company should adopt itself to a crucial factor called Thought Leadership that is using yourself as a voice or a convincing factor for audience or customer to influence their buying behaviour. (Ref)
Thought leaders are generally the experts of a particular field or industry and they often tend to explore more about expanding their knowledge by sharing some of the implementation ideas in influencing the target audiences. So with a careful research we have brought you something interesting about Thought Leadership and it’s impact in business growth.
Why small business needs to be thought leaders?
Thought Leadership helps in positioning of your brand wherein you can act as an expert or a voice that tend to have a great influence over the customer buying behaviour. As per 2024 Edelman – LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership impact report, 3 out of 4 (75%) Companies agree that an organisation’s thought Leadership content ensures trust and marketing competencies than their products and services.
It is important as it helps you in crafting your employees for the outcomes you expect them to bring in. Sharing what you’ve learnt or what you know is the key point in building a good relationship with your employees. It is not that easy to influence and persuade people do something but a thought leader will be an expert in doing this in a much easier manner.
“Knowledge is like money: to be of value it must circulate, and in circulating it can increase in quantity and, hopefully, in value.”
– Louis L’Amour, American Novelist and Short story writer. (Ref)
Thought leaders differ from normal leaders, wherein a thought leader aims at sharing or bringing out a change in an industry/ firm in being the expert of a particular field/ industry. “Thought leaders know how to take an idea and put it into action. In this way, they are doing more than sharing thoughts.
They are making changes. People are smart. They know a phony when they see one. Speakers can inspire their audiences, but true thought leaders inspire change in others and actively make changes themselves because they are actively in front of their cause.” – Dillon Kivo, CEO, Kivo Daily.
How thought leadership become so important in this digital era?
While interacting with your target audience you establish a sense of trust and creditability and as a result the customer will stay loyal to the brand. This sort of loyalty created as a result can’t be achieved even by money. Also it is reliable as the thought leader often uses the carefully crafted choice of voice and tone to get your audience in track further this allows you to share your thoughts and milestones with the audience and you can teach them in strengthening the bond with them.
It is easy for a business to get in touch with their audience through thought leadership because it builds brand reputation, creates awareness and persuade people to buy your product, builds trust and influences your audience to buy your product. In digital era it is quite easy for you to identify your target audience and reaching out them has become easy in as your customers are one tap away. (ref)
“54% of C-suite respondents (i.e., company owners, partners, and founders) said they spend an hour or more reading thought leadership content per week.” – 2024 Edelman-Linkedin impact on B2B thought leadership report.
What is thought Leadership?
The term thought leadership was coined in 1994 by Joel Kurtzmann referring to the people who are the experts in a particular field. These experts in simple helped for the efficient functioning of a firm or industry.
Thought leadership is focused on shaping, promoting and getting your target audience as your loyal customers. This aims on bringing in new interested customers and turning them into a reliable and loyal customers of a brand. (Ref)
How to become thought leader in business world?
A thought leader in an industry should focus on educating, sharing, improving and implementing changes in a firm or an industry. They are trusted sources and should inspire people to bring in innovative ideas into picture and should succeed over and again. “I always did something I was a little not ready to do.
I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of “Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,” and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” – Marissa Mayer, former President and CEO, Yahoo. In order to become a thought leader in the business world one should be possess some of the characteristics as mentioned below:
- Involves consistently sharing valuable insights : A Thought Leadership relies on sharing valuable insights with the customers as sharing is caring when you share your insights with your customers they tend to be in a good relationship with you. This not only creates a strong brand but also builds a trust towards the brand and the product. As a result you can establish yourselves as the authority of the field in bringing trust and creditability.
“If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.” – Margaret Fuller, American Journalist and editor. (Source)
- Sharing the common challenges facing industry and your solution Point of view: This has an emotional impact and connection with your audience as the pain point the industry faces and the customers would face are discussed and a solution is given to them. So when you gave a solution to the pain point in your point of view you’re viewed as an expert of that field. Also giving your opinions in an innovative and a creative way will showcase your problem solving skills and establishes a good image about you.
- Involving into the local business forums: This will result in collaboration and partnership activities that will increase both the profit and the reputation of a firm. This will have a great impact in the growth of the business. This will lead to networking with colleagues, other experts and people with problem solving abilities. This will greatly help each other as people will work on each other’s problem through unique solutions and approaches.
- Offering unique perspectives: When you distinguish your brand by using your unique perspectives it will set you apart from your competitors and you will stay at the top of the market. Thought provoking insights and perspectives will set you apart as a innovative thought leader.
“The question I ask myself like almost every day is, ‘Am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?’… Unless I feel like I’m working on the most important problem that I can help with, then I’m not going to feel good about how I’m spending my time. And that’s what this company is.” – Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook (Source)
- Drive innovation : It deals with continuous improvement of bringing in new perspectives, problem solving, critical thinking skills and ability to face that challenges the industry faces. Thought leadership focuses on creating curiosity and focusing on questioning, experimenting and learning process. This will allow you to stay on top of the trend and thereby bringing yourself in a more reliable position in an industry.
“Innovation is a key factor in any company’s ability to succeed in the long run.” – Elon Musk, founder, chairman, CEO and CTO of SpaceX. (Source)
In today’s competitive landscape, establishing a compelling brand story is essential for small businesses aiming to stand out and connect with their audience. By weaving together the unique essence of your brand with captivating narratives, you can forge deeper emotional connections and foster brand loyalty.
To unlock the full potential of your brand storytelling, consider implementing the seven effective tips outlined in our blog post “7 Effective Tips for Crafting A Compelling Brand Story For Your Small Business.” From defining your brand’s core values to mastering the art of storytelling, these strategies will empower you to craft a narrative that resonates with your audience and drives business growth.
Conclusion
Thought Leadership is a crucial factor for long time positioning of a brand because of its impact in the business world. It establishes a direct connection with the customers and offers a clear-cut picture to them about what you are and how expertise you are in your field or industry.
This being a knowledge sharing process this aims to bring in innovative ideas and problem solving skills to the fullest of its usage. Thus thoughtful Leadership is one of the long time brand positioning strategies to be adopted by a firm to attain growth.
“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.”– Napoleon Hill, American Author and con artist.
