What does this mean for B2B marketers? It means they should step up. They have an opportunity to arm their sales counterparts with relevant and personalized thought leadership that engages C-Suite executives in meaningful conversation and drives strategic business growth. Again, nothing new. Marketers have always needed to seize opportunities to show their company’s value.
So what’s changed? For one thing, the definition of thought leadership has evolved. Momentum ITSMA defines thought leadership as: A set of ideas that educates customers and prospects about important business and technology issues and helps them solve those issues—without selling.
Look again at the first chart in this article. The words “high-quality” and “relevant” should stand out. A decade ago, you might have gotten away with dressing up a few product brochures as thought leadership. No more. If your thought leadership leads with your solution or offering, you’re doing it wrong.
Instead, marketers need to start from the outside in and take a structured approach. Momentum ITSMA’s Thought Leadership Development and Dissemination model outlines the major steps marketers should take to create a thought leadership strategy at the executive level.