Craig Badings, thought leadership blogger and author of Brand Stand, the book on Thought Leadership, did an email interview with me recently and he just posted the back & forth on his site.  Here’s a peek at the whole interview.  Granted, some if it’s about “ME, ME, ME” so I’m a bit reluctant to post the blatant self-promo, but there may be a few good nuggets in there…

Q1: Dana you have successfully positioning yourself as a thought leader in all things marketing.  Given your experience of positioning yourself in this space, what are your tips for aspiring thought leaders in other industries?

Thanks, Craig.  There are many thought leaders in marketing, and it seems, to those of us peering in, that they’ve all just arrived one day. In reality, this is something that I started working on in 2002 and have followed a very deliberate plan to sharpen my expertise and position myself as someone that (I hoped) is worth listening to in the market.  Here are a few things that have helped me along the way.

1.    Have a plan. I know, that sounds really basic and boring, but for the last several years I have set plans and goals in place for publishing, speaking and other presence opportunities that were based on a long list of things that I thought made up the right moves for an emerging thought leader.

2.    Speak. Speaking and presenting is the #1 tool for business development and thought leadership advancement among those considered thought leaders. There’s nothing like being on stage to elevate our position. I could not be where I am without speaking. It also helps that I love doing it!

3.    Keep an idea file.  I keep several files for article ideas, speaking ideas and blog post ideas that help me stay on top of publishing as consistently as possible.  Keep the ideas flowing and make sure that they’re useful to your audience and you’ll see yourself rise quickly.

4.    Participate.  Thought leaders are only thought leaders if they’ve amassed a following.  You need to be involved in a community of peers in order to be seen by anyone as someone who might be useful to them. 

Check out the rest of the interview and the rest of Craig’s site. Great stuff on there!

Posted via email from marketingsavant’s posterous

Related posts:

1. Thought Leadership Marketing: Attaining vs. Claiming
2. 10 Things a B2B Company can do to Express Thought Leadership Today
3. The Thought Leadership Marketing Equation

Posted via email from marketingsavant’s posterous

Related posts:

1. Thought Leadership Inteview on Craig Bading’s Site
2. How-to: Blogging to Become a Thought Leader
3. “Thought Tweetership”: Blogging and Micro-Blogging for Thought Leadership Marketers

Following are 10 actions that you can take toward developing or expanding your thought leadership:

1. Ask a Question. Thought leaders ask the most questions of their employees, customers, prospects and the market in general in order to understand the challenges, issues and opportunities that they can offer solutions to as part of their offering.  When you look at the great thought leadership content from IBM, McKinsey, Accenture, Cisco and so many others, much of it starts with a simple question about the economy, technology or unique situation that a customer or a target market is facing.  Get out and ask a question today, write about it, study it and lead your field with an innovative answer.
2. Tweet an Idea. There’s a great section in Success magazine every month called “Success in Seconds” that talks about the things that you can do in under a minute to be more productive and successful.  Tweeting a thought  leading idea is one of those things!  Keep an eye on the great ideas coming from your company, your industry, your customers or even your competitors and keep your Twitter finger ready to re-tweet or offer 140 characters of insightful commentary (with a link, of course) that will show your audience just how you think and guide them to a good idea. Remember, the leader (even a thought leader) doesn’t always have to have all of the answers, but they do have to know where to get the right answers.  Pointing (leading) people to a good idea is thought leadership too!
3. Mind Map it! I’m a huge fun of Chuck Frey and Innovation Tools and was really excited when I read his post on mind mapping for thought leadership. We’ve been mind mapping for years (see our maps here) and a majority and any thought leading concept that we develop is born in mind map form.  If you’re not familiar with mapping, I highly recommend Chuck’s book on mind mapping. Check it out and start mapping your thought leadership.  In the interest of Dogfooding, you’ll find a link to a mind map of this post at the end of the post.
4. Think. When is the last time you really sat down to “think” about something and come up with an innovative solution? Perhaps it was already this morning or perhaps it been, well, way too long.  I was in a meeting recently where someone was discussing the topic of brainstorming and how it was almost a forbidden concept in their former organization. Wow.  That’s certainly not a path to thought leadership. Take some time today to go think. Really_go_think. Then come back and follow the rest of the ideas here!
5. Mind Your Tone. I advise every marketer to read The Hero and the Outlaw by Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson. However, I realize that you may be pressed for time, so let’s cut to the chase. When communicating for thought leadership, you are typically communicating to the Sage archetype, as detailed in Hero and Outlaw. Hard sell tactics and FUD (fear-uncertainty-doubt) language won’t work here. Thought leadership speaks to the Sage who enjoys the process of research, finding out more about your brand, learning about the solutions to challenges
6. Schedule a Webinar. One of the quintessential thought leadership content delivery vehicles is still the venerable webinar. In fact, according to a recent article in B2B magazine, firms like Lithium Technologies are drawing in 400 to 800 registrants per webinar and seeing participation rates of 45 to 50%. That’s HUGE inquiry generation that’s certainly helping their lead generation efforts and helping to showcase their thought leadership prowess.
7. Answer a Question on LinkedIn. This is been, and still is one of the greatest little ways to express thought leadership on micro-issues (single questions) that can have an immediate impact on your thought leadership efforts.  Not only  are you answering a direct question from someone in your market-space for whom you may have a plausible solution (part of the essential formula for thought leading content) but you can also turn that answer into a blog post or article later on.
8. Blog Something. Speaking of blogging, each blog post is a ‘thought nugget’ or social object that can serve as a lowly thought leading snippet or become as lauded as a well referenced and well-tweeted piece of content that helps you garner a significant share of voice on an issue that you’ve been mulling over.
9. Post a Slide Deck on SlideShare.net. Presented anything lately?  Take that great slide deck and put it on Slideshare.net and ‘socialize that content’! We put a bunch of slideshows on Slideshare and often get nice accolades like these were someone notices our work and shares it with their peers.  You’ve spent a lot of time putting thought leadership into your decks, why not get some social media mileage out of them?
10. Comment on Another Thought Leaders Blog. Think you’re so smart? Add to the conversation by commenting on the blog or site of another thought leader. Industry and market stewardship are hallmarks of the thought leader and active participation in the community is an essential component. Maybe you can’t speak on a panel or get in front of an audience today, but you can add to the conversation and participate in the community through blogs, forums and other industry venues.

BONUS: Mind Map of this post!

Related posts:

1. Thought leadership – more than just intellectual ping pong
2. Recognizing a Thought Leadership Moment in Your Industry
3. What’s your TLMQ? (Thought Leadership Marketing Quotient)

Just ask day-spa owner Eva Sztupka-Kerschbaumer, who says she recently raised $30,000 in a single day. Her Pittsburgh,-Pa. spa, ESSpa Kozmetika Organic SkinCare, needed a quick cash infusion when a $12,000 microdermabrasion machine and two $1,000 facial steamers conked out in April. However, the last thing she wanted to accrue was interest charges, so she didn’t go to a bank to raise funds. And to avoid missing out on future profits, she also didn’t tap a factoring company, which provides cash up front in return for a cut of her company’s future receipts.

Instead, she pre-sold her spa’s services at a discount. She sent an email to her list of 8,000 subscribers and offered them free matching gift card on the purchase of any card worth at least $500. The advantage was clear. “This way I lock in my customer base, purchase equipment and get the cash flow,” Sztupka-Kerschbaumer says.

Of course, a matching gift card promotion may have undesirable consequences like providing discounts to customers who otherwise would have paid the full price and having less cash on hand when customers collect on their freebies. Still, if you’re in a bind and neither credit nor loans are an option, boosting your company’s cash flow can help bail you out, says Hermann Simon, chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners, a pricing consultancy in Cambridge, Mass., and the author of several books on strategy, marketing and pricing.

Think beyond this example from the spa and apply to your own business. A car wash can pre-sell car washes (they do here in Green Bay…and I’m a huge fan!), a mechanic could pre-sell oil changes, a salon could pre-sell haircuts and so on.

Action Summary: What could you sell today and deliver tomorrow that would immediately help your cash flow while offering a “can’t refuse” deal for your customers? Make a list of everything you sell, both services and products, and look for ways to package, differentiate, bundle and otherwise offer up for pre-sale anything that would add a great deal of value for your customers while boosting your cash flow and ultimately increasing your customer retention.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124603061762161137.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

Related posts:

1. Marketing Classics: Communications and Industrial Selling (Theodore Levitt, 1967)

This is my favorite type of story and it’s one of my personal favorite marketing tactics. Edge out your competitors by helping out, in some meaningful way, with an organization that can really help to grow your business. More to the point, it involves pets…which always gets my attention.

What story am I referring to?

Well, this week in the Wall Street Journal, Cheryl Staab’s dog walking business, DogCentric Inc. was featured as a great ‘fast fix’ marketing case where she has effectively muzzled her competitors and gained a strong foothold in the market by providing some greater good in exchange for warm leads.

Cheryl volunteers to walk the dogs at the Washington Animal Rescue League, a local non-profit animal shelter and rehab facility. In turn, when they turn a pet over to a new adoptive owner, they actively recommend Cheryl’s services as their sole dog walking partner organization.

“[I wanted] to reach $1 million in [total] overall revenue before I was 30,” she says. The revenue that DogCentric posted in 2009 helped her reach that milestone, just in time for her birthday.

The partnership has provided an unexpected outcome, too. “We see some of the [shelter] dogs again as [adopted] customers,” she says. “It’s a Cinderella story.”

We recommend this to nearly every business we’ve ever worked with. Get involved in your industry, help out, volunteer, do something good, do something cool and the in-kind rewards will come your way. They always do, as they have for Cheryl.  It’s not always an easy sell, but I’ve never seen this pay anything but positive dividends(oddly enough…to the best business owners, you never have to sell it).

For those of you who are interested in this concept and are looking for ideas, here’s a few to get started.

• First, we look for organizations in our area that we could benefit. We work with a few non-profits on a pro-bono basis and have seen numerous leads come from those relationships. Look for an organization that not only fits your industry, but also for one that you have passion for and can maintain a strong personal and professional connection.
• Second, look for how you can give and give, to solve a very real challenge for that organiation, before you ever expect to recieve anything in return. That’s exactly what Cheryl did and it’s exactly what we do.
• Finally, make sure that your entire team is involved. The best cultures and the best companies permeate the entire organization and the spirit of giving, sharing and being involved in the community is best done with the whole team on board.

No related posts.

“Are you really trying to help or just win the business?” — David Maister, author of The Trusted Advisor

Serve Before Selling
Vision and mission lead to high quality action

There is an old saying from Dale Carnegie (How to Win Friends and Influence People): “You’ll have more fun and success when you stop trying to get what you want and start helping other people get what they want.”

If you really want to market well and ultimately sell something to someone, your effort to find out what they really “want” from you will fall short if you don’t start from the position of a real intention to help them out. Helping someone ‘do their job’ is the ultimate in providing value.

If we begin with the ‘end in mind’, as Steven Covey tells us we should, we could look at things this way. You’ve probably all heard the statement “People don’t buy drill bits, they buy round holes.” That’s supposed to mean that they don’t buy your product, but rather the benefit it provides. Pulling that example along just a bit further, I submit that they’re not really buying round holes. They’re buying a birdhouse project, a bathroom renovation, a new painting hung in their den or something akin to that. They ‘job they have to do’ is not create a round hole but rather to manifest the end game of what that round hole allows them to do.

For the next week, think about each client or customer that you encounter and ask “what job am I here to help them do?” Then get down to helping them do that. I’ll be you that you’re the only one thinking this way and really looking out for them.

Q&A | QUESTIONS & ACTIONS

What job will you help your customers do this week while being the most helpful firm and generating the most sales?

PLANNING AHEAD?

Each week, we look at what’s coming up a month from now in Chase’s 2010 Calendar of Events to help you plan your promotions in advance.

• We’re just over a month away from SPRING! Celebrate “National Spring Fever Week” with your customers from March 15 – 21!

• Daylight Savings Time begins on March 14th! Help your customers by reminding them to set their clocks and if your business deals with appointments, you can be helpful and do a little extra promotion around that time by reminding them of the hour shift in their appointments that week.

Like this?  Subscribe to Monday Marketing Moxie!

Related posts:

1. Monday Marketing Moxie – Distinction is in the Details
2. Monday Marketing Moxie – The Practice of Marketing
3. Monday Marketing Moxie – The Social Media-ologies

You’ve decided the prognosis looks good and you are ready to travel down the course of positioning yourself as a thought leader in your marketplace. Now it’s time to “herd the cats”! This article is a guide to help you take on the very difficult task of getting information out of your subject matter experts (SMEs) and turning them into thought leaders.

If you haven’t gone through the self-diagnosis process to help you predict your probable course as a thought leader, refer to the article “The Four A’s of Thought Leadership Marketing.” Here we are assuming that your assets are already on board, everyone’s attitude is positive and aligned, and you are ready to gain acceptance as a leader in your marketplace.

SMEs possess a wealth of knowledge, which can be a blessing and a curse. They are your strongest asset but may be your weakest link when it comes to extracting and relaying important information. Because they are so skilled in their field, it may be difficult for them to come down a few levels and speak to amateurs. It is your job to pull information from them and organize it in a fashion that can be understood and utilized. Here are some tactical ways to not only help illicit pertinent information from your SME, but also convert them into believing in a higher marketing concept that positions you ahead of your competition.

The Interview
Before scheduling an interview with your SME, make sure you are prepared. Survey your clients a head of time and arm yourself with questions they want answers to. Ask open-ended questions to get your SME to open up and share as much as possible. Get the most of your interview by recording it. This makes your content portable. Schedule the interview at a convenient and appropriate time for the SME. You want to place as much minimal burden on them as possible, so it’s best to pick a time that does not conflict with their projects or deadlines. The burden should be on you, as the marketer/interviewer to collect the content and craft the message.

The Q&A
The Q&A falls under the interview category and follows the generic format of question and answer and is not altered by the interviewer when relayed to the audience.

Point-Counter-Point
The point-counter-point strategy is a great way to capture more material on an issue from a number of sources or sides. You can get two SMEs within your organization or if you are on friendly terms with a competitor invite them for a debate. This method helps your target audience make educated decisions. For example, a construction company wants to help people decide whether to go green or build with traditional sustainable materials. They decide to do a point-counter-point debate with two experts on both sides. SMEs can really shine in point-counter-point because people love talking about what they know and are passionate about.

Problem = Solution
One way to position yourself as a thought leader is to show you are a problem solver. This tactic involves taking a specific problem that a client was faced with to your SME and asks them how they came to a solution. Because the SME was directly involved with the actual problem instead of a hypothetical one, they should be able to give a more detailed and accurate report. Make sure to interview all parties involved in the solution process so you can show a step-by-step course of resolution. This strategy recognizes all your individual noted experts, but also broadens the footprint of expertise of the company as a whole.

Case Study
The case study tactic takes problem-solution a few steps further. Problem-solution focuses just on a problem, the case study technique features a specific client and their problem and how your organization helped meet their needs. It is an in-depth report featuring a number of SMEs. Case studies are elaborate testimonies that benefit both you and your client.

How-To
If you want to really show people you know what you are talking about, then tell them how to do something. Giving people tips on a high level process helps position you as a leader. Translate the knowledge your SMEs have into something people can use and do themselves. For example, let’s say your SME is a government compliance expert. What knowledge does he/she possess that could benefit your audience? How about tips on how to submit a building idea to the state?

These are but a few ways to surmount one of the most formidable challenges in thought leadership execution. With a little creativity and a quick showing of results to the SME stakeholders, you’ll be well on your way to producing a consistent flow of great content.

Related posts:

1. Real Thought Leaders Constantly Reinvent Themselves
2. The Sincerity of Thought Leaders
3. Thought leaders and practitioning

If you’ve never seen either of us speak…well, then I guess you never have. No, seriously, Steve is an outstanding and engaging speaker (I’ve seen him) and I’m not too shabby either… (at least a few folks have drunk the Kool-Aid…).

The February 16 event is on social media marketing and the April 20 event takes on the concept of Customer Attachment!

Here are the particulars:

When?: 1:30-3:30pm
Where?: Gibraltar Fire Station – 3496 County Highway F between A and 42.

Tuesday, February 16 – Dana VanDen Huevel: Using Social Media to Connect With Your Customers Online
Marketing on the internet is more than just having a great website and putting up advertising. Today’s Internet savvy consumer expects much more from companies large and small, but at the same time, organizations have a full suite of cost-effective online and social media marketing tools within immediate reach. Attend this presentation to learn how your business can benefit for using social media to connect with your customers and which tools can be most effective for your business.

Dana is a widely recognized expert on Thought Leadership and Social Media Marketing. He is the founder and president of The Marketing Savant Group. Dana is a regular speaker on social media and marketing at over 50 events per year. Recognized as one of the “50 People You Should Know” by the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce, Dana serves on several advisory boards for nonprofits and community organizations in and around Wisconsin.

Tuesday, April 20 – Steve Tyink: Standing Out: the Clues & the Cause
As business leaders today, how can you thrive in today’s ever-changing and demanding marketplace while setting your brand apart from the competition? This high energy, interactive workshop focuses on the revolutionary, breakthrough concept of Customer Attachment. Learn how to design an experience that will elicit the emotional outcomes you desire from your customers and employees.

Steve Tyink, Vice President of Business Innovation for Miron Construction Co. Inc., is known throughout the U.S. as the creator of Customer Attachment and the tools, methodologies and systems for developing the necessary strategies to identify performance gap behaviors. He will supply the award winning attachment dimensions required to create and sustain a relationship-driven, emotionally-connected, customer-centered organization. More About Steve Tyink

To attend either or both sessions, please RSVP via e-mail to janet@doorcountybusiness.com

Related posts:

1. Discounts only take business halfway
2. Great real estate marketing idea to combine “national holiday” + fun + email!
3. New North Social Media Breakfast – May 18th, 2010 (Small Business Focus)

In her recent book, “Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture,” author Ellen Ruppel Shell opens with the following statement that should send chills down the spine of any business owner:

“This book is about America’s dangerous liaison with Cheap. In a market awash with increasingly similar — even identical — goods, price is the ultimate arbiter, the lower the better.”

While you may think the discounting or the “sale culture” Americans have been taught to respond to is the real issue, I believe it’s little more than a red herring. Discounting is a symptom of a much deeper and systemic issue that stems from a lack of distinction and differentiation among competing firms.

Read the rest of the article in the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

No related posts.

You can see the slide deck from the presentation below.

Related posts:

1. How-to: Blogging to Become a Thought Leader
2. “Thought Tweetership”: Blogging and Micro-Blogging for Thought Leadership Marketers
3. Marketing in Tough Times Presentation & Panel – SVAMA in Santa Clara