In our research with B2B marketers on thought leadership and social media, one theme has stood out consistently: Success requires a deep commitment not just from marketing but from the entire company. This led us to explore the concept of the idea organization and develop a model of the components required both inside and outside of marketing to successfully develop and disseminate ideas. From our research, we came up with six important areas of focus, which we call the six pillars of thought leadership: Idea culture Business themes Research Idea development and dissemination engine Thought leadership center of expertise Metrics In this ITSMA Special Report, Thought Leadership Marketing: How to Build Relationships and Revenue Through Ideas, we use ITSMA research and supporting case studies to explain each of these pillars in detail. The report also shows B2B marketers how they can use these six pillars to develop their overall thought leadership strategy. This strategy will help marketers break out of their silos and take a leadership role in developing relevant, customer-focused ideas that influence the buyer.

1. SPECIAL REPORT

2. Thought Leadership Marketing:
How to Build Relationships and Revenue
Through Ideas
To be found, providers must churn out high- Thought leaderships success requires a deep
quality original thinking that is based on hard commitment not just from marketing but from the
data rather than opinion and is leavened with proof entire company. This led us to explore the
points from real-world experience with customers— concept of the idea organization and we developed
what’s commonly known as thought leadership. a model—the Six Pillars
of the
Idea
Organization.

3. Pillar 1. Create an idea culture
that values ideas as much as revenue
Marketing can’t create thought leadership on its own. A few ideas from some companies we talked to are:
If it does, the output will be promotion, not thought • Have the CEO declare thought leadership a
leadership. Marketing must get the buy-in, support, strategic priority
and commitment of executives and subject matter • Make idea creation a part of career advancement
• Educate executives and SMEs about the
experts to become part of the idea-generating and
importance of thought leadership
dissemination process.
• Use an internal collaboration platform to develop
ideas
• Make it competitive

4. Pillar 2. Use business themes
to provide a flexible blueprint
for thought leadership
Marketers have a crucial role to play in making sure ITSMA research has found that business themes
that thought leadership relates to what customers give thought leadership programs a
need and what the company does. Business themes deeper level of connection to target
are clear, succinct expressions of issues that are audiences’ needs and goals and give employees
relevant to customers and prospects and link back a clear, simple way to understand the strategy
to a company’s strategy. and goals of the company.

5. Pillar 3. Validate your ideas
with research
With research, ideas become fact based, and There are three broad ways that B2B companies
therefore much more credible. Research has are making research part of their thought leadership
particularly long mileage online, where people are programs:
hungry for facts and stats that cut through the • In-house research
haze of uninformed opinion. • External partnering
• Secondary research

6. Pillar 4. Create an
idea development and
dissemination engine
We must become as good at developing ideas as ITSMA research shows that marketers are putting
we are at disseminating them. more effort and budget into the development side of
the supply chain. When we surveyed marketers in
With a stable of willing and able 2007, 70% of the thought leadership budget went to
contributors, marketers can create a dissemination; when we surveyed them again in
thought leadership supply chain that 2010, the proportion was roughly split.
balances idea development
with dissemination.

7. Pillar 5. Set up a thought
leadership center of expertise
Thought leadership and social media both require ITSMA research shows that B2B companies are
internal experts who may not come from creating marketing centers of expertise for thought
marketing. Both groups also must coordinate— leadership (social media, too). In our survey, 56%
they cannot exist as silos within the organization. said they have a central group or center of expertise
for packaging thought leadership. Though specialty
strategy consulting firms like McKinsey and Bain
have had these groups for decades, more
mainstream B2B companies are now stirring the
same kind of thought leadership marketing
transformation.

8. Pillar 6. Use metrics to show
how thought leadership
influenced the buyer
Thought leadership creates an arm’s-length Influencing the buyer is everything
relationship with buyers through content. The trick is in thought leadership. But influence is a murky term
to be able to track that relationship all the way when it comes to metrics. We need to break it down
through to a sale. into more concrete terms. At ITSMA, we categorize
thought leadership influence in three ways:
• Reputation
• Relationships
• Revenue

9. It’s time for a strategic
approach to thought leadership,
led by marketing
We see many B2B companies launching thought Thought leadership forces marketing to get out of its
leadership marketing for the same reason they silo and begin working—and leading—across the
launched social media: because everyone else was organization.
doing it. As many companies have already Marketers must convince their companies to turn
discovered, that’s a prelude to failure. out relevant, customer-focused ideas with the same
Thought leadership is more than a marketing passion and commitment that they turn out products
tactic, it’s a strategy that requires the and services.
buy-in and support of SMEs and top
executives in the company.

10. Learn More For the full story of the six pillars of
the idea organization and to learn
how B2B Services Marketers
can influence the buyer and
make an impact on revenue,
buy the ITSMA Special Report