By Ken Rosen

  1. Some important success drivers in our world are changing. You should do business with us.
  2. Here’s what we do. You should do business with us.
  3. We can help you achieve your goals. Here’s what we do. You should do business with us.
  4. Some important success drivers in our world are changing. We’ve learned how to exploit those changes. We can help you achieve your goals in that emerging environment. Here’s what we do. You should do business with us

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, lots of people we respect should be flattered by our list of these four sales and marketing approaches. #1 includes the futurists…or maybe you would prefer the “pundits.” They say, “If you pay us, we’ll give you deep wisdom about the future so you can apply it to your business.” Nothing wrong with that. It’s clear value add with application left to the buyer. For example, the Institute for the Future (IFTF) is wonderful example of a forward-looking firm we admire.

A seemingly opposite approach is #2: the specs. Some of the most interesting tech firms start this way. They say, “Here’s what our product/service does.” Perhaps with the addition, “…and no one else does this.” Once again, if you apply this to your needs and if you can do that, you can get the advantage of being among the earliest of early adopters. Examples are touchy here, because it isn’t exactly complimentary, but companies coming to mind are Wells Fargo Bank, Hilton, BlueArc in the early ’00s, Gateway, and the recently deceased Google Wave.

Version #3 is what most good Marketers will say: “We’ve studied organizations like yours and can help you apply our value to your goals.” Most never move beyond this sort of company promotion. And why should they? Understanding how to help customers reach their goals makes you a powerful competitor. And the truth is, we all know moving from #2 to #3 is already a tough challenge. Consultants can make a surprisingly good living doing nothing but helping customers with that shift. (Sorry for a commercial, but if you’re stuck getting to #3, call us. We do it all the time.) Your and my views of these companies may vary depending on whether firms speak to us in language that matters to us, but my list includes FedEx Office, Nissan Xterra (launched as “Everything you need. Nothing you don’t”), NetJets, and college 529 accounts which self-adjust based on a child’s specific graduation year. (No, I don’t drive an Xterra, but it still speaks to me!)

#4 shifts from promotion to thought leadership, which brings us to the four things you need to establish yourself and your company as a Thought Leader:

  1. Point of view about the future
  2. Clear value-add
  3. Insight into how to help customers apply your offering
  4. Communication mechanism to express these

    Combine these four and you can become a Thought Leader, a Company That Matters. Thought leadership can sometimes help you close business this quarter. But the longer-term value is far greater as it attracts self-selecting customers, better employees, and analyst and press attention. Ask Apple, Google, or (for better or worse) Goldman Sachs.

    Takeaways:

    • First, move your message beyond your product specs. Then, move beyond short-term promotion to Thought Leadership.
    • Figure out how to exploit the future of your field to help customers prepare for the brave new world.