The power of research-led thought leadership
Thought leadership, backed by facts, evidence and credible research, is crucial in strategic commercial and cultural objectives for the firm of today and tomorrow – and it can have a significant impact on external and internal relationships, improving the performance of each.
Why is it important in the professional services sector?
Professional services firms have been leaders in thought leadership for decades. They could be considered the front-runners in this race. So why is it still important? It is a key part of firms’ DNA and arguably one of the most important business development tools in a firm’s armoury, bridging the gap between partners and other fee earners, Sales, and Marketing.
Spotlight on success
The team at iResearch Services has been digging into the power of research-led thought leadership and found some interesting insights of our own, in Leading Lights, the flagship thought leadership series from iResearch Services that identifies and details both the commercial and cultural value of thought leadership across an organisation, by business area and industry sector. For the first time in 2022, we surveyed 4000 thought leadership creators and business leaders that digest thought leadership to find out what impact it has on their firm and who leads this important activity.
What did we find?
That thought leadership, backed by facts, evidence and credible research, is crucial in strategic commercial and cultural objectives for the firm of today and tomorrow, which essentially fall into the following categories, or the “4 Rs”:
Revenue, Reputation, Relationships and Real-World Impact.
Building, strengthening and reinvigorating relationships
Thought leadership can have a significant impact on external and internal relationships, improving the performance of each.
Who is responsible for thought leadership?
When it comes to who is responsible for thought leadership in organisations, 31% of thought leadership-producing firms say that the Business Development team is responsible for it (the largest proportion, with Marketing not far behind at 29% and Business Operations at 26%).
33% of those that engage with thought leadership we interviewed said that Business Development leads the thought leadership efforts in their organisation, with Marketing a close second at 28%, and PR/Communications at 26%.
Thought leadership is considered critical to business development
This demonstrates a close link between effective marketing and communications activity in disseminating thought leadership internally as well as externally, in that those who actively digest thought leadership and identify as such consider those teams to be leading thought leadership efforts for their own company.
It also highlights the opportunity presented through thought leadership to collaborate internally and break down silos across departments.
“Thought leadership can take the form of content marketing, but it is so much more than that. Facing an online environment overwhelmed by words, thought leadership can cut through the noise to host publications, events and other creative.”
Revenue: key to commercial success
Thought leadership drives business directly and indirectly – through conversation-starters, talking points and enablement tools for Sales, to media commentary and shining the spotlight on knowledgeable spokespeople to build both their and the firm’s reputation.
Lead generation campaigns can be tracked and measured to show a direct link to work won. Industry participants that engage with thought leadership recognise its importance in supporting their decision-making process and encouraging them by giving them the confidence to act. Respondents that actively engage with thought leadership believe that it:
Increases customer loyalty 46%
Increases revenue 42%
Differentiates a company from the competition 39%
Demonstrates innovation 37%
When it comes to reaching decision-makers and encouraging action, 47% of engaged decision-makers say that thought leadership leads their decision-making process and another 47% say that it helps inform their decision-making process.
Reputation: standing out from the crowd in the right way
In a crowded, competitive market, thought leadership activity and content need to stand out and differentiate, separating the leaders from the laggards.
To do that, thought leadership should be backed up by dedicated primary research and supporting secondary sources to back-up theories and hypotheses, opinion, and commentary.
Building trust and credibility
More than half (52%) of those who engage with thought leadership content across industries are more likely to trust research-led content.
53% say research and insight are what make them want to engage with thought leadership content and 48% value informed opinions, again, highlighting the importance of the right research and data to back-up opinion and commentary.
Fact-finding and the fight against misinformation
84% of those we surveyed believe that thought leadership, backed by data and as part of a wider strategy, is effective in combatting misinformation.
Real-world impact
Thought leadership can signpost useful data to drive cultural change throughout and beyond an organisation – whether that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the firm, communication and collaboration across its partnership ecosystem, or wider sustainability and environmental, social and governance initiatives in the areas in which the company operates.
As Yogesh Shah, CEO of iResearch Services, neatly concludes:
“I’m an impassioned and committed believer in the power of thought leadership to connect businesses and organizations with a wider social purpose. We are all human beings, and the reality is, we don’t exist in a vacuum of corporate efficiency. We look for meaning and we want to feel as though what we do is worthwhile, that what we do contributes to the great human experiment in which we live. And that includes companies and organizations because, after all, these entities are just the sum of their people too.
“Companies have often vast resources to apply to research and insight generation, much more than the public sphere. Put together, they can advance human understanding much more quickly to make our world work better. And I believe that we need an economy and society built on a foundation of facts and evidence, of rational organizations working together to ensure peace and stability.
“But thought leadership also has a practical, less idealistic purpose for those that produce it and engage with it. Thought leadership enables companies to say they are serious. That when it comes to their business and sector, they know their stuff – and can prove it! That, in turn, creates brand loyalty and a solid revenue stream.
“Thought leadership can take the form of content marketing, but it is so much more than that. Facing an online environment overwhelmed by words, thought leadership can cut through the noise to host publications, events and other creative outputs that have authentic heft. ‘Doing more with less’ is a mantra that should be carved on every marketer’s CV.”