The reason this has been proven by practices as a viable strategy is that for most B2B companies selling their product or service to a knowledgeable prospect base dramatically shortens the sales process. The trick is to provide your prospect (and let’s not forget current customer) base with the very latest in industry trends, research, and best practices.
To make these resources valuable to your prospect base consider the following:
- Generate a number of different resources on varied topics like Industry Trends reports, Best Practices White Papers, and Tips Articles
- Update your content often. At least, monthly updates are ideal
- Resource/download section on your website
- Make downloaders fill out a form (once) on your landing page
- Tie the end of each report or article to a pain that your product or service alleviates, but be sure it doesn’t come across as to ‘salesy’
Remember, providing these kinds of resources is expensive and time-consuming, but if it’s done right, Thought Leadership can be a powerful way to position your brand, differentiate yourself from your competition, and eventually sell your product.