Why should you claim your expert status? Because markets don't work perfectly. PR helps to make the difference between providers clear. Here's how it works.
You know the differences between you and your competition, and you're probably also good at explaining the ways in which competitors differ from each other. Potential customers, however, are not aware of these differences. That's why you must claim an expert status. After all, markets are not perfect.
Claim Your Expert Status
You have a clear understanding of the differences in price, quality, experience, additional services, network, and image among the various players in your market. Someone tasked with purchasing a particular solution might be a novice. He or she has no idea how potential suppliers or partners vary from each other.
Add to that: some providers can only compete on marketing and price, like telecom companies. Internet from Ziggo still doesn’t taste different from internet at KPN. Other solutions may be less interchangeable, but that's not always clear to the outside world. That’s why it is necessary to explain to the public that your B2B company is an expert in your industry. You do this by sharing knowledge.
Companies Not Rational
That expert status, good reputation, or thought leadership position is urgent because markets are never entirely transparent. We often assume that all actors in a market have access to all information and thereby can make a 100 percent rational choice: the homo economicus.
However, businesses and consumers do not always act rationally. Companies use simple yet suboptimal rules of thumb, such as imitating strategies of successful competitors. Top managers might be overly optimistic about big strategic decisions like mergers. In other words: even in a business context, we are not always (perfectly) rational.
Markets Not Transparent
Have you ever looked for a reliable garage, friendly dentist, or capable tutor? If so, you've also experienced how opaque many markets are. The lack of transparency not only explains the rise of platforms, comparison sites, and C2C platforms like Iens and Tripadvisor.
The opaqueness of markets also explains why so many decisions are made based on recommendations from others. That's why you'd prefer to benefit from word-of-mouth marketing. Being seen as a thought leader helps, even if you don't have a large portfolio or are in a conservative business. Because people are convinced that you are an expert in a certain field, you will be recommended – and you benefit from word-of-mouth marketing.
5.4 People Involved in a Sales Decision
Nowadays, an average of 5.4 people are involved in a sales decision. It used to be efficient to target just one person in a sales process. In the 21st century, Account-Based Marketing is not for nothing a trend: it enables organizations to target a number of professionals as if they were separate markets, thereby accommodating the various views and interests in a content strategy.
Simply building a good relationship with a contact person is thus not the ultimate solution. With an average of 5.4 colleagues involved in the decision-making process, you look for a way to convince even more people that your company is suitable – even an expert – with a limited number of efforts.
Distributing content is, therefore, the right solution for this. Content is scalable. Whether you write a blog for marketers, a whitepaper for the event department or a step-by-step plan for founders, that piece of content is reusable. Over and over again. Thanks to thought leadership content, becoming known to various stakeholders on the client side credibly, without having to convince them separately, becomes possible.
Conclusion: PR Helps
Are you looking for ways to stand out in your market? Then opt to release thought leadership content. It ensures that potential customers see to what extent (and how) you differ from competitors. This is necessary because businesses don't always act rationally, and markets are rarely perfectly transparent. This form of content also helps you to convince various stakeholders on the client side that you are a suitable partner.
