Consulting Thought Leadership: What’s the ROI?

No one doubts there’s an ROI for consulting thought leadership. Your name on a CEO’s mind has value. So does trust built when she sees the impact you’ve created for another client. Or maybe she proactively reaches out to set up a meeting and that turns into a new engagement.

But what is the ROI? Is it higher than alternative investments?

This question is top of mind when the consulting industry faces a downturn as it does now.

The ROI of marketing spend is tricky to measure. Consulting engagements take a long time to close, so suppose that exec does turn into a client. Few firms (if any) collect the data needed to track the sale back to a particular publication, especially if thought leadership was just one of several things that sealed the deal (long-term relationship development, a compelling pitch, an all-star team, etc.)

In the data-driven field of consulting, we want to measure everything and sometimes that’s just not possible. If the value of thought leadership can’t be measured, it’s easier to spend resources on needs that feel more pressing, or, in a downturn, not spend them at all.

But in this article, I’ll share:

• 4 reasons why you should consistently develop thought leadership content
• How to make it high-impact

Let’s dig in!

4 Reasons Why Consulting Thought Leadership Content Is Important

• Insightful articles keep your firm top of mind with business leaders. They establish your credibility and build brand value. They generate media attention to grow the reach of your message and ensure you’re the firm business execs think of when they have a problem they need help to solve.
• Thought leadership helps business leaders crystalize their thinking on problems affecting their businesses. Business leaders have dozens of problems competing for their time and attention. The ones that get top priority are the ones with the largest impact on the bottom line and that they have the capabilities to solve. Illustrating how you can help solve their problem can push solving it (and the associated consulting engagement) higher on their agenda.
• Case studies help potential clients size the impact of undertaking a consulting engagement. Like consultants, clients want to understand a project’s ROI. Your thought leadership pieces can help them with this by identifying revenue generation or cost savings levers and sizing them. While the value of a consulting thought leadership piece may be hard to quantify, the value of the type of project you’re discussing doesn’t need to be. Show prospective clients the money.
• Though leadership lets you shape the discussion. It lets you frame how the business problems you specialize in solving are discussed, putting your firm’s approach front and center as the best solution.

The Cost-benefit Tradeoff of Thought Leadership Is Compelling

You’ve already done the work at one client, fixing their problem, and creating valuable data and insights. Sure, you’ll need to disguise client data and consider the applicability of learnings to other firms and industries. But the time needed to illustrate your learnings is small in comparison to the work you’ve already done. Take advantage of what you’ve learned.

Still looking for an ROI?

John Shumadine, Former Director of Competitive Intelligence at Deloitte, found that consulting thought leadership, brand value, and firm revenue are highly correlated, as discussed in this LinkedIn post. He notes, “The first thing to keep in mind is that a management consulting firm’s value is exceptionally tied to its brand and reputation.” Thought leadership builds brand value and results in a greater number of new projects booked at higher price points.

The first thing to keep in mind is that a management consulting firm’s value is exceptionally tied to its brand and reputation.

John Shumadine, Deloitte’s Former Director of Competitive Intelligence

So how do you get the most out of your thought leadership investment?

How to Make Your Consulting Thought Leadership Content High-Impact

• Focus on the topics in which you excel and where you want to grow your business. Unless you’re one of the top generalist consulting firms, there’s no reason to be all things to all people. And there’s a compelling reason why you shouldn’t try. Content pieces on topics where you have distinctive insight will be strongest. They’ll help you retain clients on projects where you can add significant value.
• Focus on thought leadership quality, not quantity. Along the same line, poor-quality content won’t help your brand value, it will harm it. Instead, lean into your strengths.
• Keep content pieces tight yet deep. Many content pieces are too short or too long. Short ones only spend a sentence or two on the problem, the resolution, and its impact. This is not enough depth to help potential clients understand your ideas and envision how they can help their business. Other content pieces go on for pages, ensuring that few executives will read far enough to get to the impact. Aiming for 2-3 paragraphs for each element is a good tradeoff. If more depth is crucial, write a whitepaper expanding on your thought piece for readers who want to go deep.
• Include a framework, best practices, and/or a case study with quantified impact as well as qualitative benefits. These tangible takeaways will ensure prospective clients walk away with the insight they need to take action and can persuade other decision-makers that getting help with their problem makes sense.
• Get your article visibility. In addition to including it in regular publications and on your website, repurpose it as a LinkedIn post and reach out to relevant media outlets. Once you’ve made the investment in a thought leadership piece, extract as much value from it as possible.

Have Questions? Comments? A Different Take?

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Need Help Making Your Content Stand Out?

I help consulting firms craft thought leadership content that resonates with their audience. Get in touch to discuss how I can help you.