True thought leaders constantly reinvent themselves

I am as convinced as anyone that a true thought leader needs to take a unique stand advocating for something of unique customer value and sharing their knowledge with their constituents. However, nowhere in the definition of a thought leader does it say that he must hold his own in one position to infinity. In fact, when you survey the landscape of brands that have harnessed thought leadership marketing to their advantage, you’ll find a storied path of reinvention that has made those organizations what they are today.

In fact, many brands reinvent themselves to get back in touch with their original identity, however, as a thought leader, always listening carefully to the market, you know in advance what problems are coming that will affect the efficiency of your customers. effectiveness and competitiveness in the short and long term. Just as we hold teachers, elected officials, and other public administrators to a higher standard, the marketplace holds opinion leaders to a higher standard in the sense that both customers and competitors want them to respond and ideally lead change in the market.

I call these opportunities for reinvention “thought leadership moments.” These are times when you recognize that change is underway and take into account the significant insights the market is providing to reshape and reinvigorate your strategy. A recent book by Craig Stull, Phil Myers, and David Meerman Scott called “Tuned In” highlights several thought leaders in their respective markets, including FedEx, Apple, GoPro, and Zipcar, illustrating how they not only listen to their customers, but they also have a very fine sense of where the market should be, and then establish a position to lead the market there. It’s pretty bright, really.

So how does the emerging thought leader know when to reinvent? How do we know what to listen for to be at the forefront? Here are two examples with big lessons we can learn from marketers who have used reinvention to stay ahead.

gillette – One of my favorite brands for years. I do not buy any other type of razor. Ever. These guys, as recently as this year, have decided to go way beyond the razor category. Peter Clay, vice president of brand marketing for Gillette, said consumer research led Gillette into the new categories and his new position is “covering the morning ritual.” What we can learn from Gillette is that they have:

1) Extreme focus on the market they serve

2) Superior credibility in their market that gives them the

3) Ability to leverage your knowledge + credibility to expand offerings

While Gillette is over 100 years old (the original Gillette Company was founded by King C. Gillette in 1901 as a manufacturer of safety razors), a new company can teach similar lessons. Enter Zipcar.

zip car – These guys didn’t reinvent themselves as much as they did with a market. That is the essence of being an emerging and start-up thought leader. They took an unresolved market problem, harnessed the voice of the consumer, created a unique advocacy position that broke away from the traditional way consumers thought about carpooling and rental, and now created a whole new industry that spawned new competitors and a good recovery game from the traditional players in the market. Keep in mind that trying harder to be number two is nothing compared to where these guys are at. What we can learn from Zipcar is that they:

1) He deeply understood the unresolved problems in the market

2) It created a substantially different customer experience than

3) Articulated to the market as its unique point of view and taken advantage of

4) Superior process, technology, and community “assets” to deliver on its promise

The Avis vs. Zipcar’s comment above brings me to my final point. Opinion leaders are not incrementalists, at least not in general. While incrementalism isn’t necessarily bad, it just doesn’t take the right path to market leadership like true reinvention does. Ask yourself at your next campaign or marketing strategy session. Are we reinventing and revitalizing, or are we just “stepping up”?