I enjoyed a post earlier this month to Modern B2B Marketing (excerpt below) that suggests that thought leadership is one of the most valuable assets that your company brand – or your personal brand — can develop.

In Corporate America, thought leadership initiatives are in place at many companies, some of them extensive (and expensive), and others more ad hoc. And with the advent of social media, which can instantly deliver wisdom (and everything else) far and wide, personal brand building via thought leadership has taken off like wildfire. Yet there are pitfalls if the plan is half-baked or the product sub-par. But well-conceived thought leadership programs can pay dividends, both to your brand and the bottom line.

FYI, M Squared Consulting has a robust thought leadership program, one pillar of which is our annual Independent Consultant Survey, which takes a snapshot of economic trends as seen by members of our 14,000-person strong consulting network. For a copy of that survey, drop me a note at jtarabini@msquared.com.

The excerpt below makes for fascinating reading:

As a B2B marketer, thought leadership is one of the most valuable assets your brand — or you — can attain. In down economies, prospects conduct even more research leading up to the purchase. This means B2B marketing professionals must help educate prospects in the early stages of the buying cycle; doing this well can help frame their buying process and establish your brand as a trusted advisor that understands their problems and knows how to solve them. Therefore it’s more vital than ever for your organization to be viewed as an industry leader and trusted resource for all key stakeholders: customers, media, analysts, investors and everyone in between.

Unfortunately thought leadership is not as easily quantifiable as other demand generation metrics like revenue, sales or leads. And investing in reputation building may not produce the same short-term, immediate effects of efforts such email marketing campaigns. But cultivating thought leadership can have a significant long-term payoff, as in time it elevates your brand at scale.

What are the qualities that define thought leaders? Thought leaders:

• Develop relationships with customers, prospects and others by engaging them in non-sales, industry-relevant conversations.
• Become the go-to source for research, insight and interpretation of the latest news and trends.
• Gain trust among prospective customers so that when the time finally comes to purchase, customers turn to the thought leader organization.

Try incorporating some of these ideas in your B2B marketing efforts to build your organization’s reputation:

1. Provide original research
2. Use your company blog to provide insight
3. Be a solution for specific problems
4. Join the speaking circuit

If you still aren’t sold on the value of cultivating thought leadership, consider the indirect result of these measures. Done well, reputation-building efforts can:

• Provide you with additional quality inbound links to your website
• Increase higher-quality referral traffic
• Elevate your brand to become referential

Plus, the more optimized content you produce in the form of whitepapers, blog posts and webinars, the higher your search rankings. What’s not to like about that?

Read the complete article at http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2009/10/why-thought-leadership-is-your-most-valuable-asset.html

Editors Note: This is the fourth in a series of four articles presenting highlights from the 2009 M Squared Consulting independent consultant survey. You can read the first article here. The second here. And the third here. A PDF copy of the full report is also available for download.

Conclusions

Based on the M Squared 2009 Independent Survey responses and comparison with previous surveys, we made the following conclusions:

• The 2009 M Squared Independent Consultant Survey confirmed the far-reaching effects of a tough economic climate. The general level of business uncertainty that exists in the marketplace and its impact on management consultants and their clients remains undeniable.
• Out of competitive necessity many consultants have been forced to reduce their rates and be more flexible with their billing practices. Investing more time and effort up front to add value to the client before an engagement actually starts is the trend.
• Going forward, consultants expect their revenues to be soft, and most do not expect the economy to start improving until 2010.
• Today, client priorities are cost reduction, operational efficiency improvement and growth opportunities.
• Consultants continue to see an increase in engagement opportunities within the technology, healthcare, biotechnology/life sciences, and financial services industry verticals. Though these industries have been cited by consultants in previous surveys as having an upward trend in opportunity, recent legislation strongly supports this view.
• The 2009 survey speaks strongly to the adoption of social media and networking groups by our Independent Consultants. LinkedIn and Facebook have become permanent features of marketing, business networking, and connecting with people.

Survey Respondents

As we expected to see there was an incredible diversity within our consultant survey respondents. The M Squared Consultant Network has over 14,000 seasoned professionals, representing a wide spectrum of functional and industry expertise. A few highlights:

Independent Consultant Tenure

59% of the respondents have been Independent Consultants for 1-10 years. 33% of the consultants who responded to the 2009 survey have been an Independent Consultant for 1 - 5 years, followed by 26% for 5 - 10 years. These numbers very closely match previous year’s statistics. Of note, though a consultant may be new to Independent Consulting, the average number of years of industry experience for an M Squared consultant is 15 years.

Geography

In this year’s survey, 46% of the respondents primarily consult in Northern California, 13% of our Independent Consultants list having clients nationwide, 12% of the respondents consult out of Southern California, and 7% consult internationally.

Primary Functional Practice

Consistent with previous survey results, nearly 21% of our network’s primary consulting practice is in Marketing. Top Management & Strategy (15%), Information Technology (14%), Human Resources (11%), Finance (10%), and Operations (8%) reflect the next largest practice areas of talent within our network. 21% of consultants selected additional niche practice areas in which they specialize.

Industry Vertical Practice

Of the1,079 consultants in our survey who identified an industry vertical, 20% focus on technology, 13% on financial services, 9% on professional services, and 8% on healthcare. 44% of consultants selected additional industry verticals in which they specialize.

Editors Note: This is the third in a series of four articles presenting highlights from the 2009 M Squared Consulting independent consultant survey. You can read the first article here. The second here. A PDF copy of the full report is also available for download.

• It will get worse; the recovery has not arrived: 48%
• Cautious, but generally positive about the present year: 24%
• There will be some growth, but not a true recovery: 13%
• It will remain flat: 9%
• Optimistic about the present year: 6%

One M Squared consultant wrote: “Certainly I’m anticipating a significant decline vs. 2008 but my aim is to ‘hang in’ this year & work on developing more contacts…”

Economic Recovery

“I am generally positive about the prospects for consulting opportunities. That said, I also do believe that the overall world economy will get worse and the recovery will not arrive until 2010.” - M Squared Consultant

We also asked for a prediction of when the economy will recover. Here are the results:

• In more than 12 months: 64%
• Between 6 and 12 months: 31%
• Within 6 months: 5%

Another M Squared consultant wrote: “I think that Q1 will be dismal and that we will see a turnaround in the second half of the year. People want some good news and as soon as we see any glimmer, people will jump on it. It will most likely be a slow upward trend as we recover.”

Social Media

The rise of social media and its use in business were the trends most frequently cited in the survey. Of the 1,110 consultants surveyed, 684 identified themselves as belonging to a social media or networking group. Of the 684, over 80% of them are members of LinkedIn and over 40% have profiles on Facebook.

The survey revealed these as the most popular social media and networking groups for our consultants to participate in:

• LinkedIn: 80%
• Facebook: 41%
• Plaxo: 13%
• Twitter: 9%

“I consult in this arena and have been active in social media for over a decade. Blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Ning, Twitter, Plurk, Friend Feed, Flickr, LinkedIn, Plaxo, the list goes on and on…” - M Squared Consultant

“Use Ning.com to connect and communicate with members of a couple of groups. This gets my name out there and helps with marketing through name recognition and being aware of potential client needs as discussed in forums or calls for assistance.”

“I use Facebook to schedule events and send these events to interested people. I participate in some networking groups to give my opinion on how certain industries are developing. I use these relationships to reach out to people who may be able to help mean win consulting jobs or who are connected to companies or industries I have targeted.”

“Have not yet exploited it for revenue generation. Mainly use it to understand the competition and gain market insight through profile changes and discussion groups.”

Editors Note: This is the second in a series of four articles presenting highlights from the 2009 M Squared Consulting independent consultant survey. You can read the first article here. A PDF copy of the full report is available for download.

Consulting Revenues

In this year’s survey, when comparing 2008 with 2007, as many consultants reported a decrease in revenue (36%) as those reporting an increase in revenue (37%). In a sure sign of the recession’s impact, these results are in marked contrast to prior surveys where the answers skewed heavily towards substantially increased revenues.

Survey highlights - Percentage of consultants whose revenue increased year over year:

• Prior surveys: 55%
• Current survey: 37%

Note: prior surveys are defined as the average of the 2005 and 2006 surveys.

“Revenue is down about 20% beginning in December, particularly for the Organization Development work I do. Although I am not approaching it differently, the new projects seem to be smaller in scope and more time limited.” - M Squared Consultant

Revenue Forecast

Consultants are forecasting a decline in their business revenue in 2009; 24% indicated a slight decline and 22% a major decline. These results are in stark contrast to the previous surveys where nearly 75% of consultants predicted an increase in revenue in the coming year.

Survey highlights - Percentage of consultants forecasting a decrease in business in 2009:

• Prior surveys: 6%
• Current survey: 46%

“I think that there will be a general decline in business with a few spikes from current clients, but overall, a down year…” - M Squared Consultant

Industry Opportunity

The industry verticals where consultants see the most opportunity for their services remains consistent with previous years, including technology (46%), healthcare (42%), biotechnology/life sciences (31%), and financial services (27%). Of note are an increase in internet services and a decrease in manufacturing.

Note: Technology was defined as computers, peripherals & software, internet services, and networking/wireless

A couple of interesting write-in comments from M Squared consultants:

“Green and Clean Technology.”

“Internet infrastructure. Financial analysis systems. Forecasting and modeling systems.”

Client Trends

“I am only working with clients that are about seizing the opportunity for growing in a down economy. The companies that invest in growth now will be the dominant players in the long term…Survival will belong to the companies that promote and invest in growth.” - M Squared Consultant

The top trends Independent Consultants are seeing is that clients are taking much longer to make decisions, but most are moving ahead cautiously with new initiatives. 30% have frozen consulting budgets, while 19% have frozen fulltime hiring but are still actively using consultants. In comparison to prior years, far fewer clients are starting new projects and the overall business sentiment of clients is negative.

Survey highlights - Top client trends in 2009:

• Are taking longer to decide about new projects: 54%
• Appear to be moving forward cautiously on some new initiatives: 53%
• Are not making investments in new initiatives: 31%

“[Clients] are very nervous about spending… Clear communication, differentiation, credibility, customer benefits, and especially bottom line benefits are more important than ever.” - M Squared Consultant

Client Challenges

It is no surprise that cost control was the most common answer (55%) for top business challenges clients will be facing in 2009, followed by gaining operational efficiency (34%), and revenue growth opportunities (32%). In previous surveys, these ranked behind more strategic issues.

Survey highlights - Top business challenges clients will be facing in 2009:

• Cost control: 55%
• Operational efficiency: 34%
• Revenue growth: 32%

“[Clients are] Looking for cost reductions, process streamlining, and incremental revenue.”

“All my clients are very cautious about spending of any kind.”

“In my consulting business- in the area of consulting on revenue generation- work is expanding.”

Editors Note: This is the first in a series of four articles presenting highlights from the 2009 M Squared Consulting independent consultant survey. A PDF copy of the full report is available for download.

Introduction to the 2009 M Squared Independent Consultant Survey

In 2003 M Squared Consulting initiated its annual Independent Consultant survey. The purpose of the survey is to take the pulse of the consulting marketplace and gather firsthand insights from our Consultant Network of over 14,000 Independent Consultants. This seasoned bench of talent represents deep functional expertise across all major business verticals. This years survey was conducted in February 2009 and received a record 1,110 responses.

The survey allows us to tap into the collective wisdom and experience of our consultants, while getting a snapshot on the vitality of the overall market for consulting. In particular the survey uncovers the business trends of Independent Consultants and the clients they serve.

The overall sentiment of the 2009 survey reflects the tough economic climate and the general level of business uncertainty that exists today. There are a number of interesting insights on how Independent Consultants and client companies are surviving the downturn, and what they expect for the future. As we analyzed the data it sorted itself naturally into a three-part story; the opening of the story is how Independent Consultants are conducting business in this climate. Then, we present a client-centric view of the consulting market seen through the eyes of Independent Consultants. And finally, we close with some market predictions and a commentary on interesting trends.

Billing rates

“…To remain competitive in this market, creative changes have to be undertaken by consultants.” - M Squared Consultant

In 2008, 42% of consultants reported no change in their billing rates, while 20% reported an increase and 11% reported a decrease. Looking forward, 43% report they will be more creative with pricing structures. These results are in stark contrast to prior surveys where many reported plans to increase rates and few were considering more creative pricing options.

Survey highlights: Percentage of consultants who became more creative with pricing:

• 2008: 15%
• 2009: 43%

Survey highlights: Percentage of consultants who decreased their billing rates

• 2008: 11%
• 2009: 18%

“In 2008, my rates stayed the same. But as the economy further declines I realize I have to be open to adjusting my consulting strategies in order to ensure I continue to get projects.” - M Squared Consultant

Flexibility

Overall, Independent Consultants are planning to be much more flexible in terms of how they do business in 2009. In contrast to previous surveys, 48% plan to take on smaller projects and 55% plan to work with different types of clients than they normally have in the past.

Survey highlights: Percentage of consultants contemplating smaller projects

• 2008: 26%
• 2009: 48%

“I am working on expanding the number of types of clients that I work with that still fit the parameters of my expertise. I am also being more flexible with my billing and going more towards per project, flat fee billing rather then an hourly rate.” - M Squared Consultant

Growth Tactics

When asked about effective methods in growing their business, two primary themes emerged: (1) an increase in networking, and (2) investing in adding value before a client engagement actually starts.

Here are a few representative answers from M Squared consultants:

“Good old fashioned word-of-mouth: Repeat business from clients at existing companies, clients who move on to new companies, and referrals from clients.”

“Not being afraid to share ideas pre-contract stage.”

“Developing value-based sales proposals, heavily researched prior to presentation so as to resonate with stakeholders/audience.”

“Word of mouth (hands down). It really is about who you know, so I talk about our consulting practice all the time with friends, people I meet and business associates.”