What is an issue, and why would I want to own one?
If you’re like most marketers, sometime in the past five years you quit selling products and began selling solutions. You made this change for one of two reasons:
- Your customers have reduced the number of suppliers they work with, keeping only those who understand their world and as a result offer more complete answers to their challenges.
- Everyone else in your industry was doing it and it seemed like a good idea. (We’ll skip that one for now.)
Your customers are often too close to their challenges and deal with too many of them to see the big picture with any clarity-which is why they rely on you to be their experts on certain “issues.” The “issue” we’re talking about is the bigger picture, the larger context, the underlying set of dynamics that drive your customers’ business (and sometimes drive them crazy). The “issue” may include demographic shifts, competitive breakthroughs, or regulatory changes. It often transcends industry and geography, and is therefore highly visible across markets.
Owning the issue means that your organization is perceived as the “go to” experts on the topic-you may even become equated with the issue-as a result of your experience and the web of significant relationships that you have cultivated around the topic. It requires a persistent commitment to leadership beyond the sales transaction.
So why make the investment? Let us suggest three reasons:
- Expertise attracts expertise-and visibility-and perception of expertise. Which in turn creates opportunities beyond the immediate and the obvious.
- Ownership of an issue provides significant and sustainable differentiation. (Or do you prefer commodity status?)
- If you don’t and your competitor does, you’ll wish you had, and it will be too late. (In this case, first move is the only move.)
Owning the issue changes the conversation, providing new context for increased brand value and differentiation. Like any other venture, taking ownership of an issue can be done well or it can be done poorly. Don Dewey, Senior Strategist at Introworks, suggests that a slight shift in thinking from “How can we solve customer problems?” to “What issue can we own?” can make a real difference in your marketing.