Gain deeper insights into your clients’ needs

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Your senior leaders work closely with clients, so they’ll have a good understanding of their concerns, but they’ll rarely have a full view of exactly what research clients would like to see most.

Consider undertaking primary research, such as round tables or interviews, or assembling a thought leadership editorial board to help focus your significant research programmes on the areas that will add most value for your target audience.

A good example to emulate is the BlackRock Investment Institute. It produces focused investment information that aims to improve the way its portfolio managers manage their funds and, importantly, helps its clients to maximise their own investment results.

Be willing to share your knowledge

Compliance headaches, the paraguay mobile phone numbers database rapid rate of change in the sector, and resourcing issues are a few reasons why financial services firms often err on the side of caution when including practical guidance in their thought leadership.

But they are missing a trick. If you frame it in the right way, your willingness to share insights and knowledge will be key to winning your audience’s attention and trust.

For instance, fund management and investment advisory firm Capital Dynamics partly attributes its success in raising $1bn for its clean energy strategy to a targeted thought leadership project. The firm produced a 200-page guide of professional know-how, detailed statistics and case studies explaining how prospective institutional investors could invest in clean energy, a then-nascent asset class.