Are you the baker or do you own the bakery? I don’t necessarily mean this literally but it is a thought-provoking question that Greg Crabtree brought up at an recent Entrepreneurs’ Organization Atlanta (EO) meeting I attended.
Crabtree asked this question to a group of small business owners, who often fill both roles in their company’s infancy but as the company grows it becomes impossible to be both. At some point these small business owners transitioned to one role and determined how to fill the other. However, just owning the bakery without the baker won’t get you very far.
The same is true with industry leadership. It may be the case that your business is the best in its industry, market, niche etc. but if your leadership doesn’t get the recognition it deserves you will be the owner of the bakery without the baker. Becoming an industry leader was difficult enough, don’t lose out on the opportunity to capitalize on your success because you don’t have a baker.
One way to showcase your leadership is to develop a clear marketing-communication plan and hire someone or a firm to make it happen, depending on the size and complexity of your industry-leading company. In keeping with the bakery motif, a successful marketing-communication plan and hiring someone to execute it will let you “have your cake and eat it too.” Get you the recognition you deserve as an industry leader and focus on owning the bakery.
In developing a marketing-communications plan or selecting a public relations specialist or firm, there are three things to look for:
- Access to the press and blogosphere through speaking opportunities at conferences and tradeshows
- Awareness through increased media exposure
- Awards that separate your business from the competition
To learn more about Write2Market’s AAA Industry Leadership, click here.
Post written by: Andrew