Between work and your personal life, it can seem impossible to keep track of all your growth opportunities. While there are obvious differentiators, like developing a higher quality product or becoming the cost leader in your region, there are many other factors that go into being recognized as an industry leader. Below is a 10-point checklist to help you grow your company, get to the top, and stay there.
1. Are you an honest company?
Customer trust is crucial to staying on top. Being dishonest or hiding things can break that bond. Watch Marcus Sheridan's TEDx talk, “The Honest Economy.” He points out that companies like McDonald's are trying to be more honest with consumers. They risked losing sales by adding calorie counts to their menus, but that was in response to customer concerns. They're saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, decide for yourself.” They're honest, transparent, and consistent, and that's what customers like.
2. Are you a reliable source?
Customers naturally trust companies that provide them with good information. Great examples of companies that value this include HubSpot, Grasshopper, Switch Video (our clients), and Moz. All of these companies have extensive blogs that provide a constant stream of content that customers use to make daily decisions. Combining quality content with consistent publications builds credibility.
3. Are your company's executives thought leaders?
Do your executives contribute to industry publications? Do they speak at industry events? If not, they should. Having your executives share their knowledge in areas the industry covets will strengthen your position as an authority.
Four. Are you building meaningful relationships with your target market?
Industry leaders aren't just interested in selling products. I recently wrote about how brands are creating unique engagement programs to add value to their customers' lives. What information, services, and programs can benefit your customers without hurting their wallets?
Five. Are your key employees known as experts?
Look at the key employees who lead each department. Are they positioned as industry experts? If you run a development company, your senior developers should be subject matter experts.
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6. Are you consistently recognized by appearing on top industry lists or winning awards?
There are some types of people who look down on awards. They talk about the “rat race” and claim that they don't want to be recognized in the first place. That's nonsense. Being recognized as the best establishes you as a leader in your industry and drives future growth. We created an internal tool to let us know about the awards we should aim for. After getting a lot of value from it, we decided to open up AwardHound so others can benefit too. It's great that sharing our resource allows others to be proud of their employees. And receiving well-deserved recognition helps position your company as a leader.
7. Do you have a reputation for treating people kindly?
Whether you're dealing with customers or employees, it's important to treat people well. Customers want to know their money is going to a company with a conscience. Consider Zappos. Zappos quickly rose to the top thanks to their reputation for truly caring about their employees. Matthew Gordon of GraduationSource says, “Employees are the core of an organization's success. If you want to truly grow and innovate, you need to invest in the happiness and growth of your employees.” Test your reputation by asking your employees and customers to rate you. If you're inundated with positive reviews, that's all you need.
8. Does your site show up in the search results your target market is looking for?
You never know what kind of attention you'll get through search results. Stephan Aarstol, CEO of Tower Paddle Boards and one of our clients, caught the attention of Mark Cuban on ABC's “Shark Tank” after ranking highly in search results for “paddle boards.” Quality content, social influence, and author rank are key elements to pay attention to in order to dominate in search results in the future.
9. What will people find when they research your company?
When people look up your company, what pops up? Is it positive? Is the content all internal or do you see third-party results as well? Ideally, you have lots of verifiable third-party results and no negatives. If not, you can start changing your results by reading this article on improving your reputation management.
Ten. Do you attend major industry events?
One of the easiest steps to establishing yourself as a leader in your industry is to attend major events. It's rare to find a conference for entrepreneurs and small businesses that isn't sponsored, spoken by, or hosted by some of the biggest names in the business. Make a list of the key events in your industry and make sure you have a strong presence there.
Gaining dominance in an industry is hard, and maintaining that dominance is even harder. There are always up-and-coming companies developing new products and services. Reviewing the list above will help you fend off challengers who might try to end your dominance.
John Hall The CEO Influence & Co. is a company that helps individuals and brands grow their influence through thought leadership and content marketing programs. One of the leading providers of high-quality, expert content to the world's top publications, Influence & Co. is the founder of Contributor Weekly. Connect with John on Twitter or Google+ .
