You already have a quiet B2B thought leadership army. Here’s how to activate them.

They’re the thought leaders you almost never think about. They know your business firsthand, have used your products and have almost unanimously positive things to say about their experience.

Who are these miracle advocates? They’re your best clients – and they’re ready, willing, and able to lead the charge for your brand. All you have to do is arm this de facto army of B2B thought leaders and influencers with the right data and incentives to share your message.

Prospective clients value authenticity, crave transparency, and seek connections. A peer-to-peer thought leadership approach champions these values and allows your brand to be a trusted steward for these relationships. Your clients are a salesforce willing to spend their own personal capital for your mutual benefit.

Just having great clients, however, doesn’t automatically make them great brand thought leaders. Like any army, they need training and guidance to perform at the highest level.

Bringing your clients into the fold

Not every client, no matter how well intentioned, can become a thought leader. It requires passion, insight, and a real love for a brand.

The easiest and perhaps most obvious first step is to look for clients who are already engaged on your behalf – maybe they tweeted about a great experience or mentioned your product in a LinkedIn post. But don’t just lurk on social media. Comment on their posts or join discussions. Get to know their community and see whether their followers might be interested in your brand or products. A respected client who already engages online is like a rock tossed into a lake, creating ripples to other potential thought leaders and customers.

Also, talking to your customer relations team to see which clients give regular constructive feedback. These clients may be heavily engaged with your team and passionate about their use of your project, but relatively silent online. With a little relationship building, those now-silent clients could become public-facing advocates.

Once you’ve identified your top prospects, it’s time to recruit and train them. Clients-turned-thought-leaders need to be well-versed in the way your two brands link up, along with the overall industry landscape. Provide them with data, reports, whitepapers, case studies, and any other resources that help them better understand and articulate your value proposition.

Incentives go a long way

The next step is making sure you’re ready to reward their efforts on your behalf. Encourage their B2B thought leadership activity through exclusive access to services, early bird advantages like first looks or trials of new features, discounts, or even recognition within the community. For example, Ceros, a SaaS-based design brand, offers exclusive training programs for its creators and designers, helping drive loyalty among its super-users.

Also, consider taking your most engaged clients and creating a “platinum circle”-style data-sharing program, providing these influencers early marketing insights and incentivizing them to share it in their own voice. This could be data your sales team is already sharing privately with decision makers to close deals.

The power of word of mouth

With all the new tools and ways to get our message out, one tactic has never waned – word of mouth marketing. Its influence is especially resonant among B2B buyers. According to data collected by CustomerThink:

• 91% of B2B purchasers’ buying decisions are influenced by word-of-mouth
• 61% of IT buyers say the top factor in purchasing decisions is informal colleague communication
• 56% of B2B buyers say offline word-of-mouth is a source of advice when considering a purchase, and that goes up to 88% when online word-of-mouth sources are added

Keep the feeling (and marketing) mutual

Whatever your approach, ensure the incentives you offer align with your brand and are genuinely valuable to your client base. It’s important to keep the scale of mutual benefit in balance.

Here are just a few ways you can “go deep” in creating even stronger relationships with your client-influencer army:

• Co-create with them on their personal or brand projects, or solicit their ideas to create on your owned channels. Come with at least one idea for a collaboration on every conversation you have with them to keep the flow going
• Thought leaders need platforms to share their insights. This could mean guest spots on your company’s blog, podcasts, webinars, or social media takeovers. It could also mean providing them with speaking opportunities at industry events or featuring them in your newsletters
• Include key clients as part of your thought leadership and opinion content marketing. It’s a low lift that adds their name to your content as an expert. You might also feature them in superlative lists like this and be their advocate
• Acknowledge and appreciate your client thought leaders publicly. Whether it’s a social media shout-out or a special mention in your annual report, acknowledgement builds goodwill and encourages continued advocacy

Above all, remember that the messages clients share on your behalf can significantly impact your brand. While thought leaders should have their unique voice, their messaging should be in line with your brand’s values, mission, and tone. This creates consistency and authenticity across communications.

Turning clients into thought leaders is a powerful strategy that benefits everyone involved. Your clients receive recognition, access to resources, and a platform to voice their insights. Your brand benefits from influential advocacy that builds credibility and trust. It’s a win-win approach that creates vibrant, engaged communities around shared values, mutual growth, and impactful leadership.

You have the team – now you just need the roadmap. Our ebook “The customer journey multiverse: Are you ready?” provides the blueprint straight from digital marketing industry leaders. Download it today.