Thought leadership in the AI age: Insights from North Highland consulting firm Thought leadership in the AI age: Insights from North Highland consulting firm

Consulting firms have a distinct challenge: selling solutions that aren’t one-size-fits-all. Unlike product-based businesses, consultants must showcase their ability to solve complex, evolving problems with tailored expertise. 

To stand out, consulting firms often leverage proprietary survey research for thought leadership content that conveys the benefits of their services to their target clients. And it’s no wonder, as 75% of organizational decision-makers say that thought leadership has prompted them to research products and services they hadn’t considered before. 

We recently spoke with Rebecca Bryer, Director of Insights and Market Eminence at North Highland, about the value of data and thought leadership for consulting firms—and how that’s changing with the advent of genAI tools. 

Marketing challenges for consulting firms

Consulting firms provide essential services for their clients, helping them with groundbreaking projects and strategy work that wouldn’t be possible with an in-house team. Conveying the benefits of these services to an audience with complex, evolving needs can be difficult. 

This challenge is particularly evident in digital advertising channels, where space is limited and you may have just a few minutes to make an impression. Consulting firms often need to use unique marketing tactics to connect with potential clients and stand out from the competition—notably, content marketing driven by proprietary market research and thought leadership. 

Generative AI technology has also changed the landscape for consulting firms. Now, anyone can create digital content in minutes using tools like ChatGPT. However, AI-generated content doesn’t necessarily provide value for clients, particularly in an industry as complex as consulting. In the GenAI era, top consulting firms stand out by generating unique survey insights, using AI technology as an assistive tool rather than relying on it entirely to create marketing content. 

The importance of data-backed marketing

Consulting firms don’t offer standard products or services the way that other types of businesses do.  As a consultant, you may be implementing a new software solution for one client while restructuring internal training processes for another. 

When your work shifts from project to project, you’ll need to find unique ways to convey your value to potential clients. Data is a powerful tool in this scenario that supports your marketing efforts in a variety of ways. 

You can use data from past projects to highlight the results you’ve delivered for your clients, using detailed case studies to demonstrate success. However, you can also take this a step further by investing in proprietary market research studies on topics relevant to your clients. 

Proprietary data is so valuable because it can help you find new marketing opportunities to differentiate your firm from competitors. Market research also supports original thought leadership content such as:

• White papers
• Blogs
• Ebooks
• LinkedIn articles
• Case studies
• Podcasts

These content formats demonstrate your organization’s expertise and boost your credibility. They also increase your online visibility, as marketing materials with proprietary data are a highly linkable asset and may perform better in search results. 

Tips for effective consulting market research

Conducting your own research is more important than ever in the age of AI-generated content. Relying entirely on secondary data makes it difficult to truly connect with clients and anticipate their needs, particularly in an era where technology evolves at a breakneck pace. 

A professional research firm will help you design surveys and interpret the results so you can incorporate those findings into your work. Since your research firm plays such a key role in the process, it’s important to find a partner with a deep understanding of consulting, as well as the resources and experience to achieve your market research goals. 

To maximize the success of your project, lean on your organization’s existing data and insights to inform the concept of the study. Conducting interviews with past clients and SMEs as well as performing competitive analysis can also support the market research process. 

In addition to using data you already have, you can also turn to current news stories and trending topics online for inspiration. Use social media platforms to see what your target audience is talking about, and use SEO tools to find trending search terms. These trends can inform your research studies and in turn, help you create thought leadership content that feels timely. 

How North Highland published proprietary insights with Potloc

North Highland recently partnered with Potloc to conduct market research on the implementation of AI technology in the workplace. Hypotheses focused on the systemic impact of this technology on organizations and the cultural barriers to adoption, with a goal of helping clients unlock the full potential of AI in their operations.

Potloc’s combination of expert survey optimization and a powerful AI-powered insights dashboard helped North Highland get the insights they were looking for and disseminate them quickly for use in future marketing projects. “I’m sure there’s always going to be those requests from stakeholders within the firm for additional insights,” says Bryer. “Having that dashboard really allowed us to do insight development much more effectively and efficiently.”