Analyses
Reputation, decisions and communication
These analyses are for executives and communications leaders seeking to establish their company as a reference in its market. They examine the decisions behind public positions, the value of evidence and the relationships through which ideas gain influence, with explicit arguments and accessible sources.
01 / 04
Editorial choices and company decisions
The commitments behind a public position and the decisions it affects.
- 01Maintaining and revising a public positionA public position creates expectations that outlast the announcement. Deciding on it responsibly means identifying the resources it commits, the evidence that could change the conclusion and who can authorise a revision. Maintaining a position and changing it are parts of the same leadership responsibility.4 min read
- 02When approvals remove the argumentA piece can receive everyone’s approval and no longer explain the company’s choice. Reviews may have removed the constraints, rejected options and reasons for the decision. The strategic question is what the company remains willing to defend.3 min read
- 03What tenders reveal about a B2B marketTender responses contain knowledge a company rarely makes public: buyer constraints, decision criteria and the commitments it will accept. Examining that material can reveal a contribution to the market that goes well beyond a list of content ideas.3 min read
- 04Building a B2B editorial strategyA B2B editorial strategy turns a direction into work an organisation can deliver: choose the questions, assemble evidence, assign decisions and maintain useful content. Its first test is whether a team can produce and sustain that material without reopening the same debate for every publication.3 min read
02 / 04
Research, client cases and outside scrutiny
What research, delivery and outside scrutiny can establish about a company.
- 01Using research figures without overstating the findingsIn a leadership discussion, a figure may support a priority, justify investment or underpin a comparison. Accuracy alone is insufficient: the question is what it allows the company to conclude. Four studies show how that examination changes an argument’s scope.3 min read
- 02What a B2B case study can actually establishA B2B case study documents an experience, a supplier’s contribution and the conditions behind an outcome. Its value to a buyer lies in what they can examine before committing. The client brings an outside perspective, but does not become an independent auditor of the supplier’s whole business.5 min read
03 / 04
The leader, the executive team and employees
The speaker’s judgement, their remit and complementary responsibilities.
- 01Executive communication as a view of the marketAn executive’s voice gains value when it makes a choice understandable: what they see changing, what they consider decisive and what follows for the business. Editorial support should bring out that reasoning and prepare its discussion with the people concerned.3 min read
- 02Executive voices should explain the choices they makeAn executive team makes strategy understandable by showing its consequences from several positions of responsibility. Making their voices identical removes that contribution. Coherence rests on choices they own together and what each person can explain about them.3 min read
- 03Employee advocacy: making room for employee voicesAn employee advocacy programme matters when it gives people access to real material, leaves room for their judgement and establishes governance that protects without taking over their voice.7 min read
04 / 04
Distribution, AI search and measurement
How ideas are reused and what the measures used to track them can establish.
- 01How AI represents the companyAI search engines and assistants help shape how a company is described before someone meets it. They combine its publications with sources it does not control. Communications leaders need to consider the place the company occupies in questions that matter to its market.3 min read
- 02Measuring the contribution of communicationsLeadership should be able to explain how communications serves business objectives: gaining consideration for an expertise, making a choice understandable, developing a relationship or supporting a decision. Evaluation connects resources with intended effects and observations suited to each audience.3 min read
- 03Make LinkedIn part of a B2B influence strategyLinkedIn brings publishing, expert discussion and paid distribution together. The work is to connect these capabilities to a position the company wants to hold in its market, with evidence and people who can defend it.5 min read
- 04The 95/5 rule: reaching future B2B buyersWhen a buying project begins, some suppliers are already familiar. That is the practical point of the 95/5 rule: marketing has work to do before buyers compare offers. The ratio is an estimate. The more useful questions concern what future buyers need to know about the company and when they might encounter that information.4 min read
- 05When the metric starts deciding the contentA metric becomes strategic when it directs resources and editorial choices. If citation count becomes the objective, teams may favour easily reused material over questions that matter to the market. Evaluation should make that effect on the work open to examination.2 min read