Most would describe thought leadership content development as a process for delivering information. But a recent experience revealed to one of our clients that the process of developing content can be a learning experience in and of itself.

We had pitched an article outline to a national trade publication, and the editor responded with a request that we write a 1500-word article using insights gathered from our client’s clients. We set up interviews with four client-side sources – two actual clients and two prospects – with whom our subject matter expert (SME) and author had already developed a great relationship.

The topic of our article was related to recent healthcare legislation and its implications for a particular practice area. Through several hours of back-to-back interviews, our client learned more about what their client/prospect decision makers were thinking than any research or sales call could possibly provide.

Because our client-side sources were being interviewed as subject-matter experts in their own right, the discussion transcended the client–service provider relationship, and certainly went beyond anything a client might hope to learn from a prospect.  We discussed their fears about the pending legislation, what actions they were preparing to take, what solutions they were considering, and what challenges they were having. They even revealed personal
opinions and biases.

Three and half hours later, when the last interview was completed, we had enough content for several articles and a white paper. The unexpected value our client derived from the process was the opportunity to learn from her clients and prospects outside of the client / business development relationship.