Many IP professionals assume that their expertise will speak for itself.

In reality, it rarely does. Not because the expertise is insufficient. On the contrary, the IP field is full of extraordinarily sophisticated specialists.

The difficulty lies elsewhere: much of this expertise remains invisible to the people who actually need it. From the outside, the IP services market is surprisingly difficult to navigate. For many companies it is unclear what differentiates one advisor from another, which services exist in the first place, or what “good” IP advice should look like in a specific situation.

Economists describe markets like this as credence goods markets: environments in which buyers cannot easily evaluate the quality of a service, even after it has been delivered.

In such markets, decisions are rarely based on perfect information. They are based on signals of competence and trust.

This is exactly where communication becomes strategically relevant.

In the first episode of the new Visible IP live talk format, we explored how IP professionals already create such signals through their communication, often without explicitly framing it as marketing or personal branding.

Looking at these examples through a communication lens reveals something interesting:

Visibility is not about posting more content.

It is about making expertise recognizable earlier in the decision process.

The real function of communication in expert markets

The examples we analyzed show that communication in expert markets rarely serves a single purpose.

A strong communication signal often performs several functions at once:

  • it makes a problem visible
  • it demonstrates how the expert thinks about the problem
  • it creates a credible next step for interaction

This mirrors the actual client decision process. First a company recognizes a problem. Then it identifies who understands it. Only afterwards does engagement become realistic.

During the discussion, I therefore used a simple analytical lens that reflects this progression:

Awareness → Thought Leadership → Credibility → Conversion.

When we apply this lens to real examples, something interesting becomes visible: effective expert communication follows recognizable strategic patterns.

Four ways IP experts make their expertise visible

The experts we discussed illustrate four different strategies through which visibility gradually translates into credibility and eventually into business development.

Interestingly, each example represents a different entry point into visibility.

1. Making Thinking Observable

One of the most interesting examples came from Maier Fenster.

Instead of publishing only finished conclusions, he shares reflections on strategic IP questions and invites others to follow the reasoning process. In one example, he connected geopolitical strategy concepts with IP thinking and opened the discussion through an interactive format.

From a communication perspective, this signals two things simultaneously.

First, it demonstrates strategic thinking.
Second, it shows intellectual transparency.

Observers are not only presented with answers. They are invited to observe how those answers emerge.

In advisory markets, this matters. Clients cannot easily evaluate technical quality in advance. But they can evaluate whether someone approaches complex questions with structured reasoning.

In that sense, visibility becomes less about broadcasting expertise and more about making professional judgment observable.

2. Turning Knowledge into Entry Points

A different pattern can be observed in the communication of Christian Heubeck, particularly in his work around biotech freedom-to-operate.

His posts typically highlight a specific industry challenge, for example the FTO risks companies often underestimate in biotech development. The LinkedIn post frames the problem, while a white paper allows interested readers to explore the topic in a structured way.

This structure mirrors the early stages of a client journey:

  • The post creates awareness.
  • The white paper demonstrates structured expertise.
  • And the resource itself becomes the entry point for deeper engagement.

At the same time, the communication operates on two complementary levels.

Christian Heubeck’s communication shows how individual expertise and firm reputation reinforce each other when used together.

The personal post builds awareness and intellectual authority.
The firm communication anchors the topic in institutional expertise.

Personal posts focus on interpretation and perspective, and they make the expert’s thinking visible.
Firm communication emphasizes structured expertise and institutional credibility, connecting the insight to the firm’s professional offering.

Together, these layers create a stronger link between the expert’s insight and the firm’s capabilities.

From a business development perspective, this structure is highly effective: the personal voice attracts attention, while the institutional channel provides the infrastructure for engagement.

3. Building Authority Through Topic Ownership

A third strategy focuses on consistent interpretation of a specific problem domain.

This pattern becomes visible in the work of Paolo Beconcini, who repeatedly comments on anti-counterfeiting and enforcement developments in China.

Instead of discussing unrelated topics, his posts and newsletters consistently return to the same issue and interpret concrete developments in international supply chains.

Over time, this repetition creates topic ownership. Readers begin to associate the expert with a particular field, while each newsletter issue adds to an evolving knowledge thread that reinforces the expert’s authority.

Compared to single LinkedIn posts, newsletters offer two structural advantages.

First, they create expectation and regularity. Subscribers know that insights will appear repeatedly.

Second, they allow deeper analysis, which is particularly valuable for complex topics such as IP enforcement.

This combination of continuity and analytical depth makes newsletters a powerful instrument for building long-term intellectual authority.

4. Credibility Through the Ecosystem

A fourth visibility strategy relies less on personal channels and more on recognition within the professional ecosystem.

The example of Alihan Kaya illustrates this well.

Instead of communicating only through personal posts, his expertise also appears on neutral platforms and professional initiatives.

External platforms act as credibility multipliers. When expertise appears in conferences, expert initiatives, or academic environments, it signals recognition by the professional ecosystem rather than self-promotion.

They also expand reach beyond one’s immediate network, exposing the expert to audiences who may not yet follow the personal channel but may nevertheless be highly relevant.

In markets where quality is difficult to evaluate directly, such third-party recognition becomes a powerful trust signal.

What these examples reveal about business development

Looking at these four strategies together reveals something fundamental about expert markets.

Successful experts rarely communicate their services directly.

Instead, they communicate three things:

  • the problem space they understand
  • the thinking process they apply
  • the context in which their expertise becomes relevant

Only when these elements become visible does the conversation about services become meaningful.

This is why communication can translate into business impact: it reduces the distance between expertise and recognition.

Potential clients begin to understand earlier

  • why a topic matters
  • how the expert approaches it
  • and whether that perspective feels trustworthy.

In a complex field like IP, that early recognition is often the real differentiator.

What IP Experts Can Learn from These Examples

For professionals who want to strengthen their visibility, several lessons emerge from the discussion.

Start with the problem, not with your service.
Most clients start with uncertainty, not with a precise brief. Experts who frame relevant problems become visible earlier in the decision process.

Show how you think.
Interpretation of cases, strategic reflections, and analytical commentary reveal competence more convincingly than promotional descriptions.

Build thematic continuity.
Positioning rarely emerges from isolated posts. It develops through repeated engagement with a specific problem domain.

Create meaningful next steps.
Educational resources, discussions, events, or newsletters often function as natural entry points into advisory relationships.

A broader perspective

While LinkedIn played a central role in the examples we discussed, the underlying principle goes far beyond a single platform.

Expert visibility usually emerges across multiple environments:

  • publications and commentary
  • conferences and expert initiatives
  • newsletters and knowledge resources
  • academic collaborations
  • professional ecosystems

When these environments reinforce each other, something important happens.

The expert becomes associated not simply with a service, but with a specific perspective on a relevant problem. And that is ultimately where the broader theme of this column series returns.

In complex professional markets, what matters is whether expertise becomes recognizable, understandable, and trustworthy for the people who depend on it.

Visible IP explores this question from the perspective of the IP ecosystem.

But the underlying principle applies far beyond IP: when expertise becomes visible in a meaningful way, it not only benefits the individual expert, but makes the entire professional market easier to understand and trust.

In my next column, I will take a closer look at how sense-making, framing, and narrative structure help translate complexity into something that decision-makers can actually use without undermining rigor or credibility.

In credence markets, expertise does not compete through visibility of results, but through visibility of thinking.

Until then, one question to reflect on:

If someone outside your immediate professional circle observed your communication for the first time, would they be able to recognize how you think about the problems you solve?

About the columnist

Giulia Donato
Branding & Communication Advisor | Executive Coach | Lecturer
people & brand strategies
www.donatostrategies.com