Establishing yourself as an expert in your field will help you gain both recognition and respect. Luckily, that recognition and respect transfers directly to your company. If people trust that you truly know what you are talking about, they will feel good about investing in your product.
A website is the best place to start. Build a professional looking site with sound and informative content and you'll have a source of expert information to direct customers to. Remember that it is okay to give away some of your precious knowledge free of charge. Offer the customer something useful up front and they will label you as a legitimate source to go to for whatever your company may offer.
Article marketing is an especially effective method to achieve that expert status because it gives you the ability to distribute a small number of articles to a huge number of content-rich sites. The more places your name pops up, the more people will be exposed to your site and product.
Another way to show your expertise is through online forums and blogs. This is a bit more casual than article writing. It allows you to remain in the first person and talk candidly with interested web surfers. The conversational tone used in such settings will put many potential customers at ease.
Not only will they view you as an expert, they'll also feel connected to you as a real human being. Also, such places give customers the opportunity to ask questions and give you the opportunity to back up your product in the face of criticism.
Find the right places to gain recognition. Put yourself out there and command respect through that exposure. Highlight your achievements and successes. Branding yourself as an expert is all about getting other people to recognize something about you that you already know.