When it comes to B2B marketing conetnt, David can still beneath Goliath with well-crafted insights.
That is one of the key takeaways from the 2025 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, where 53% of B2B decision-makers respondent that a company’s thought leadership is strong, brand recognition matters less.
This study is the seventh annual report from Edelman and LinkedIn that examines how thought leadership influences buying behaviors among B2B decision-makers and C-suite executives. The authors of the report wrote that their research “confirms the full-funnel, business-generating impact of strong thought leadership and the tangible risks of publishing low-quality content.”
The survey of nearly 2,000 management-level professionals focused on key sub-samples of target decision-makers, hidden decision-makers, and hidden decision-influencers. The study reveals these hidden buyers—stakeholders from finance, operations, legal, compliance and procurement— are not simply “box-checkers” who are solely focused on their narrow remits and think more strategically and holistically than many might believe.
Alignment Issues
The report found more than 40% of B2B deals stall due to internal misalignment within buying groups. The major cause are the internal stakeholders who significantly influence business purchases even if they are not the primary users of a product or service. Though often overlooked by traditional sales and marketing efforts, hidden buyers are just as hungry for smart content as the core audience: 63% of hidden buyers spend over an hour each week consuming thought leadership, on par with 64% of target buyers.
“Surprisingly, hidden buyers actively discover, consume, and evaluate thought leadership just like target buyers,” the report states. “Hidden buyers may be hidden, but that doesn’t mean they’re passive.” This cohort are often overlooked by traditional sales and marketing efforts despite the fact they exert an equal amount of influence over purchasing decisions as their target-buyer counterparts.
Why Hidden Buyers Matter
For content, 91% of hidden buyers want insights that uncover unseen risks or opportunities for their industry or business, 86% favor perspectives that challenge their assumptions, and 60% prefer unique formats or styles that stand out from the crowd.
Both hidden and target buyers agree: high-quality thought leadership is more effective than traditional marketing or product information in conveying a supplier’s capabilities, thinking, and value (95%). For hidden buyers in particular, the right thought leadership can transform initial skepticism into advocacy, creating champions for lesser-known brands.
Even more telling according to the authors of the report, 79% are more likely to champion a vendor during the RFP process if that vendor consistently publishes quality thought leadership. For challenger brands, this presents a clear opportunity: smart insights can break through and reach deeper into the buyer group than traditional marketing and sales tactics alone.
Final Decision Factors
Once a vendor makes the RFP shortlist, they’ve likely cleared the baseline criteria: compliance, capability, and, of course, cost. Top factors when finalizing a decision that matter most in the Edelman and LinkedIn survey include:
- Cultural (56%) and strategic (68%) fit with their organization
- Recognition as a leading expert in the field (74%)
- Understanding of trends affecting their industry (76%)
- Demonstrated understanding of their business’s specific challenges and needs (85%)
To gain more insights from the 2025 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, click here.
