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B2B marketers need to scratch a little below the surface when they are trying to maximize the effectiveness of their thought leadership efforts, according to a new report from Edelman.
The 2025 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report says that “hidden buyers” (internal stakeholders who influence purchases even if they are not the primary users of a product or service) can often be key to the final decision on whether or not a deal goes through—and marketers can reach them with good thought leadership.
The report finds that more than 40 percent of deals stall because of misalignment between the members of an organization’s buying group. Rather than simply focusing on the “target buyers” (those considered experts on the product or service being offered), the report says that those hidden buyers should also be a part of thought leadership planning.
For one thing, hidden buyers, like target buyers, are active and involved consumers of thought leadership. While 64 percent of target buyers spend more than an hour on average per week consuming thought leadership, hidden buyers are right on their heels, with 63 percent saying they spend that amount of time going over thought leadership.
Hidden buyers are also nearly as likely to use thought leadership to evaluate a vendor as target buyers are (55 percent vs. 56 percent).
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For hidden buyers, thought leadership is a more effective way of gaining influence with them than traditional marketing methods are. More than seven out of 10 (71 percent) of the hidden buyers surveyed said that thought leadership is more effective than conventional marketing or sales materials at demonstrating a vendor’s potential value. Almost as many (64 percent) said they trust thought leadership content more than marketing materials and product sheets when assessing capabilities and competencies.
When it comes to what they want from thought leadership, hidden buyers are looking to expand their horizons. More than nine out 10 (91 percent) say that a hallmark of quality thought leadership is that it helps them uncover challenges or needs they hadn’t recognized. That easily outpaces the 81 percent of target buyers who said they wanted that.
Hidden buyers also want thought leadership that questions their assumptions, with 86 percent indicating that they don’t want it to “just validate their thinking on a topic.”
More than half (53 percent) of buyers across the board noted that the quality of the insights offered by a piece of thought leadership matters more to them than brand name associated with it.
They are also craving accessibility, with 57 percent of hidden buyers saying they “favor quick takeaways over deep, academic-style content.”
The report also offers some tips on winning over hidden buyers with thought leadership. Among the strategies: leading with bold ideas; identifying internal obstacles to sales; giving messages a human tone; and equipping those consuming thought leadership to become advocates.
The Edelman-LinkedIn report surveyed 1,934 global business executives across a wide range of industries and company sizes between March 17 and April 3.
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