A report from Edelman and LinkedIn on the impact B2B thought leadership has shed new light on how to approach out-of-market buyers. Ninety percent of decision-makers and C-suite executives surveyed said they would be moderately or very likely more receptive to sales or marketing outreach from an organization that consistently produces high-quality thought leadership.

Moreover, 70% of respondents said that a piece of thought leadership had at one point led them to question whether to continue working with an existing supplier. Factor in lingering economic uncertainty, an extended buy cycle and shifting purchasing behaviors, and the B2B space gets even more competitive.

“B2B companies need to be finding growth wherever they can find it. And part of that involves finding ways to get out-of-market buyers off the sideline and rethinking their potential providers,” said Joe Kingsbury, Global Chair of Edelman Business Marketing and the study’s architect. “If you can successfully get a buyer to rethink their pain points, that's the critical first step toward actually stimulating demand where it may not have been before.”

We spoke to Kingsbury about the study’s key takeaways and surprises, the growth of executive thought leadership, barriers to high-quality content, B2B attribution and measurement challenges, and communicating the value of thought leadership to CEOs.

Speaking of thought leadership, podcasts are an increasingly valuable messaging tool for companies looking to reach target audiences, elevate speakers and disseminate brand values. Here's how marketing and communications professionals are tapping the medium to bolster their brands.

Though GenAI tools are a tempting purchase for marketers seeking to ramp up efficiency or boost creativity, they won’t help (and could even hurt) your organization, unless you ask the right questions. Here are considerations for marketers, regarding data, copyright, cost and use cases, when evaluating new GenAI tools.

Lastly, when assessing the performance of your partnership and affiliate marketing programs, it’s important to determine whether marketing channels met expectations—and realign based on those learnings. Our columnist pinpoints five ways to gauge the success of partnership programs.

Until next week,

Kaylee Hultgren
Content Director
Chief Marketer

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