Edelman report: Smart thought leadership outperforms traditional B2B marketing

These “hidden buyers” — internal influencers who don’t take sales calls and don’t show up on CRM dashboards — are quietly shaping purchasing decisions behind the scenes.

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The report interviewed nearly 2,000 management level professionals.

Editorial Note: While the report comes from LinkedIn and Edelman — both with a vested interest in thought leadership — the data points to a genuine shift in how hidden decision-makers engage with B2B content.

The new power brokers in B2B

Hidden buyers include finance, legal, compliance, and operations professionals who may not use your product — but they have veto power. And more than 40% of B2B deals stall because of misalignment in buying groups. That misalignment often comes down to these hidden influencers who remain untouched by traditional sales efforts.

So what does reach them?

Thought leadership is your Trojan horse

While they’re harder to reach through sales, hidden buyers consume thought leadership content just as actively as target buyers and are even more drawn to bold, provocative ideas. In fact:

• 95% say strong thought leadership makes them more receptive to outreach.
• 71% believe it’s more effective than product marketing at demonstrating value.
• 86% want fresh ideas that challenge assumptions, not just validate them.

Done right, thought leadership serves as a Trojan horse: bypassing gatekeeping, building trust, and opening doors sales teams can’t.

From skeptics to champions

These decision-makers are not passive. When they’re impressed, they act — they advocate, especially for lesser-known brands. Over half of hidden decision-influencers say thought leadership helps them convince C-suite leaders and other stakeholders during procurement processes.

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This means a smart piece of content can help a challenger brand leapfrog more established competitors, leveling the playing field at the final decision point.

What they want: Smart, stylish, and human

Forget jargon-laden white papers. Hidden buyers prefer:

• Quick, digestible insights over academic deep dives (57%)
• Human, conversational tone over corporate speak (65%)
• Distinctive formats that stand out (60%)

The takeaway: design your thought leadership to inform, yes — but also to resonate.

How to reach them

To win these hidden influencers, companies must:

• Treat them as a core audience, not an afterthought.
• Lead with bold, reframing ideas, not feature lists.
• Share insights across professional platforms where they already are.
• Equip them to advocate internally with strategic content that aligns with organisational goals.

Bottom line

If you’re still only targeting primary buyers, you’re leaving deals on the table. B2B sales today are about building consensus and not just pitching products. And thought leadership is the key to influencing the influencers you don’t even see.

Your next deal may depend not on who you’re selling to, but on who’s silently watching from the sidelines, waiting to be inspired.