Edelman and LinkedIn just lately printed their 2025 B2B Thought Management Influence Report, which was based mostly on a survey of 1,934 management-level enterprise professionals from a variety of industries and firm sizes. The survey was carried out March 17 – April 3, 2025.
The first focus of this 12 months’s examine was “hidden consumers” – folks within the shopping for group who affect a purchase order determination regardless that they aren’t a major consumer of the services or products being thought-about.
The 2025 report consists of a number of survey findings for “hidden consumers” and “goal consumers,” outlined as follows:
- Hidden Patrons – “Individuals who . . . are a closing decision-maker in group buying selections and are primarily concerned as a consultant of a perform that doesn’t require in-depth information of the precise services or products. These capabilities would possibly embrace finance, operations, authorized, compliance, procurement, and others.”
- Goal Patrons – “Individuals who . . . are each a closing decision-maker and are primarily concerned as an knowledgeable within the service or product being provided.”
Listed below are a few of the main findings from the Edelman/LinkedIn report.
Consumption and Use of Thought Management
Hidden consumers devour as a lot thought management content material as goal consumers. Sixty-three % (63%) of the hidden purchaser survey respondents stated they spend an hour per week (on common) consuming thought management, in comparison with 64% of goal purchaser respondents.
Fifty-five % (55%) of the hidden purchaser survey respondents reported utilizing thought management content material to guage potential distributors, in comparison with 56% of goal purchaser respondents.
Influence on Advertising and marketing/Gross sales Interactions
Seventy-one % (71%) of the hidden purchaser survey respondents reported having little or no interplay with vendor gross sales reps. Nevertheless, 95% stated that robust thought management content material made them extra receptive to advertising and gross sales outreach from firms producing such content material.
Attributes of Robust Thought Management
Ninety-one % (91%) of the hidden purchaser survey respondents stated {that a} key attribute of high-quality thought management content material is that it helps them uncover challenges, wants, or alternatives that they hadn’t beforehand acknowledged.
Two Controversial Findings
The Edelman/LinkedIn report comprises two considerably controversial findings. On this examine, the researchers requested members to fee the significance of a number of concerns when choosing a vendor.
The next desk reveals the chances of hidden purchaser respondents who rated every consideration as essential or reasonably vital.
As this desk reveals, hidden purchaser survey respondents rated “Vendor is the ‘most secure alternative‘” as much less vital than 5 different concerns.
The second controversial discovering pertains to the significance of name. The researchers requested examine members how a lot they agreed or disagreed with this assertion: “In vetting distributors, if a corporation produces high-quality thought management, it issues a lot much less to me how well-known they’re.” Fifty-three % (53%) of each hidden purchaser and goal purchaser survey respondents considerably or strongly agreed with this assertion.
The Different View
These two findings differ considerably from the outcomes of different latest analysis. One instance of this analysis is a latest examine by The B2B Institute, Bain & Firm, and NewtonX (the “B2B Institute Research”).
(Be aware: This examine is described in a 2024 LinkedIn article written by Mimi Turner and Jann Schwarz, each with The B2B Institute. I perceive The B2B Institute is planning to publish a report or paper discussing this analysis later this 12 months.)
The B2B Institute Research examined the attitudes and behaviors of hidden consumers and goal consumers utilizing definitions of these phrases much like these used within the Edelman/LinkedIn examine. The examine discovered that making a “secure” buy determination is a major driver for hidden consumers.
- Hidden consumers care greater than goal consumers about components similar to model reliability and “peace of thoughts.” (See the graphic accompanying “Discovering #2” within the LinkedIn article.)
- About two-thirds of hidden consumers and goal consumers stated they would like services or products that “present peace of thoughts with out profession development” over services or products that provide “enterprise development that includes potential profession uncertainty.”
The B2B Institute Research additionally discovered {that a} robust, well-known model is vital to each hidden consumers and goal consumers, however is extra influential with hidden consumers.
- Eighty-one % (81%) of the examine members stated the model they finally purchased was identified to everybody or nearly everybody within the shopping for group firstly of the acquisition course of.
- Hidden consumers are 31% extra more likely to reject manufacturers they do not know and 70% extra more likely to reject manufacturers that are not well-known to different members of the shopping for group.
My Take
These two research current starkly completely different views concerning the tendency of B2B hidden consumers to make “secure” buy selections and the affect that model has with hidden consumers.
I recommend that almost all of those variations will be attributed to variations within the focus and design of the underlying surveys. The B2B Institute Research centered on high-consideration, high-value know-how purchases by giant enterprises. Sixty-four % (64%) of the survey respondents on this examine have been with firms having greater than 10,000 workers.
The survey used within the Edelman/LinkedIn thought management examine had very completely different survey demographics. In reality, 48% of these survey respondents have been with firms having 200 or fewer workers.
A number of different latest research have highlighted the desire of most B2B consumers for secure buy selections and the vital position that model performs in B2B shopping for selections.
Underneath these circumstances, I believe the findings of the B2B Institute Research present a extra correct image of real-world B2B shopping for.
