Enterprise B2B sales and marketing cycles have so many influences on decision-makers. Knowing if one type marketing approach is working can be nearly impossible.

A good example of this is in the case of thought leadership.

Edelman and Linkedin published this webinar that shines a light on the role that thought leadership plays in securing a contract, the conclusion being that 45% of decision makers and 48% of C Suite executives are directly influenced by thought leadership when making a purchase decision.

Nearly half of the buyers surveyed were inspired to award business by thought leadership while only 20% of marketers surveyed believed thought leadership was helping them close and win.

I had a couple of immediate thoughts upon learning this. Firstly, companies that create valuable, authentic insights have a distinct advantage over their competitors. Secondly, there is a sizable gap between how effective thought leadership is and how valuable marketers think it is.