That is precisely why thought leadership deserves a place closer to the commercial strategy. Not as a separate content layer on top of marketing and sales, but to build trust, preference and decision confidence among potential customers.
This also became clear during the knowledge event, “Decoding Thought Leadership”, organised by Trustmedia. These are the five insights that stayed with me most.
1. Thought leadership drives commercial decisions, not just awareness
The insights shared showed that 84% of buyers say thought leadership plays a strong role in their choice of supplier. Not only when they are orienting themselves, but also when they are comparing solutions, evaluating suppliers and drawing up a shortlist.
Even more striking: when two suppliers score equally on price, service and references, 63% of buyers choose the company that stands out through strong expertise-led content.
For companies, this means thought leadership should start with commercial friction: which questions, doubts or risks are preventing customers from choosing us?
2. Thought leadership works, but not in the same way for everyone
Thought leadership has a broad influence on B2B buyers, not every audience uses this content in the same way.
Decision-makers – the people who ultimately make the final decision – use thought leadership more strategically. They look for insights that help them make better-informed choices, reduce risk and give direction to the decision-making process.
Influencers – the people who provide input, formulate internal advice or help steer the discussion – use thought leadership more selectively and tactically. For them, the content is mainly useful for feeding conversations, providing arguments and substantiating certain options internally.
Age also plays a role. Both decision-makers and influencers under 45 say that thought leadership plays a greater role in supplier selection than it does for those over 45. In addition, decision-makers clearly spend more time actively looking for thought leadership than influencers.
Those who want to make an impact should therefore segment not only by sector or role, but also by position in the buying process.
3. Not all content is thought leadership, and readers can tell immediately
Not every blog, white paper or LinkedIn post is automatically thought leadership. Buyers reserve that label for content that genuinely adds something: content that is substantiated with data, research, concrete examples or sharp practical insights.
Strong thought leadership offers a new perspective. It starts with real questions in the market and helps the reader look at a challenge differently, better or more sharply. It should therefore not be a one-off exercise, but requires a regular flow of high-quality insights, with a clear and consistent choice of themes.
The test is simple: does the reader learn something they did not yet know, or are they simply getting a repackaged brand message?
4. Thought leadership requires a multichannel approach
B2B buyers do not consume expertise-led content in one place. 31% of buyers consult at least four channels to access expert content. Thought leadership should therefore not remain confined to one format or one distribution channel.
A strong approach combines different touchpoints: in-person events, newsletters, LinkedIn, webinars, online articles, podcasts, interviews or roundtables. Each channel has a different function. An event can create trust and depth. LinkedIn can spark discussion. A newsletter can deepen insights. An article can strengthen discoverability and credibility.
Do not think in isolated content pieces, but in ecosystems. One strong insight can easily form the basis for an event, a series of LinkedIn posts, a newsletter, and so on. This gives thought leadership greater return and greater impact.
5. The volume of thought leadership keeps growing. So how do you stand out?
The challenge is no longer to produce content. Anyone can do that, certainly with AI. The challenge is to say something others are not saying, or at least not in the same well-substantiated way.
That requires choices: a clear expertise claim, a recognisable theme, proprietary data or practical experience, and experts who dare to take a position. Those who remain safe, broad and generic will disappear into the noise.
In a market full of AI-generated mediocrity, genuine expertise becomes even more valuable, provided it is concrete, outspoken and relevant.
Conclusion
Thought leadership is not a soft reputation exercise on the edge of the commercial strategy. It influences how buyers think, compare and decide. But the content must be relevant, substantiated, consistent and well distributed.
The bar is set high. Especially now that more organisations are investing in expertise-led content and AI is accelerating its production. Those who want to stand out will not win by publishing more, but by thinking more sharply, substantiating better and staying closer to the real questions in the market.
Those who take thought leadership seriously do not publish to be visible, but to be chosen.
Julie Verbruggen
Julie Verbruggen is PR & Corporate Communications Consultant at Progress Communications Belgium & Luxembourg. As a trusted advisor to technology-driven companies, she helps organisations sharpen their positioning, build visibility, and communicate with clarity across audiences. Drawing on more than ten years of experience in PR and corporate communications, she combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution. She supports clients in turning complex business and technology topics into clear narratives that resonate with media, customers and industry audiences.