Thought Leadership Builds Business

While a properly implemented thought leadership campaign can raise awareness of your firm, there are additional benefits to it—and these benefits can be quantified. Some notable findings from an Edelman/LinkedIn study show the potential bottom-line impact for companies that produce thought leadership content.

The survey of more than 1,300 business decision-makers and C-level executives documented their responses to thought leadership. Between 37% and 41% of these people invited the thought leader’s organization to submit a proposal; this exceeds the expectations of the thought leaders themselves, who estimated the probability of a positive response to their outreach at 17%.

A similar result was found when looking at how thought leadership influences organizational preferences. While 59% of thought leadership creators believed their efforts enhanced their brand’s reputation, nearly 90% of execs and decision makers confirmed their respect for the thought leader increased because of their interaction.

Finally, thought leadership outperforms its creators’ expectations for revenue generation. Between 45% and 48% of potential clients credited thought leadership as a determining factor in their decision to give their business to a firm. Furthermore, 47% to 49% agreed with the survey’s statement “I am more willing to pay a premium to work with an organization that has publicly articulated a clear vision for the future.”