What if the biggest threat to your next customer win isn't the competition, but the people in the room you never even knew were there?
In high-value B2B deals, we're conditioned to focus on the visible decision-makers: product owners, functional leads, and budget holders. But as buying groups grow more complex, success often hinges on a different type of influencer that marketers and communicators rarely think about.
In the 2025 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, Edelman and LinkedIn uncovered new insights about these hidden buyers to help sales, marketing, and communications teams more effectively engage them and, improve their odds of winning over buyer groups.
Meet the Hidden Buyer
These are the unseen stakeholders in finance, legal, compliance, procurement, or operations who may not use your product or sign the contract but still hold real power over whether you win the business. More than 40% of B2B deals stall due to internal misalignment,1 often driven by this overlooked group.
Hidden buyers are far from passive "box-checkers." In fact, 63% spend more than an hour per week consuming thought leadership, nearly equal to “target” buyers. They're looking for insights, not pitches — content that challenges assumptions and reframes thinking. And 81% percent say high-quality thought leadership helps them understand previously unrecognized challenges or opportunities.
They're Not in the Meeting, But They're Shaping the Outcome
Hidden buyers are hard to reach directly: 71% say they have little or no interaction with sales teams. Still, they wield influence driving internal consensus, or in some cases, derail deals entirely.
Here's where thought leadership comes in: 95% of hidden buyers say strong thought leadership makes them more receptive to sales and marketing outreach. It earns trust and creates credibility before a salesperson ever gets in the door.
Why Thought Leadership Works When Other Tactics Don't
- Hidden buyers actively seek substance, not sizzle. They're drawn to content that speaks to their priorities and business challenges. That's why:
- 71% of hidden buyers say thought leadership is more effective than traditional marketing or sales materials at demonstrating a vendor's potential value
64% trust thought leadership more than product sheets or brochures when assessing capabilities
- And it's not just about changing minds; it's about arming internal advocates:
- 51% of hidden decision-influencers say high-quality thought leadership helps them convince C-level executives
And 52% say it helps them persuade other members of the buying group.
The "Safest Choice" Isn't Always the Winning One
Conventional wisdom says no one gets fired for choosing the most well-known vendor. But the data tells a more nuanced story.
- All things being equal, only 41% of hidden buyers say "the safest choice" is what matters most at the moment of purchase. Far more prioritize:
- Understanding of their business challenges (85%)
- Understanding of industry trends (76%)
- Domain expertise (74%)
Strategic and cultural fit (68% and 56%, respectively)
Thought Leadership Converts Skeptics into Advocates
- The path to winning complex deals isn't just about persuading one buyer, it's about enabling the buying group. And thought leadership helps you do that.
- 79% of hidden buyers say they're more likely to advocate for a proposal during the RFP process if the vendor consistently produces high-quality thought leadership.
- And 53% say strong content can outweigh brand recognition alone.
Even C-suite engagement can help build top-down momentum with the buyer group. 35% percent of hidden buyers say a senior executive has encouraged them to consider a vendor based on their thought leadership.
What High-Impact Thought Leadership Looks Like
To reach hidden buyers, your content needs to be:
- Stylish and distinctive: 60% associate unique format and design with higher quality
- Bite-sized and accessible: 57% prefer quick takeaways over dense reports
- Empowering: Thought leadership must help internal influencers sell your value inside the room, even when you're not there
Rethink How Your Team Collaborates
Marketing and communications can't go alone. Hidden buyers shape decisions behind closed doors, and sales teams often sense it first. Align with your sales force to understand who's influencing the deal behind the scenes and what those decision-makers need to hear to move forward.
If you want to close more business, stop focusing solely on the names in your CRM. Develop thought leadership that reaches the quiet influencers: the ones reading, thinking, and shaping outcomes behind the scenes.
Because in today's distributed buying environment, the real key to winning isn't always walking through the front door. Sometimes, it's knowing who's watching from the sidelines and giving them a reason to speak up on your behalf.
Joe Kingsbury is Global Chair of Edelman Business Marketing.