Man Bites Dog | New research shows that business leaders trust content from B2B brands more than the media or the government
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Transatlantic study by Man Bites Dog demonstrates the impact of thought leadership on C-Suite buying behaviour in large B2B corporates.
- 94% of C-suite leaders consume content created by business brands at least once a week.
- Accountancy firms are the most trusted of B2B companies, while law firms come last in the ‘battle of intelligent brands’.
A study amongst C-suite executives in very large B2B organisations has found that leaders now see content from business brands as a key source of truth.
The Thought Makers study, from strategic marketing consultancy Man Bites Dog, examines how C-suite decision-makers engage with thought leadership. It finds that 94% of business leaders consume content created by business brands at least once a week, and 55% of leaders consume B2B content every day.
“Business leaders now trust content from business brands more than content from the media, government or public institutions,” says Claire Mason, Founder and CEO of Man Bites Dog. “This confers huge pressure on intelligent brands to produce responsible content but also provides an immense opportunity for business to lead change agendas.”
The research shows that 77% of C-suite leaders expect their strategic suppliers to challenge them on emerging trends and issues. Business leaders say that they are increasingly reliant on their strategic suppliers for innovation, insights on where the market is going and to business-case transformation and investment.
The study reveals that B2B content is not just attracting attention and building trust – it is driving sales: 74% of C-suite leaders say they always consider a strategic supplier’s thought leadership when making a buying decision.
Not all sectors perform equally in terms of the trust in and usefulness of their thought leadership, however. The study shows that accountancy firms are the most trusted, while law firms lag behind, ranking as the least-trusted of B2B sectors explored in the study:
- 72% of business leaders trust content from accountancy firms
- 69% trust content from technology and IT consultancy firms
- 65% trust content from advisory / management consultancy
- 63% trust content from engineering firms
- 59% trust content from banking and financial services
- 54% trust content from law firms
… more than the media.
Claire Mason, Founder and CEO of Man Bites Dog said: “Our Thought Makers research highlights the power of thought leadership to supercharge both brand and sales. For business brands, the pressure is on to be a true thought partner to the C-suite, informing them about emerging trends, helping them to navigate the business landscape, and sharing impactful insight.”
Find out more and download the report on the Man Bites Dog website.
About Man Bites Dog
Man Bites Dog is an award-winning, global B2B thought leadership and strategic marketing consultancy.
By combining powerful stories with substantial research and impactful global activation, Man Bites Dog helps business brands to build their reputation, deepen their relationships, generate revenue, and achieve real-world change.
Led by founder and CEO Claire Mason, the Man Bites Dog team is made up of experienced business consultants and strategic marketing experts, with deep specialist expertise in creating global campaigns and long-term programmes to engage the corporate C-Suite.
About the study
Thought Makers is an in-depth thought leadership study based on transatlantic opinion research amongst influential corporate decision-makers, combined with insights from Man Bites Dog’s thought leadership experts and Man Bites Dog’s CMO community.
The opinion research was conducted amongst 300 C-suite executives in very large B2B organisations – companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue* – headquartered in the UK and the US. Leaders were from a range of sectors including financial services, professional services, technology, built environment, mobility and advanced manufacturing, and energy and resources.
*At least $500million in annual revenue for law firms and management consultancies.
Press contact:
Lilah Smallwood
Consultant
07714486829