• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, 6 hours ago

B2B marketers have long felt that thought leadership drives intent and sales. This is particularly true when brands present original research, according to The State of B2B Thought Leadership In 2026, a study from TopRank Marketing, conducted by Ascend2.

Of the B2B marketers polled, 93% are using research-based content they feel is effective at driving engagement and leads, and 48% say it is very effective.

That may be why 47% plan to increase their use of research and data-driven content in the next year. 

But while 97% agree research-based thought leadership results in full-funnel success, only 43% are using it beyond the acquisition stage. 

BtoB brands face these challenges in delivering research: 

• Limited visibility into funnel performance or attribution — 34% 
• Too much reliance on a few channels or tactics — 33%
• Difficulty generating qualified top-of-funnel leads — 31% 
• Difficulty scaling programs with current team or budget — 30%
• Ineffective or inconsistent lead nurturing — 29% 
• Misalignment with sales on lead quality or follow-up — 27%
• Insufficient content to support each stage of the buyer journey — 26%
• Low brand awareness/visibility in target markets — 25% 
• Poor conversion rates through the funnel — 21%

How do marketers choose for research-oriented thought leadership? They cite:  

Direct customer feedback — 53%

Customer data from CRM or sales insights — 44%

Competitor or market trend analysis — 40%

Internal brand strategy or positioning — 40%

SEO or search behavior data — 30% 

What could they be doing better? The respondents say these tools would make their research more effective: 

Video content (interviews, explainers) — 48%

Live/virtual events (webinars, panels, roundtables — 48%

Interactive experiences (assessments, data visualizations) — 48%

Featuring industry influencers or experts — 45%

Featuring customer or executive stories — 39%

Optimizing for search and GenAI platforms — 39%

Launching a complementary podcast — 33% 

Distributing through targeted newsletters — 30%

Meanwhile, here are a few other data points: 

• 74% of marketers frequently collaborate with influence say their research-based content is very effective, vs. 29% of all others
• 78% add that interactive and experiential content increases repeat engagement, although only 33% regularly build it into their campaigns
• 32% of B2B professionals discover thought leadership through GenAI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude. But most marketers have not yet included them in their distribution strategies
  

Ascend2 surveyed 797 senior-level marketers from firms in the U.S. and UK. Of the respondents, 38% were CMOs, while 31% were directors of marketing, 12% were vice presidents of marketing, 6% were heads of demand generation and 13% were serving in other capacities.