Buyers often tell us what they need long before they ever fill out a form or join a conversation. The signals show up in search behavior, in CRM patterns that repeat across accounts, in content that overperforms without fanfare, and in the small questions raised during sales calls that point to deeper concerns.
When B2B marketers pay attention to the quiet indicators of what audiences are trying to understand, they gain a clearer sense of which topics deserve investigation, which questions merit original research, and which narratives will carry weight.
Our recently published State of B2B Thought Leadership in 2026 report in partnership with Ascend2, underscores this point. Across nearly 800 marketers we surveyed, the strongest performers are the ones grounding their thinking in what they hear from their audiences and how those signals show up across the buyer journey.
What it means to be data-informed
Many teams describe themselves as data-driven, yet the approach often becomes rigid and reactive. Decisions tilt toward whatever metric is easiest to measure, and the nuance behind buyer behavior gets lost. A data-informed mindset takes a different path. It uses evidence as a guide while leaving space for context, empathy, and the judgment that comes from knowing your audience.
High-performing marketers work from insights that reflect genuine buyer intent. They look closely at patterns in questions, behaviors, and friction points — the signals that shape credible thought leadership. Vanity metrics or surface-level indicators carry far less weight in that process.
The research points to a familiar paradox: teams have access to more data than ever, yet many struggle to find the insight that actually helps them make better decisions. A data-informed approach brings focus to that complexity and supports content decisions grounded in what audiences truly need.
The quiet signals that should shape your thought leadership content
Thought leadership has more impact when it reflects the real questions buyers are working through. Those questions surface in places that don’t always look like “data” at first glance. Here are five places to place your ear to the door:
Customer conversations
Your audience is telling you what they need to know, in their own words. Sales calls, customer interviews, and support interactions reveal what people hesitate over, what they ask repeatedly, and where they need clearer guidance.
Patterns in CRM and pipeline data
Across accounts, certain themes tend to recur just before a deal gains momentum or starts to stall. These patterns highlight recurring friction points and show where clarity, reassurance, or better resources can move buyers forward. The insights also help identify topics worth elevating in your research.
Behavioral search insights
Long-tail searches and exploratory queries capture how buyers think when no one is watching. The phrasing, the specificity, and the intent behind these searches offer a more honest look at what people are trying to understand than any keyword list can provide.
Industry tension points
Market conditions, regulatory developments, and emerging risks shape the environment buyers are operating in. These pressure points influence what keeps audiences up at night and what they expect thought leadership to help them navigate.
AI-driven questions
Generative tools now surface the questions buyers ask most frequently and highlight gaps in available knowledge. The patterns within these AI-driven queries signal where audiences want more depth, more clarity, or more perspective.
What high-performing best answer brands do differently
Our research found that the strongest performers (best answer brand) share a common pattern: they listen widely and act with intention.
How they listen
The data shows where strong insight work actually begins. Direct customer feedback sits at the top of the list, with 53% of marketers relying on interviews and surveys to shape their topics.
The surrounding insight sources — CRM patterns, market trends, internal positioning, and search behavior — fall close together in the data, showing how interdependent they are. They operate like connected components of the Answer Engine: each one adds context, sharpening direction, and together they help teams identify the questions that carry meaningful weight for buyers.
What they do with what they learn
Original research becomes the anchor for high-performing programs. It delivers evidence buyers can trust and supplies the raw material for frameworks, narratives, and practical guidance that move beyond opinion.
Our survey found that high ROI B2B marketers are 164% more likely to use original research for customer education and loyalty than lower performers (56%/34%). Top performers were also more likely to use original research in customer education 55%/34%), demand generation (55%/46%) and sales enablement (51%/30%).
The impact is substantial: 93% of marketers using research-based content report strong engagement and lead performance, those with effective research are nearly 4× more likely to report very high ROI and 47% plan to expand their use of original research in the year ahead. B2B brands using original research to create best answer content experiences are doing more than leveraging a framework, they’re tapping into a system that gets results.
Proof of data-informed, best answer content performance
Buyers of B2B solutions are not only looking for more information. They need better answers. Answers that are credible, easy to find and delivered in relevant formats.
To meet that need, Sprinklr and LinkedIn partnered with TopRank Marketing to develop a content strategy built on original research for executive decision-makers and activated across a connected content ecosystem. The topic? Proving the Power of Brand which included original research, a guide, a webinar, social engagement including a LinkedIn carousel, blog content and sales enablement content.
The impact of this data-informed approach to create more meaningful answers in the formats buyers prefer, delivered outcomes across the customer journey:
- Awareness: The content reached 4.6 million+ targeted impressions and drove 31,000+ engagements from senior decision-makers in industries like retail and financial services across organic and paid channels.
- Engagement: Social platforms delivered. One LinkedIn carousel post resulted in a 5.24% engagement rate, 3.7x higher than the platform benchmark.
- Pipeline Impact: The program attracted 1,100 qualified leads, generating at least 700% ROI.
How to start building your data-informed Answer Engine
The State of B2B Thought Leadership in 2026 report makes one thing unmistakable: strong best answer brand thought leadership content starts with paying attention. The brands that lead with empathy and insight earn trust because they reflect the real concerns and goals of the people they are trying to reach. Listening gives them a clearer view of what matters and sets the stage for storytelling and answers that feel usable, credible, and anchored in evidence.
This foundation positions marketers to become the best answer in a landscape where buyers are sorting through more information and more noise than ever. It also sets up the next step in the Answer Engine framework: building an integrated strategy that connects those insights across the full customer journey.
The value of a data-informed framework for building thought leadership that elevates B2B companies to become best answer brands is more important than ever.
As Ty Heath, Director of Market Engagement at LinkedIn’s B2B Institute says,
“In B2B, you’re building credibility with audiences who need evidence to make decisions. That’s why data matters. It grounds your perspective in reality and gives your insights weight. But data alone isn’t enough. The real skill is taking complex research and distilling it into frameworks people can actually use. When you combine evidence with clear, memorable ideas, you create thought leadership that doesn’t just get noticed, it gets applied. That’s how you build authority that lasts.”
To explore the full set of drivers behind the Answer Engine framework and access deeper guidance for building thought leadership that performs at every stage, you can view the full Answer Engine report online here.
If you prefer, you can download the complete report PDF which will also provide you access to a more detailed view of this framework in the upcoming Best Answer Marketing Playbook.
Ready to talk about developing your own Answer Engine for full funnel impact? Let’s connect.
About the author
Theresa began her career as a marketing writer around the same time TopRank launched, though it would be a couple of decades and a great deal of side questing before she joined the team. In those intervening years, Theresa did everything from managing operations and marketing for an award-winning home inspection company to starting a farmer’s market that enabled community connection and additional income for farmers and crafters in rural Minnesota. Drawing on this unique background, Theresa is committed to working with clients to develop content that reaches both the mind and the heart. Theresa’s second proudest personal accomplishment (after raising two amazing kiddos!) is her 20+ year career as a fire dancer with Fandazzi Fire, the troupe she co-founded with her husband and favorite dance partner.
