Key takeaways: B2B trust now forms early and close to home. Buyers place greater confidence in familiar people and proven judgment. New research shows that thought leadership content plays a role in helping buyers assess expertise and reduce perceived risk. However, today, merely showing up with content isn’t enough. Organizations that pair expert-led insights with clarity, ease and a strong point of view earn trust faster than those that rely on generic, high-volume thought leadership.
B2B trust feels harder to earn than it used to. Deals take longer, and buyers scrutinize decisions closely. Even strong prospects often keep their distance at first.
New research explains why. The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer describes a broad “retreat into insularity.” Nearly 70% of people now place their trust in close circles, such as coworkers and peers, rather than outside institutions or vendors.
As a result, buyers begin most B2B relationships cautiously. If your brand doesn’t already feel familiar, you start on the outside. Consequently, early interactions carry more weight than ever before.
Because of that change, B2B trust now forms well before a sales conversation. Buyers look for signals that tell them whether engaging further will feel safe, manageable and worth the effort.
Why B2B trust now starts with safety, ease and speed
In B2B buying, caution shows up as a desire for reassurance. Buyers want to feel confident backing a decision long before it reaches final approval.
The Superpowers Index puts numbers behind this tension. Buyers considered 13% more brands in 2025 than they did the prior year but were 7% less likely to switch providers. In other words, buyers want options, but they want fewer risks.
Safety matters here. However, ease is equally important. In cautious markets, a complicated buying experience feels risky. When things are hard to understand, slow to move or confusing to navigate, trust erodes quickly.
That’s why winning brands shine not only by feeling safe, but also by being easy and fast to work with. Brands that deliver strong buying experiences close deals 31% faster than poor performers, according to the Superpowers Index.
How expert-led thought leadership earns a place inside the circle
When B2B trust turns inward, buyers still need a way to evaluate unfamiliar brands. Thought leadership often becomes that first test.
On the other hand, its role has changed. Buyers don’t just want insight. They want proof that working with you will be straightforward.
Expert-led content helps when it shows you understand buyers’ problems and offers solutions. When content simplifies tough decisions, buyers infer that your processes, teams and partnerships will be straightforward to work with.
That combination is key. Brands that are seen as strong thought leaders are twice as likely to be highly trusted, according to the Superpowers Index.
When you provide expert-led insights that help buyers solve specific problems, it reduces uncertainty. It gives buyers something they can take back to internal conversations and say, “This makes sense. These people have dealt with this before.”
That’s the goal. Yet most thought leadership doesn’t get buyers there.
Why good thought leadership isn’t enough
Most B2B organizations already produce thought leadership. Yet expectations have changed.
The Superpowers Index shows that thought leadership has dropped as a differentiator, falling from a top-ranked factor to a baseline expectation. Buyers now assume brands will publish content. Simply meeting that minimum no longer builds B2B trust.
That’s where many programs stall. Performative thought leadership focuses on sounding smart. In contrast, operational thought leadership proves reliability. The difference shows up quickly.
Performative content talks about ideas. Operational content shows how those ideas work in practice. It reflects judgment, trade-offs and experience. Moreover, it reassures buyers that you’ve “been there” and know how to move forward.
Strong, original content is now the requirement for standing out. Without it, even polished content blends in and fails to move trust forward.
Why most thought leadership is mediocre
Another factor holds many teams back: who creates the content.
Only 37% of organizations say their experts are meaningfully involved in thought leadership content creation, according to the 2026 Content Marketing Institute’s trends report. Even fewer involve experts consistently.
That gap is important. Buyers trust technical specialists and peers far more than executives or marketing leaders. When content lacks employee involvement, it often feels generic and safe to ignore.
Meanwhile, the most effective marketing teams do the opposite. They bring specialized experts into the process and give them structure, support and editorial guidance. As a result, content becomes credible, useful and easier for buyers to trust than generic content.
If B2B trust depends on confidence, expertise needs to be visible.
Experts as trust brokers in an inward-looking market
Edelman’s research introduces the idea of “trust brokering.” People increasingly trust those who are closest to their daily experiences, including coworkers and employers.
That creates an opportunity. Internal experts can act as trust brokers between skeptical buyers and unfamiliar brands. When experts explain decisions, share lessons and clarify complexity, they help both sides understand each other.
To make that work, organizations must equip experts properly. Clear processes, editorial support and distribution channels allow experts to connect their knowledge to buyer concerns.
Over time, those voices help humanize the brand. More importantly, they make trust transferable. In an inward-looking market, that transfer is what gets brands invited into serious consideration.
Why point of view still matters for B2B trust
Even with expert involvement, safety alone won’t differentiate you.
If your thought leadership avoids taking a stand, it often reads as interchangeable. A clear point of view helps buyers interpret complexity and decide whether your judgment aligns with theirs.
Strong positions carry risk. But they also make brands memorable. When buyers see thoughtful disagreement, informed problem-solving and confident recommendations, trust deepens.
Ultimately, B2B trust grows when buyers feel safe and understood. Expert-led, operational thought leadership – paired with simplicity and speed – earns that confidence upfront. That early trust is what opens the door.