Research from Grist indicates that customers can see the benefits of working with external advisors to sort out their problems.
The firm found in its The value of B2B survey that C-suite executives were increasingly preferring to talk to external advisers rather than get advice from their peers.
This is unusual as previous surveys have had industry peers in the top three sources for executives looking for advice, but this time around it has dropped, with only a third of respondents seeking out those opinions, to be replaced by independent industry experts.
There were also signs that customers were open to getting ideas via video and online events, as well as traditional content.
Grist managing director Andrew Rogerson said: “With the coronavirus pandemic affecting businesses all around the world, the value of external support is rising, which could be due to internal teams focusing on ensuring business as usual can continue where possible With advisory firms climbing into the top three sources of insight for the C-suite for the first time, and senior executives reading more thought leadership now than ever before, advisers need to show their worth at a time when demand for their services is at an all-time high.”
The Grist report found that there was a need for those pushing their advice to have proven credentials. As many as 91 per cent of senior executives revealed that thought leadership was either critical or important when it came to deciding which adviser to work with.
“Not producing thought leadership simply isn’t an option. What advisers need to do now is think about how they can make their thought leadership different and better, and then utilise this to effectively meet the needs of prospective clients”, added Rogerson.
