Wise & Zeal research: new content code of conduct needed to achieve executive engagement
Wise & Zeal, an elite growth marketing consultancy and agency that specialises in C-suite content and engagement strategies for B2B technology companies, has today released findings from its first wave of international research. The independent study collected responses from 454 C-suite executives, with the job titles CEO, CTO, CFO, CIO, CISO and CSO. All respondents worked for organisations with at least 1,000 employees and 66% represented businesses with an annual turnover of at least $400m. The findings reveal how this audience feels about technology vendor content.
According to the first edition of ‘The Wise & Zeal C-suite Content Credibility Report’, B2B tech buyers, and purchasing influencers, value trust in technology partners above all else, and are now considering engagements with potential new tech vendors against this value. Content plays a critical role for vendors looking to build trust, and reduce the amount of research time taken during the buying-cycle. In the report, C-suite respondents share what vendor content needs to do, in order to reduce the time taken in researching potential new technology suppliers:
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- 53% of all respondents want content to talk about solving the overall business problem, not just describe how the product works. 63% of CTOs, 51% of CFOs, 50% of CEOs and 42% of CIOs also want this from content. For companies with annual turnovers of £500m+ (36% of the total respondents) 59% said they wanted this.
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- 96% of these respondents, and 98% of these CEOs, said they would be likely to opt in to receive more of this content.
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- Content that gives the individual credibility in front of the board is also sought, according to 40% of all respondents. Interestingly, this is most important to CSO respondents (63%) and CTOs (42%). This figure is 44% for companies with annual turnovers of £500m+.
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- 91% of these respondents would be likely to opt in to receive content that achieves this.
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- 46% of all respondents are looking for content that looks at the solution from the customer’s point of view, and is written using their language. 54% of CFOs want this, as do 50% of CTOs and 40% of CIOs. 48% of C-suite respondents in companies with annual turnovers of £500m+ want this content approach.
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- 91% of these respondents would be likely to opt in to this content. 89% of these CTOs would opt in, as would 88% of these CFOs.
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“I expect the percentage of CIOs seeking content focused on solving overall business problems – not just seeing product and solution value – to continue to rise,” said Aleksandra Miljus, Founder and CEO at Wise & Zeal. “The CIO role has evolved from being tech-focused to becoming a strategic business advisor, helping to shape and lead their business. Evolving roles within the C-suite, and the creation of new job titles, creates a significant content related challenge for marketing teams. Content must answer questions the C-suite and the board are asking, in order for it to be engaging. A single touchpoint will not always resonate with all the critical stakeholders in the research and decision making process – personalising content for the role and the individual is critical. We encourage marketing teams to carefully assess what content they are creating and how they plan to share it. Knowing where C-suite executives go to gather information has become as important as the content creation process itself.”
Changing approaches to self-education
The report also investigated how, in the past three years, C-suite executives have adjusted the methods and approaches they take to evaluating potential technology vendor partners. 70% of respondents said they now prioritise vendors which share content that includes actionable points and shows they understand the business challenge, whilst 67% said they now place more emphasis on peer recommendations than they did three years ago.
C-suite executives from the UK are more likely to do their own research around potential new vendors (61%), versus 56% from the USA, 46% from wider Europe, and 45% from Australia. Only 5% of respondents from all territories said they were likely to just wait for vendors to approach them.
52% said they find value in content discovered themselves, ahead of engaging with a vendor. Interestingly, 89% of C-suite executives in $500m+ annual turnover organisations are more likely to do their own research: which potentially questions the value of marketing teams gating content.
When asked when they were most likely to speak directly with a new technology vendor, 20% of respondents said it would be ‘after speaking with several of their customers’, 19% said it would ‘only be when they were close to making a purchasing decision’ and 16% said ‘following a peer recommendation or introduction’. Internal procurement and centralised research teams also still play an important role in influencing choice. In fact, 65% of respondents said these teams were actively involved in the decision making process.
Content that impacts engagement and drives action
Interestingly, ‘The Wise & Zeal C-suite Content Credibility Report 2025’ also shares an insight that reaching C-suite audiences in the first instance is perhaps not as challenging as previously thought.
While 90% of all respondents said they ‘always’, or ‘almost always’, read technology vendor content sent directly to their inbox, this figure drops dramatically when it comes to taking next steps. Critically, only 17% said they were likely to take action if the content was sent from a general technology vendor. If the vendor is trusted by the recipient however, the percentage likely to take action rises significantly to 42%.
The respondents representing companies with an annual turnover of $500m+ were only 13% likely to take action to solve a problem using content sent from a general technology vendor, but 47% said they would take action if content was shared from their trusted technology vendor.
In terms of engagement, the best type of content (content that brings them closer to solving a problem) was described by the C-suite as:
- Inspiring new ideas: 178 respondents
- Helping address board issues: 159 respondents
- Sharing lessons learnt by peers: 145 respondents
- Actionable: 133 respondents
Crucially, two-thirds of those surveyed also highlighted the influence of peer-shared content.
Evolving attitudes towards gated content
Over half of the executives surveyed (54%) admitted they don’t mind sharing additional details – such as an email address to access gated content – if the value of the content is clear. For 38%, their willingness depended on the source and the level of trust they have in it.
UK and USA respondents were the most likely to register to read a gated piece of content if the value was clear – 63% from the USA and 58% from the UK. This willingness to share details for access to content also varies across job titles: CSO 63%, CISO 62%, CEO 58%, CTO 55%, CFO 47% and CIO 42%.
“Overall these findings suggest that in order to gain the trust of C-suite executives, and positively impact the sales cycle, any content created must demonstrate vendor credibility and authority, along with a deep understanding of the issues buyers face,” continued Miljus. “For me, these insights reinforce a powerful truth. When credibility and trust are included in every stage of content creation and delivery, brands don’t just reach the C-suite, they resonate with it.”
Click here to register for the Executive Summary: https://wiseandzeal.com/c-suite-credibility-report/
Research methodology
An online survey was conducted by Atomik Research among 454 respondents from across the UK, wider Europe, Australia and the USA. All were C-suite level respondents and worked for businesses with 1,000 employees or more. Job titles of the respondents were CEO (40%), CTO (27%), CFO (13%), CIO (11%), CISO (7%) and CSO (2%).
The research fieldwork took place 25th June – 1st July 2025. Atomik Research is an independent creative market research agency that employs MRS-certified researchers and abides to MRS code.
About Wise & Zeal
Wise & Zeal provides high-impact, outcome driven, C-suite focused marketing services to ambitious B2B technology organisations. The company’s unique approach to executive content creation and engagement strategies empowers organisations to capture the attention, and imagination, of business leader audiences to drive engagement and build trust.
Wise & Zeal is known for designing and delivering strategic marketing programmes and sales activation campaigns that accelerate measurable revenue growth.