We’re excited to announce the discharge of Hinge’s 2025 Excessive Progress Examine—the tenth version of this landmark publication. We started researching Excessive Progress corporations manner again in 2008, and in 2016 we revealed our first research on this collection. Loads has modified in a decade!
Most of that change was pushed by the maturation of digital instruments and strategies that gave corporations unprecedented entry to new markets and a rare capability to measure advertising efficiency. As we speak these applied sciences proceed to evolve, particularly AI, which has emerged as a central theme on this yr’s research.
For the primary time in 4 years, progress throughout the skilled providers trade declined, returning to pre-pandemic ranges. One of the best performing corporations, nevertheless, maintained their elevated progress charges and proceed to considerably outpace the remainder of the sphere. How do they do it, yr after yr?
Let’s dive in!
How We Carried out the Examine
This yr, 770 corporations throughout 6 core trade teams participated within the research. Our pattern represented over $87 million in mixed income and virtually 440,000 staff. We survey skilled providers corporations of all sizes, and so they conduct enterprise on six continents.
Determine 1. Composition of Pattern by Trade
Throughout our information evaluation, we grouped the taking part corporations into three classes:
- Excessive Progress—Companies that obtain at the very least 20% compound annual progress over a three-year analysis interval
- No Progress—Those who skilled zero or damaging progress
- Common Progress—The remainder of the pattern.
Sometimes, we have a look at a bunch referred to as Low Progress. This group contains each Common Progress and No Progress corporations.
5 Options of Excessive Progress Companies
On the coronary heart of this research are the Excessive Progress corporations. We look at them to know what they do otherwise in order that odd corporations can undertake their methods and habits. Under are 5 key takeaways from this yr’s research. To see all of the findings, you’ll be able to download the full executive summary for free.
As you’ll be able to see in Figures 2 and three under, these corporations develop 4X sooner and are as much as 30% extra worthwhile than their decrease performing counterparts. Curiously, all three progress classes skilled larger ranges of profitability in comparison with the earlier yr, with the No Progress corporations growing essentially the most (from 14.5% to twenty.9%).
Determine 2. Progress Fee and Profitability by Progress Class
1. They Prioritize Content material and Differentiation
The highest three gadgets on this checklist are the identical as final yr. Producing high-value educational content was Excessive Progress corporations’ highest precedence. That is smart, as it’s maybe the easiest way to show your experience to new audiences (primarily by means of written and video content material) and set up belief over time. This precedence goes hand in hand with the fourth and fifth priorities: growing thought leaders and reaching out to seek out new alternatives to talk, write and podcast.
Prime-performing corporations are additionally involved about differentiating their firms. There are many ways to distinguish a agency, from specialization to distinctive enterprise mannequin to telling a robust story. When you may have a differentiated agency, consumers usually tend to discover and bear in mind you. And in case your level of differentiation is especially related to their enterprise problem, you’ll have a major benefit over opponents in getting chosen.
Social media advertising falls within the third place. For many corporations, this takes place on LinkedIn, the premier social networking platform for professionals. Social media advertising can embrace publishing and selling content material, networking and sharing experience, and promoting.
Examine your individual agency’s priorities for this yr to these of the Excessive Progress corporations. Are you lacking any alternatives to construct your visibility and fame?
Determine 3. Prime Advertising and marketing Priorities in 2025
2. They Spend Extra on Advertising and marketing
There as soon as was a time when Excessive Progress corporations spent much less on advertising, however that development has reversed. We all know that these organizations have a powerful curiosity in constructing a complicated tech stack. And that dedication possible has raised their advertising budgets. We additionally know that they have a tendency to have extra personnel dedicated to advertising. Whereas the price range quantity doesn’t embrace salaries, extra folks means extra actions, which require more cash. Clearly the funding is price it. Their 2X funding yields greater than 4X the expansion.
Determine 4. Advertising and marketing Price range as a Share of Income*
3. They Have a Robust Curiosity in AI
What do Excessive Progress corporations need to study extra about this yr? You possibly can consider this query as a proxy for the place these corporations could also be headed sooner or later. Synthetic intelligence is the story of the yr—and maybe the last decade to return—so it’s no shock that it tops the checklist. AI additionally occurs to be these corporations’ prime enterprise problem. On this context, AI is far more than ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini. Companies are in search of methods synthetic intelligence can assist them ship providers extra effectively, uncover deeper insights and create unprecedented worth for his or her purchasers.
These top-performing corporations additionally need to discover new methods to offer a superior expertise for his or her purchasers. In spite of everything, glad purchasers are long-term, high-value purchasers. As well as, they’re exploring new alternatives to create content material and develop their Visible Expertise. And because the market evolves, technique has to vary with it. Excessive Progress corporations are wanting into the offing to seek out the subsequent benefit. Lastly, they appear to the most recent advances in know-how to create a aggressive benefit.
Determine 5. Matters to Study Extra About in 2025
4. They Outsource Specialised Advertising and marketing Expertise
Outsourcing is a crucial manner corporations like yours can entry specialised expertise and know-how, whereas retaining prices below management. Whereas most corporations outsource at the very least a few of their advertising actions, Excessive Progress corporations do it extra aggressively. They know that outsourcing specialised experience is smart in lots of conditions. They’ll entry higher expertise for much lower than bringing the expertise in-house. Overview the checklist under to see the abilities they outsource most frequently. Then evaluate it to the advertising abilities you outsource. Are there any you could be higher off handing off to a professional?
Determine 6. Prime Outsourced Advertising and marketing Expertise
5. They Are Extra Digitally Mature
The dimensions under consists of 5 ranges, with the least refined on the prime and essentially the most superior on the backside (you’ll be able to learn what each signifies within the government abstract report).
No Progress corporations have made vital progress of their digital maturity since we final requested about it two years in the past. The Excessive Progress cohort, then again, has made simply modest positive aspects. There may be one exception, nevertheless. On the highest degree, which we name “Clever,” these excessive performers have elevated 150%, in contrast with a 20% enhance for the No Progress group.
As AI and automation turn into extra highly effective—and greater elements in corporations’ success—superior digital maturity is prone to be an enormous aggressive benefit. That is significantly possible in industries resembling accounting and authorized the place many routine duties are prone to be fully automated sooner or later. The place do you stand on the digital maturity scale?
Determine 7. Stage of Digital Maturity
What’s Your Technique to Thrive in a Altering World?
If there’s one factor you’ll be able to depend on in enterprise it’s this: Nothing stays the identical for lengthy. Your consumers are altering. Know-how is altering. The providers you ship are altering. It takes quite a lot of foresight and perception to win at this sport.
Thankfully, Excessive Progress skilled providers corporations have already blazed a path for corporations like yours. They’ve discovered what works and what’s a waste of time in an age of unpredictability and speedy change. So what are you able to do? Examine the habits of Excessive Progress corporations on this submit with your individual advertising program. The place are you in alignment and the place are you off the rails? What changes are you able to make to emulate these excessive performers? There’s a blueprint right here to realize sustained enterprise success—in case you select to observe it.
And don’t overlook to download the full executive summary (it’s free!). It comprises many different concepts to encourage your individual advertising program. What adjustments will you make to propel your enterprise ahead?
Extra Sources
Download the 2025 High Growth Study Executive Summary for extra insights on how right this moment’s best-performing corporations are attaining progress regardless of uncertainty.
Elizabeth Harr
