Community Marketing & Insights (CMI) recently published the findings from their 11^th Annual LGBT Community Survey, which collects consumer research from LGBT-identifying individuals in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The survey is meant to provide industry leaders with a picture of relevant trends in the LGBT community.

Among the key findings, CMI provides a list of major companies that individual LGBT consumers continue to support because of their pro-LGBT policies or practices. While several of these companies have appeared on this list numerous times in recent years—including Out & Equal partners American Airlines, Wells Fargo, and Target which took the top spot—others like Out & Equal Presenting Sponsor Disney broke into the Top 12 for the first time. Additionally, the study found that in response to the current political climate in the United States, many LGBT community members feel an increasing desire to support companies supportive of LGBT equality, suggesting a greater need for company leadership to counter political setbacks.

For the first time, CMI also went beyond individual consumer purchasing and measured the power of LGBT community members who control budgets for their employers, to see if they retain similar values in corporate transactions. The study found that 58% of respondents consider a company’s pro-LGBT reputation at least part of the time when deciding whether to buy from them on behalf of their company, 43% of whom control budgets larger than $50,000 a year and 10% who control budgets larger than $1 million.

In terms of changes in terminology, CMI also found that while “LGBT” remains the most popular term to describe the community, “LGBTQ” was seen as significantly more positive than in past years: for the first time, “LGBTQ” was the preferred term among Millennials, as well as having over a 50% approval rating for Baby Boomers. This trend suggests that “LGBTQ” will likely grow in popularity in coming years.

Overall, the report’s findings suggest that visible support for LGBT issues earns companies loyal customers within the LGBT community, as well as provide insights into how the community is changing to keep companies ahead of the curve. Click here to receive a copy of the full report.