The Thomas Blog

Inbound Marketing ROI: For Industrial Companies & Manufacturers

As the digital world continues to shape the industrial world, marketing budgets shift from trade shows to online efforts. According to Engineering.com's annual survey of engineering marketers, twice as many respondents reported that their budgets were growing rather than shrinking in 2017. The latest Thomas Industrial Survey assessing the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on North American manufacturing revealed that 21% of companies are less likely to invest in trade shows while the use of webinars & virtual events (20%), search & social media (14%), and website (12%) all increased in light of COVID-19. 

Like with any investment, marketers and manufacturing companies want to ensure that they receive a positive return. We’ve outlined the effectiveness of inbound marketing in tracking ROI and why it's important for manufacturers and industrial companies today.

The Value of Client Testimonials And Case Studies

According to Search Engine Land, 85% of today’s consumers read more than 10 reviews before they develop confidence in a brand. 

Aside from having an up-to-date website with detailed product and company information and having examples of your products and services in action, it would help if you had testimonials from happy customers to make you stand out among your competitors.

4 Industrial Distributor Website Examples That Increase Sales

Today, as an industrial distributor, your website needs as much attention as your commitment to your partners. In fact, according to a Thomas industrial survey, 73% of B2B buyers surveyed said they pay attention to a supplier’s website. And as expected, there is a 12% increase in website usage by manufacturers and industrial companies to connect with more buyers and customers.

The industrial distributor industry plays an essential role in the economy. In 2015, they generated $2.5 trillion in revenue in the United States, growing about 1.2% annually. Those who will continue to grow the industry can scale, enhance their digital platforms, and provide a seamless customer experience.

Environmentally-Friendly Green Manufacturers Committed To Sustainability

These days, consumers demand businesses to be "green" — from green packaging to green solutions to green food — a green company offers sustainable or renewable products or operates in an environmentally-friendly way. Adopting environmentally friendly processes and energy-efficient practices has numerous business benefits and are already at the center of many corporate social responsibility policies and marketing strategies. 

Let's take a look at some small business manufacturers who are committed to sustainability and green manufacturing.

Who Are The Industrial Buyers On The Thomas Network?

You know who your target customers are. 

You know what you can do for them and why they should choose you over your competition.

As for when you'd like them to contact you? ASAP would be nice, right?

The only problem is, you don't know where they all are. 

The good news is we do. Your prospective buyers are on our platform and enables you to engage industrial in-market buyers at every possible touchpoint in the buying process.

9 Beginner Steps To Planning A Successful Responsive Website Design

In just a few years, “responsive” has gone from a buzzword to the industry standard in website design — and with good reason. Responsive design offers significant advantages over traditional design, allowing for SEO improvements, streamlined development, and, of course, better user experience across different devices.

Manufacturing Day 2020: STEM Resources for High School and College Students

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many schools to shift away from in-person instruction toward a remote learning environment, the challenge of maintaining student engagement takes on increased significance. This is especially true in courses that involve STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

When taught in a traditional in-person setting, STEM courses combine education in the theoretical treatment of the subject (gleaned from written material as found in textbooks) with the practical treatment of the subject (developed via hands-on work from labs, experimentation, and the use of instruments and materials). When shifting to a remote learning environment, the techniques for educating students on the underlying principles of a subject are much easier to transfer successfully than are the more practical hands-on aspects.

To help fill this gap, we have identified some resources that may be used to provide students at the high school or college level with practical hands-on projects that they can perform which will help them supplement their education in STEM subjects.

The resources below contain a mix of different potential project ideas, many of which can be performed from home with a minimal need to purchase special suppliers or materials. Other projects from the resources below, especially those at the college level, will likely require students to make some investment in materials, components, and equipment that would not usually be found in the typical household. These are higher level projects that normally would be accomplished in a college lab class, possibly in a collaborative group setting, under the guidance of an instructor or advisor.

How To Get People To Read Your Sales Emails (And What Not To Do)

It's no secret that email marketing is one of the best ways to drive leads to your sales team. However, most manufacturers and industrial companies don't realize that it's also one of the best ways to close those leads and convert them into customers.

So while a lot of time and energy is going into optimizing marketing emails, sales emails are often relegated to an afterthought. In fact, the task of writing, designing, and deploying sales emails often falls on individual sales reps, who have little guidance, direction, or support. That's a recipe for disaster, and it shouldn't be the case.

If you want to optimize your sales emails for maximum results, be sure to follow these suggestions. 

How To Measure B2B Marketing Success

Measuring the return on investment for marketing is challenging in even the best cases. Many industrial marketers mistake commonly used online B2C metrics for effective measures of their efforts. But marketing effectiveness can affect business outcomes like revenue growth and customer retention — so with so many variables and items to test, how can industrial marketers measure the success of their marketing campaigns?