Industrial buyers today research, evaluate, and shortlist suppliers almost entirely online before ever reaching out to a company. In fact, 70% of the industrial buying journey is complete before a buyer ever contacts a supplier. To win buyers’ business, you need to understand how they buy and make sure your company shows up with the right information at every stage. To ensure you’re meeting the needs of business-to-business (B2B) and industrial buyers, focus on the key areas outlined below.
Understand the Industrial Buying Journey
The industrial buying journey is the sequence of steps a B2B buyer follows from recognizing a need to selecting and purchasing from a supplier. At a high level, it involves six phases:
- Need — The journey begins when a buyer realizes they have a problem. At this stage, buyers are experiencing a pain point but aren’t necessarily searching for a specific product yet.
- Research — Once they have a better idea of what they need, the buyer moves into the research phase. During research, buyers look for educational content and start learning about the suppliers that might meet their needs.
- Design — For many industrial purchases, the design stage is where the heavy lifting happens. This is the time when engineers and technical leads enter the journey.
- Evaluation — With a design in hand and a list of potential partners, the buyer moves into the evaluation phase. At this stage, they are no longer just looking at suppliers’ products and services, but also at how they operate.
- Shortlist — At the shortlist stage, the buyer has narrowed their choices down to the final candidates. They are now comparing apples to apples, looking at lead times, total cost of ownership, and responsiveness.
- Purchase — The contracts are signed, the purchase order is issued, and the relationship officially begins. In the industrial buying world, this isn't the end of the journey — it's the beginning of a partnership.
Show Up Where Industrial Buyers Search for Suppliers
To ensure your business is found by industrial buyers, you need a presence everywhere buyers look, from general search engines to platforms specifically geared towards industrial sourcing.
Search engines
Strong, well-organized website content improves your rankings when buyers search for the types of products and services your company offers. Following search engine optimization (SEO) guidelines also gives you a leg up when it comes to optimizing your website for AI search.
Business directories
Claim and complete free listings on Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Yelp so local buyers can find you.
Online sourcing platforms
Optimizing your website for search engines and maintaining a presence on general business directories are important for covering all the bases in how buyers might discover your business. However, many industrial buyers find that general searches can be cluttered with too many results aimed at a consumer audience. That’s why more than 2.2 million registered buyers use Thomas to source industrial products and services and find their next supply chain partner. Buyers on Thomas arrive with intent, ready to engage — 66% visit with a specific purchase in mind. Listing your company on Thomas puts your capabilities in front of high-intent buyers at the moment they're searching.
At this stage, buyers have one question: Can you do what they need? Make the answer obvious and easy to find.
Provide the Information Buyers Need When Making a Shortlist
You often won't know you're on a buyer’s shortlist until they contact you. Ensure you make it to this critical stage by providing the right information on your website and your Thomas profile. Here are some factors buyers consider when building a shortlist.
- Capabilities — Include part dimensions, tolerances, materials, finishing services, and machinery used. You should provide a comprehensive list of all your capabilities to show buyers you can provide what they need.
- Quality certifications (ISO, ITAR, and others) — Quality is among the top factors buyers evaluate. Ideally, you should display these certifications as downloadable documents.
- Relevant experience — Build buyer confidence with case studies, testimonials, and client logos from buyers' industries.
- Photos and video — Providing photos and videos of your facilities and shop floor can give buyers insight into how you operate and add a personal touch.
- Key contacts — Provide names and contact information for the appropriate people in engineering, sales, and operations so buyers can reach the right person directly.
Make It Easy for Buyers to Submit RFIs — and Respond Quickly
The request for information (RFI) is the first direct contact between you and the buyer — and the start of the relationship, not just a formality. Respond fast: Reaching out within minutes of an information request can significantly improve your chances of qualifying a lead. To encourage buyers to submit RFIs:
Make contact information highly visible — everywhere that buyers can find your business should include your email address, phone number, and a link to your RFI form.
Use clear, specific calls to action — don’t make buyers guess about how to reach out and request more information. Specific actions, such as "Request My Quote," outperform general ones, such as "Submit.”
Track and respond to leads — keep track of who is engaging with your company. Advertising on Thomas gives you access to a dashboard that shows exactly which companies are visiting your profile, so you can follow up quickly.
Complete your free Thomas profile — give buyers all the information they need so they can act the moment they're ready.
You Know How to Meet Buyers’ Needs, Now Make Sure They Find You
Meeting the needs of industrial buyers requires understanding how they buy, showing up where they search, providing the information they’re looking for, and making it easy to reach out when they’re ready. If you follow all these steps, you’ll greatly improve your chances of winning B2B buyers’ business.
Creating a free company profile on Thomas puts your business in front of more than 2.2 million qualified buyers, and Thomas Advertising can supercharge your listing. Thomas Sponsored Listings boost your ranking in buyer search results and let you unlock 100% of buyer insights on your company profile. Advertisers get 25 times as many buyer evaluations as non-paid accounts, and this increased visibility puts more opportunities in your pipeline.
Ready to meet more buyers where they search? Contact our team for a free Digital Health Check, or claim your free company profile to get found by the more than 2.2 million buyers sourcing on Thomas.
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