The Thomas Blog

10 Stats You Didn't Know About Thomas

Industrial buyers are typically 70% of the way through their purchase decision process before they reach out to a supplier.

If you are a manufacturer trying to grow your business, this is an eye-opening, game-changing stat. It means that the buyers you want to do business with — the ones you need to connect with in order to grow your company — are researching, designing, evaluating, shortlisting, and, ultimately, making their purchase decisions online, all with very limited interaction with your sales people.

How, then, can you forge the connections you need while staying top of mind throughout the long and complex buying process?

The Social Media Accounts (And Hashtags!) You Should Be Following

In the digital age, the shop floor isn't the only place that manufacturing puts in work. Today, many industrial companies are incredibly active on social media, sharing their stories and interacting with fans and followers.

If you want to get in on the conversation, or see how a manufacturing company can effectively leverage social media as a sales channel, these are the accounts you want to follow. 

What I Learned Growing Up In Manufacturing: From Sales To President Of Onex

Onex got its start in 1966 as a refractory distributor for the foundry industry. As the industry declined in the 1980s, Onex began expanding its product offerings by manufacturing precast shapes, installing refractory materials and partnering with vendors to build furnaces.

Today, Onex is a “one-stop shop” for industrial furnace needs offering both refractory and combustion services as well as designing and building new, custom furnaces.

Meet Ashleigh Walters, President of Onex, a second-generation family-owned and women run business. Walter's experience in the manufacturing sector dates back to 2000 and she has shared her journey through industry. 

5 Uncommon Ways Industrial Businesses Use Videos to Boost Sales

Industrial businesses looking to capitalize on the power of videos in the B2B sales cycle often include product demos, virtual plant tours, and customer testimonials/case studies on their company websites and other places industrial buyers frequent.

Those are the most common — and in some cases the most crucial — types of videos, it's important to understand that there are many more ways to use videos as part of your sales and marketing. (And since research from Kissmetrics shows that the likelihood of a purchase increases by 64% to 85% after watching a product/service-related video, you could be missing out!)

Facebook vs. LinkedIn vs. Twitter For Industrial Companies

Are you missing out on an amazing resource that can make your business' growth goal a reality — the answer might be in social media. Over 90% of companies, both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C), are currently making use of social media for marketing purposes. But with such a wide range of social networks to work with, and new ones popping up every day, navigating these options can often seem daunting.

While there are other social media networks that could be added to this list, we’re focusing on the main channels for B2B marketing purposes. Below, we’ll delve into three of the most popular social networks — Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter — and explore how industrial companies and manufacturers can make the most effective use of these versatile platforms, leading to more valuable prospects, increased leads, and, of course, boosted sales.

6 Manufacturing Awards In 2019

Praise and recognition are essential to a healthy workplace, but awards and ceremonies take those achievements to the next level. Awards help promote your brand, showcase your team's work to company leaders, and look great on your resume.

For manufacturers, industry awards are a valuable way to get company exposure and credibility, and we've rounded up six manufacturing awards to put on your to-do list and apply to this year.

5 Marketing Collateral Best Practices For Manufacturers

Graphic design is everywhere you look — from your manufacturing company’s logo on the front of your building to the website layout of this blog post you’re reading right now.

April 27 is World Graphics Day and to commemorate communication design, we’ll take a look at some marketing collateral best practices so you can ensure your content marketing is being communicated effectively and designed with your industrial buyers in mind.

What Does A 404 Error Mean?

At some point in your web browsing life, you’ve undoubtedly come across a 404 error message. You typed in a URL or clicked a link to take you to a new page but suddenly — gasp — “Page Not Found.” 

It’s not uncommon to see these types of errors while you’re surfing the web, but when you find one on your own website, suddenly you’ve got a problem. In this blog post, we’ll go over what a 404 error message means, what it means for your marketing efforts, why websites get them, and what you can do to fix any you may encounter on your industrial website.

Product Sourcing Trends For Q1 2019, As Told By Game Of Thrones

Winter is here (seriously, spring, where are you?), and the first quarter of 2019 is officially over. 

As an industrial company, you are always looking for ways to connect with B2B buyers. But what are those buyers looking for? With less than one week before the final season of Game Of Thrones premieres, we took a look at sourcing activity of some of the most useful elements of Westeros and beyond the wall on the Thomas Network at the end of Q1 to help you answer that question (and possibly win the Game of Thrones).