The Thomas Blog

What Industrial Buyers Care About Most When Shortlisting New Suppliers

The industrial buying process can be long and complex. Buyers these days prefer to source, research, compare, and shortlist potential partners anonymously online. Creating a shortlist is an essential component of the supplier discovery and selection process, but what kind of information are these buyers looking for, and what factors matter most when deciding to make a purchase decision?

We polled more than 400 real, verified, and registered buyers who source on the Thomas Network. Here a look at the top 4 most important factors they consider when sourcing new suppliers.

Website Content Marketing To Strengthen Your Custom Manufacturing Brand

Most custom manufacturing businesses and service providers have an extensive list of their capabilities, services, materials, machines, and certifications. These are the basics that help potential customers understand what you can do for them.

9 Easy Tips For Creating A Lead-Generating eBook: For Manufacturers & Industrials

Creating an eBook for your business is one of the best ways to convert leads and increase brand awareness among potential buyers. According to Content Marketing Institute, 51% of today’s B2B businesses incorporate eBooks into their content marketing campaigns.

Whether offering valuable industry tips, troubleshooting, product details, case studies, or comprehensive service overviews, eBooks can be used to address everything from product components to company best practices. Ebooks also enable businesses to connect with a target audience based on their specific stage in the buying journey.

How To Create Quality Content For Industrial Companies To Engage B2B Buyers

Content marketing for manufacturing companies is a critical element to any lead generation strategy today. When done right, it builds your brand image and creates a stronger relationship between you and your customer. But the last thing you want to do is crank out blog posts, eBooks, or other resources that won't be effective — it will not only waste your time, but it'll turn your prospective customers away.

Creating effective, strong content and engaging prospects is so essential to businesses that there are numerous books, webinars and entire conferences dedicated to getting marketing and sales professionals from across the globe up to speed. To help produce content that drives buyers and engineers to learn more about your company's industrial products and services, make sure to follow the best practices below.

Why Public Relations Matters To Manufacturers

As companies in the industrial sector look for ways to win new customers and keep loyal customers, they need to find ways to stay top of mind in a competitive landscape. From producing videos, creating valuable guides, to being everywhere your buyers are —  a recognizable brand in addition to those marketing tactics can put you in a position to win more business.

Public relations (PR) can help manufacturers boost their brand awareness and drive credibility and sales. Let's outline how you can get started.

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.

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.

Meeting The Needs Of Your Buyers: Blog vs eBook

To effectively reach buyers and generate valuable leads, it’s critical to employ a dynamic, multifaceted digital marketing strategy — and that means creating a robust content marketing campaign.

Content marketing is a crucial tool for collecting valuable user details. It is a means of trading information; users provide data — their business, goals, their contact information — and in exchange, you provide insights and actionable advice in checklists, educational eBooks, or in-depth whitepapers.

For Manufacturers: 5 Ways To Differentiate Yourself From Competition

The primary goal of an industrial content marketing strategy is to get your company noticed and grab the attention of potential customers. To do that, you have to differentiate yourself. But, of course, your competition is trying to accomplish the exact same thing. So with everyone striving to stand out, how do you actually get that done? You need the right approach to digital marketing, and you need to tailor your efforts to match your unique goals and needs. But what does that entail?