The Thomas Blog

3 Must-Have Lead Generation Website Examples For Steel And Metals Companies

RFI submissions for steel on Thomasnet.com are up 19% year-over-year (year-to-date 2020 vs. 2019). How can steel and metals companies ramp up their existing efforts to increase their RFQ submissions? We took a look at three steel and metals companies to see how they’re using their website to target engineers, procurement managers, and MRO managers.

32 Industrial Lead Generation Tips, Tricks And Ideas

Generating leads is one of the most important aspects of marketing.

When you turn a site visitor into a lead, and then that lead becomes a customer, you’ve done your job, but you need to follow up on that accomplishment. As the experts at HubSpot say, “A successful lead generation engine is what keeps the funnel full of sales prospects while you sleep.”

7 Easy Tips For Creating A Lead-Generating eBook

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

Allowing for the dissemination of in-depth, detailed content, eBooks enable businesses to connect with a target audience based on their specific stage in the buying journey.

Lead Generation For Manufacturing Basics

Do any of these sound familiar to you:

• “I don't have enough time to contact the leads.”
• “I don't have enough leads for my sales team.”
• “I'm not getting any RFQs online.”

We can all use a little bit of luck these days. Unfortunately, many manufacturers and industrial companies have these problems and seem to rely on luck a little bit too much when it comes to generating leads.

When it comes to your marketing campaigns and lead generation efforts, you don’t want to leave your success to chance. You need to take the time — and exert the effort — necessary to put yourself in the best possible position to attract new buyers and grow your business. 

Here’s how manufacturers can help solve basic lead generation problems.

5 Things Every Product Manufacturer Must Know To Drive Leads

Engineers and sourcing professionals rely on comprehensive, digitized product data in order to do their jobs. They need accurate data, and they need it fast. Many manufacturers rely on a website and phone number to handle inquiries for new data, but is it really the most efficient way? 

According to Forrester Research, rich omni-channel experiences deliver several competitive advantages for B2B businesses — especially those with complex products. Omni-channel supply chains serve customers across different channels. The difference with a multi-channel approach is that with an omni-channel approach, the channels are fully integrated in order to provide a seamless customer experience. We’ve listed out five things all OEMs and industrial manufacturers must know to generate more leads, satisfy customers needs and increase sales.

6 Ways To Turn A Lead Into A Customer

You worked hard to market your capabilities and nurture your prospects. Now your sales team has a healthy list of leads. However, research shows that 40-50% of these leads are ignored and never followed up on, which can add up to a lot of lost revenue for your business.

Developing an effective lead follow-up process can ensure that you don’t leave potential opportunities on the table. Here are the strategies that should be a part of your process.

MQLs Vs. SQLs: What's The Difference

Studies show that 68% of B2B marketers struggle with generating quality leads. And lead generation strategies are successful for only 13% of marketers in the space.

All in all, only a mere 5% to 10% of B2B leads actually turn into paying customers. So what can be done to boost these numbers?

First, industrial marketers must understand that not all leads are created equal — and the industrial buyer's journey is actually pretty complicated. 

Lead Nurturing: How To Convert Website Traffic To Leads

Sellers know all about leads. You know the difference between marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) and sales-qualified leads (SQLs). You know you need more of the former in order to get more of the latter.

That’s great. You can see the destination. But what about the traffic that's on your website? How can you identify MQLs in your sales pipeline and, more importantly, how can you offer effective nurturing that turns them into SQLs? Let's break down the basic steps.

Supplement Word-Of-Mouth Referrals With Inbound Marketing

For many years, word-of-mouth referral was a tactic that used to occur offline. For small industrial businesses looking to gain new leads, word-of-mouth referrals can still be effective, allowing businesses to expand brand awareness organically. But over time, they began to learn that relying solely on word-of-mouth can hinder efforts lead generation efforts.

With the emergence of social media and the digital transformation of sales and marketing, the ways of traditional marketing and how referrals are shared have shifted. Rather than asking a friend in person for a business recommendation, most people might post a status on one of their social media networks (like LinkedIn or Twitter) and wait for someone from their network to comment their suggestions. Others are more likely to do a Google search.