The Thomas Blog

Make 2017 Your Best Year For Industrial Marketing Yet

Throughout the holiday season, you probably saw a handful of end-of-year wrap-up blogs as well as some start-of-the-year prediction posts.

Well, now that 2017 is finally upon us and it’s time to get back to work, we wanted to bring you some actionable tips you could use to get a jump on turning it into your company’s biggest year yet.

Let’s take a look at some steps you can take right now to start generating better leads for your business.

2016 Industrial Marketing Year in Review

In the world of marketing, things are constantly changing.

From amorphous Google algorithms and updated UX designs to effective emailing and retargeting methods, there is no shortage of strategies to try — especially as the industrial space continues to catch up with the rest of the B2B marketing space.

As we begin preparing for what’s to come in 2017, we wanted to take a look back at some of the biggest trends we’ve seen over the past 12 months and their impact on your business.

Without further ado, here’s our 2016 year in review.

Marketing & Sales Insight from a Former Honda Engineer

Many industrial companies don't trust outside marketing services because they don't believe they understand their business or audience. Honestly, that's a true assumption when it comes to most traditional marketing agencies.

But we do things differently at Thomas. Our founder, a mechanical engineer with more than 15 years of marketing experience, leads the team of marketing experts and engineers to deliver record-breaking increases in lead generation and sales. (See how we drove a 113% increase in lead generation and 60% increase in sales for CJWinter here.)

We've recently hired a new application engineer, Ryan Singler, from Honda, and while we (and our clients) have been taking in all of his insight, we thought it might be helpful for you to get to know him as well.

Is This Digital Marketing Approach The Secret To Connecting With More Buyers?

For many manufacturers and industrial companies, there’s no such thing as an “impulse” sale. That’s because the industrial buying cycle is a lengthy one, driven by a supplier evaluation and selection process that can take months or longer.

3 Effective Ways to Advertise Your Business

It’s a never-ending quest in search engine marketing (SEM) to find the secret to driving traffic and generating leads. It all starts with your website — you need strong, original content, a logical user experience (UX), aesthetically pleasing design, and optimized product pages.

What You Might've Missed in Marketing and Manufacturing This Summer

Well, folks, we’ve passed Labor Day Weekend, which means summer is officially over.

Amidst the craziness of July 4, summer vacations, and family barbecues, it can be hard to stay afloat of industry trends. As you settle back to the usual work routine, you’ll want to catch up on everything that’s been happening in marketing and manufacturing while you were away.

Here’s a roundup of the biggest industry trends you may have missed this summer.

6 Marketing Activities to Jump On During Summer Shutdown

Summer shutdown is upon us.

When production on the floor halts this season and all your machinist colleagues are off-the-grid, you can do so much more than kick back while your MRO manager cleans and evaluates the shop floor.

This is a great time to get introspective about what you've accomplished this year, how you can continue growing as a marketer and re-evaluate what's left to meet Q3 and Q4 goals. Let's take a look at your opportunities.

9 Books Every Marketer Should Read

As I’ve said before, marketing is a busy career.

A characteristic of any good marketer is keeping yourself busy, especially in periods of downtime, by constantly working to improve your skills. One of the best ways to do this is to consume literature that will increase your understanding of the field.

If you have an Amazon account; are in possession of a library card; or can transport yourself by plane, train, or automobile to a bookstore, you should absolutely pick up one, or all, of the following books:

What's Missing From Your Online Marketing?

Every day, thousands of buyers visit Thomasnet.com to source products and find suppliers, making it the home of the largest and most active network of qualified buyers.

Now that you know where your buyers are, it's important to know what they're looking for.