On the table now
-
80.8% of B2B Marketers Invest in Social Media for Brand Building. Toolstation Goes Where the Tradespeople Are: TikTok and Instagram.
Toolstation, a tool and building supplier, puts its social effort on TikTok and Instagram. That is where the tradespeople are. Marketing Week reports how four B2B brands use social; in its State of Brand in B2B survey, 80.8% of 300 respondents invest in social media for brand building.
Editor’s picks
Lonestar Electric Supply Aimed Its Nashville Launch at 644 Contractors. More Than 200 Came to the Opening.
Source: tED Magazine
Eaton Reorganized Marketing Around Its Buyers. An Early Pilot Produced More Than 600 Qualified Leads in Nine Months.
Source: Content Marketing Institute
Sonepar Runs AI Models Across Businesses That Produce 95% of Its Revenue. Two of the First Three Uses Serve Sales.
Source: Distribution Strategy Group
Topics
Buyer behavior · AI & search · Channel & distribution · Pricing · Trade shows & brand · Budgets & benchmarks · Leadership
Latest
-
73% of B2B Buyers Will Now Place an Order Above $50,000 Online, Up From 59% in 2022
73% of B2B buyers are comfortable placing an order of more than $50,000 online, up from 59% in 2022. McKinsey’s 2026 Global B2B Pulse Survey of nearly 4,000 decision-makers in 13 countries finds buyers using an average of ten channels…
Source: McKinseyRead →: 73% of B2B Buyers Will Now Place an Order Above $50,000 Online, Up From 59% in 2022 -
B2B Buyers Spend 29% More With Suppliers That Get the Buying Experience Right
B2B buyers spend about 29% more with suppliers that deliver a consistently positive purchasing experience. Suppliers estimate they have lost 13% of bids to a negative one. Deloitte Digital surveyed 530 U.S. buyers and 530 U.S. suppliers; Digital Commerce 360…
Source: Digital Commerce 360Read →: B2B Buyers Spend 29% More With Suppliers That Get the Buying Experience Right -
The Typical B2B Purchase Now Involves 13 Insiders and 9 Outsiders
Forrester’s State of Business Buying, 2026 finds the typical buying decision now involves 13 internal stakeholders and nine external influencers. Procurement is a decision-maker in 53% of buying cycles. More than 60% of buyers run a trial before they commit.
Source: ForresterRead →: The Typical B2B Purchase Now Involves 13 Insiders and 9 Outsiders -
18% of Marketing Leaders Have Cut Roles to Automation. Gartner Sees the Bottom Rung Gone by 2030.
18% of marketing leaders have already eliminated roles because of automation. Gartner predicts that by 2030, AI will let the majority of high-performing marketing teams eliminate the traditional bottom rungs of the corporate ladder.
Source: GartnerRead →: 18% of Marketing Leaders Have Cut Roles to Automation. Gartner Sees the Bottom Rung Gone by 2030. -
Manufacturers Expect Sales Up 4.3% and Costs Up 5.0%. Prices Get Only 3.7%.
Manufacturers expect sales to rise 4.3% over the next 12 months, the fastest pace in four years. They expect input costs to rise 5.0% and their own prices only 3.7%, according to NAM’s Q3 2026 Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey.
Source: NAMRead →: Manufacturers Expect Sales Up 4.3% and Costs Up 5.0%. Prices Get Only 3.7%. -
IMTS 2026 Draws More Than 90,000 Registrants and a Record Floor Density
IMTS 2026 drew more than 90,000 registrants and 1,788 exhibiting companies, 400 of them new. Floor density reached 1.65, an all-time show record. AMT reports metalworking machinery orders of $4 billion through July, up 37%.
Source: AMTRead →: IMTS 2026 Draws More Than 90,000 Registrants and a Record Floor Density
Channel & distribution
Distributors, dealers and how industrial companies go to market.
-
R.S. Hughes Has More Than 40 Distribution Centers and Still Calls Itself a Specialist
R.S. Hughes has annual revenue above half a billion dollars and more than 40 distribution centers. Its president still calls it a specialist. Industrial Distribution profiles the employee-owned distributor of…
Source: Industrial DistributionRead →: R.S. Hughes Has More Than 40 Distribution Centers and Still Calls Itself a Specialist -
52% of Distributors in ASA’s Survey Are Losing Business to Online Competitors. 25% Cite Digital Ordering as a Differentiator.
52% of distributors in the American Supply Association’s latest survey say they are losing business to online competitors. Only 25% name digital ordering tools as a way they stand apart.
Source: American Supply AssociationRead →: 52% of Distributors in ASA’s Survey Are Losing Business to Online Competitors. 25% Cite Digital Ordering as a Differentiator. -
Grainger Tops the 2026 Big 50 at $17.9 Billion. Four Distributors Follow at $8 Billion or More.
W.W. Grainger tops the 2026 Big 50 of industrial distributors at $17.9 billion in revenue. Four more follow at $8 billion or above: Motion, Winsupply, Fastenal and Airgas. Industrial Distribution…
Source: Industrial DistributionRead →: Grainger Tops the 2026 Big 50 at $17.9 Billion. Four Distributors Follow at $8 Billion or More.
Trade shows & brand
Campaigns, rebrands, launches and what companies did with a show.
-
80.8% of B2B Marketers Invest in Social Media for Brand Building. Toolstation Goes Where the Tradespeople Are: TikTok and Instagram.
Toolstation, a tool and building supplier, puts its social effort on TikTok and Instagram. That is where the tradespeople are. Marketing Week reports how four B2B brands use social; in…
Source: Marketing WeekRead →: 80.8% of B2B Marketers Invest in Social Media for Brand Building. Toolstation Goes Where the Tradespeople Are: TikTok and Instagram. -
Two Industrial Finishers Become One Brand, UltiCoat, With Three Plants in Wisconsin and Arizona
Scott’s Industrial Coatings and Perfection Industrial Finishing now operate under one brand: UltiCoat. Products Finishing reports that Madison Lake Capital introduced the name across three plants, in Green Bay, Phoenix…
Source: Products FinishingRead →: Two Industrial Finishers Become One Brand, UltiCoat, With Three Plants in Wisconsin and Arizona -
Lonestar Electric Supply Aimed Its Nashville Launch at 644 Contractors. More Than 200 Came to the Opening.
Lonestar Electric Supply opened its Nashville branch in spring 2025 with a six-month campaign aimed at 644 licensed electrical contractors within about 30 miles. The grand opening drew more than…
Source: tED MagazineRead →: Lonestar Electric Supply Aimed Its Nashville Launch at 644 Contractors. More Than 200 Came to the Opening.
AI & search
How industrial companies use AI to sell, and how buyers find suppliers.
-
Sonepar Runs AI Models Across Businesses That Produce 95% of Its Revenue. Two of the First Three Uses Serve Sales.
Sonepar now runs predictive AI models across businesses that produce 95% of its revenue. Two of the first three uses serve sales: product recommendations drawn from customers’ purchase histories, and…
Source: Distribution Strategy GroupRead →: Sonepar Runs AI Models Across Businesses That Produce 95% of Its Revenue. Two of the First Three Uses Serve Sales. -
Buyers Use AI to Research. 69% Want a Rep to Confirm It.
Gartner’s survey of B2B buyers finds 45% used generative AI in a recent purchase, mostly for vendor and product research, and 69% prefer to validate what the AI told them…
Source: Demand Gen ReportRead →: Buyers Use AI to Research. 69% Want a Rep to Confirm It.
The week at the table
The week’s articles in one email, every Friday.
Everything we shared that week, with the numbers and the links. One email a week and nothing else.
