On the table now
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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
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B2B Marketers Put AI First and Headcount Last in 2026 Budgets
Content Marketing Institute’s annual benchmark of 1,015 B2B marketers finds 45% plan to spend more on AI tools next year and 9% on people. Nearly all use AI already. Barely half say it made the work better.
Source: Content Marketing InstituteRead →: B2B Marketers Put AI First and Headcount Last in 2026 Budgets -
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 with a sales rep. The rep’s job is moving from…
Source: Demand Gen ReportRead →: Buyers Use AI to Research. 69% Want a Rep to Confirm It. -
Two-Thirds of B2B Buyers Would Rather Not Talk to a Rep
Gartner surveyed 646 B2B buyers between August and September 2025. 67% prefer a rep-free purchase, and 45% used AI tools during a recent buy. Digital Commerce 360’s read: manufacturers and distributors will step up spending on digital commerce, self-service, and…
Source: Digital Commerce 360Read →: Two-Thirds of B2B Buyers Would Rather Not Talk to a Rep
Channel & distribution
Distributors, dealers and how industrial companies go to market.
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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.
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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.
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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.
