Have you bought a new car recently? If you have, think about how you used the Internet to research that purchase—you likely checked out the make and model, looked at options and features, and then approached the dealer to negotiate and place an order.

Now, consider how the Web has changed the role of the dealership in this process. Fifteen years ago, we as buyers were at the mercy of dealer because all the information we needed was provided (or not) by the car salesman. We couldn’t get any information about the colors, displacement, engine size, interiors, options, taxes, delivery charges and most finance information without talking to them. This wasn’t a very pleasant process, unless you were a car dealer.

Today, you enter a car dealership with more information than our fathers had—all the info that Dad got from the salesman, we get from the Web. We walk in the door not just with many of our questions already answered—we now often know as much about the vehicle as the dealer. And there’s more: we also know more about competitive models than the salesperson does.

The changes that the Internet has brought to car-buying share compelling similarities to what you as a manufacturing supplier (car dealer) are experiencing now, and how influencing and interacting effectively with your buyers and prospects (car-buying consumers) has changed.
Here’s why this matters to you: as a manufacturer of complex, high-tolerance manufactured products, your Web site and presence are influencing stealth prospects that are researching you and your competition as potential nodes in their supply chain. If they find the things that define your company as a strong candidate, they will contact you—armed with more info about you than their fathers had.

This doesn’t mean that handshakes and shop visits and supplier qualification aren’t important—they still are—but the practice of early stage due diligence and building a short list of suppliers has changed dramatically.
And how are you using the Web as a buyer yourself? How has the Internet affected how—and how often—you look for tooling, consumables and materials options?

Elements that once defined the cold call are dying. Some subscribe to the notion that it’s already dead. Prospects are looking for you right now, and they’re using the Web to see if you’re worthy of a call. What are they learning about you from the content and information they find on your site, side-by-side against your competitors and alternatives?

No one walks in the door without knowing something about you—if you’ve taken the time to tell them.