77% of B2B Buying Journeys Now Involve AI.
Most manufacturers haven’t caught up.
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The days of manufacturing organizations relying solely on relationships, reputation, and sales teams to close deals are over. Today’s empowered buyers expect frictionless, personalized digital journeys, and the industry is at a crossroads.
Where human contact used to be the starting point, modern buyers do much of their research behind the scenes. In fact, 77% of all buying processes now involve AI, with buyers using LLMs to shortlist suppliers before they’ve even interacted with a brand.
If manufacturers want to thrive in this new world, they must adapt. That means delivering hybrid experiences that blend digital autonomy with human expertise, while maintaining the trust that has always been the backbone of B2B relationships.
Adapting to the Invisible Journey
For many buyers, the journey no longer starts on a supplier’s website. They’re using AI to research and compare products, build business cases, and stress-test options. These interactions aren’t visible via traditional marketing analytics platforms, making journeys harder to track and easier to underestimate.
The challenge for manufacturers is identifying where each buyer sits in their purchasing journey and tailoring the digital experience accordingly. Apply Digital’s B2B Commerce Maturity Model maps out the different capabilities that manufacturers can embrace at each stage.
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The Maturity Model ranges from foundational stages, where basic marketing collateral including product catalogs and data sheets are key, up to the self-service model, which is how today’s empowered customers actually behave.
In industries like retail, empowered customers already have all the tools and information they need to make informed decisions and purchases on their own: product education, community forums, chatbots, repair and maintenance scheduling. Manufacturers are still catching up to these expectations.
The Customer Comes First
B2B manufacturers often overlook the fact that buyers are also retail consumers. They’re used to modern digital experiences in their personal lives, and those experiences set the bar for what they expect at work too.
For manufacturers, prioritizing digital experiences can be a tough ask. But meeting customer expectations means accepting that off-the-shelf B2B portal products are a viable, and often more efficient, solution than building a custom platform from scratch. Manufacturers can deliver their portal experience starting with off-the-shelf platforms and enhance them with custom experiences over time, combining speed to value with the preservation of what makes their brand different.
There’s also a generational tailwind working in manufacturing’s favor. As a new generation of workers enters B2B manufacturing, they are ushering in a fresh perspective. Younger management teams are questioning old ways of doing things and pushing for modernization. Many of these executives have a direct mandate from the top of their organization to push B2B industries into newer, digitally focused experiences. The appetite for change is real.
Content as a Competitive Edge
In the digital realm, content is still king. In fact, it’s more important than ever.
Over 50% of Google searches now have an AI overview, so manufacturers need to leverage Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to ensure they remain visible in search. Related to GEO is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), which focuses on providing solution-oriented responses to questions rather than lengthy, in-depth pages. Both are important factors in connecting with customers and driving them into B2B portals.
Manufacturers aren’t typically known for creating high-quality content at scale. AI can help ease the creative burden, since it is effective at creating and scaling content. But here’s the caveat: AI’s magnifying effect doesn’t differentiate between amplifying great content and bad content. The starting point matters. Manufacturers need to focus on creating valuable, original, and well-optimized content first, then use AI to scale it.
Test, Learn, Personalize, Repeat
Because every customer is looking for something slightly different, taking a persona-based approach can help manufacturers stay relevant. Instead of creating content that simply presents an entire product catalog, organizations should tailor content to specific audiences and their unique goals. An example: presenting a curated solution of products and services suited to a specific customer role, rather than a traditional catalog packed with SKUs.
After persona-based content has been created, experimentation begins. Test different creatives, localize campaigns, and analyze the effectiveness of different content formats. Would a blog topic perform better as a whitepaper? Would a product comparison page convert more than a spec sheet? This is where AI can empower manufacturers to scale both content production and testing with ease.
Manufacturers can also borrow engagement strategies from the B2C playbook. Simple features like progress bars within loyalty programs or personalized dashboards that surface relevant products and reorder prompts can go a long way in building habits and driving repeat engagement.
From Sales-Led to Buyer-Driven
Today, manufacturers have a unique opportunity to differentiate themselves and win market share. Customers are more willing now than ever before to give unknown brands a chance, which means the playing field is more open than it has been in years.
But that window will not stay open forever. As more manufacturers invest in digital-first experiences, the ones still relying on legacy processes and outdated portals will find it increasingly difficult to compete. The organizations that take calculated risks, challenge outdated processes, and stand out with engaging digital experiences are the ones that will succeed in the era of the empowered customer.
We’ll be at B2B Online Chicago talking about exactly this, if you’re attending, don’t miss our session. Or get in touch with Apply Digital to find out how we can help you build a customer-first B2B strategy.