News

(July 22, 2008 - NEW YORK, NY) - ThomasNet today announced that the newly released book on using the Internet to grow business, Get Content. Get Customers, features a case study on the company's "100% online content strategy," which the authors describe as critical to industrial suppliers' continued revenue growth.

The book by content marketing strategists Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett shows readers how to leverage the power of online content to drive their businesses. The authors devote a full chapter to ThomasNet and its use of "targeted, relevant, and valuable content" to help industrial suppliers succeed.

"The Internet has become the best channel for companies that want to recession-proof their businesses by expanding into new markets," said Mr. Pulizzi. "ThomasNet is an example of a company that uses innovative content to help industrial companies capitalize on hidden market opportunities."

"ThomasNet has distinguished itself as a content marketer's content marketer, and we are delighted to share their best practices so others can benefit," said Mr. Barrett.

ThomasNet has helped thousands of industrial companies create websites that incorporate online catalogs, CAD drawings, and e-commerce capabilities to grow their businesses, uncover new markets, and develop new revenue sources. For example, Flex Products, highlighted in the book, grew sales by 20 percent to more than $10 million, and attributes at least 50 percent of that growth to its new site content.

Get Content. Get Customers quotes Linda Rigano, ThomasNet's Director, Strategic Alliances, who notes that for companies selling industrial products and services ranging from adhesives to coatings to packaging, "your website needs to serve as your 24/7 salesperson. It needs to inform and persuade a visitor to become a customer. We had to help our clients develop meaningful content and tools that can be implemented easily and economically."

The book highlights ThomasNet's unique V.S.E.T. formula to guide the creation of websites so that prospects can find and navigate them, and eventually become buyers:

• Verify - "Does your website make it easy for potential customers to immediately determine whether you have what they are looking for?" Research demonstrates that suppliers have 5-8 seconds to convince sellers that they have what they want before they hit the back button.
• Search - Can buyers search for specific items in multiple ways?
• Evaluate - Is there enough detailed information for prospects to make buying decisions, including side-by-side comparison capabilities, and interactive sales drawings, when applicable?
• Take Action - Does the site offer multiple ways for buyers to request additional information or make a purchase, "including contact information, RFQ links, your phone number on every page, or even e-commerce?"

Get Content. Get Customers also highlights ThomasNet's site, ThomasNet.com, as the "most logical place on the web to look for products and services that relate to manufacturing" and tells the story of ThomasNet's use of content to continually improve it. The content on ThomasNet.com is designed to make it easier for suppliers and buyers to do business with one another, offering access to the Internet's most widely used database of industrial suppliers.

Individuals can purchase the 192-page, hard-cover book, which is rich in case studies and stories that illustrate content marketing best practices, at a special "early bird" discount of 30 percent through http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/098018780X/?seller=A3B623EJR0LO2N. Get Content. Get Customers is published by Voyager Media.

About ThomasNet^SM

ThomasNet (www.ThomasNet.com) is the leading online destination connecting industrial sellers and buyers worldwide. Buyers from Fortune 500 companies, the government, the military and more depend on ThomasNet to search for and purchase the products and services they need. ThomasNet provides access to over 607,000 industrial companies, indexed by 70,000 product and service categories, and featuring over 20 million CAD drawings that help buyers find products to meet their specifications. Industrial manufacturers and service companies are successfully using ThomasNet to grow their businesses, discover new markets, develop new customers, and uncover new revenue sources. Drawing from the company's experience in the industrial market and ongoing research on buyers' and sellers' needs, ThomasNet has helped thousands of clients create websites that incorporate online catalogs, CAD drawings, and e-commerce capabilities.

Contact:
Dawn Ringel, Warner Communications
781-449-8456 or dawn@warnerpr.com