An Assessment of the Use of Social Media in the Industrial Distribution Business-to-Business Market Sector

The way B2B companies use social media continues to evolve as technology improves and as demographics continue to change. The industrial distribution market sector is no different than many other markets in that the industry continues to search for ways to reach out to both existing and new customers. The industrial distribution industry has been slow to adopt new marketing tools, relying heavily on the tried and tested model of personal selling via personal relationship. As the Millennial generation continues to enter the workforce, their consumer buying expectations are different than that of the Baby Boomer generation, and they have a higher comfort level in using new technology to enhance efficiencies at work. This study evaluated the use of social media among the top industrial distributors in the United States, and it compared that information to the top industrial manufacturers in the United States. This information was then compared to similar data from Fortune 500 companies.