This year, Flashes & Flames has focused on two $1bn+ examples of business-to-business media success. In Florida, there is a B2B marketplace for designers and architects to get samples of textiles, wallpaper, flooring and paint, created by a longtime magazine publisher. The amazing project was sparked by Adam Sandow’s awareness of the frustrations of an industry, and he worked out how best to use tech to meet the requirements of people who happened to be readers and advertisers of his design and architecture magazines.
Traditionally, designers and architects would browse through catalogues (one for each type of material) and then order various samples from each individual brand. They often also had to visit local showrooms which only had a small selection of samples. They then requested swatches of carpet and other samples from countless manufacturers, trying vainly to keep track of them, knowing that delayed samples meant expensive delays in building projects.
Four years later, his Material Bank startup operates a huge logistics facility with millions of samples from more than 500 brands. Revenue comes from the manufacturers and vendors who pay a monthly fee to be included in the marketplace, and additional fees when their items are ordered. The service is free for users. It’s used by up to 100,000 professionals, is believed to have revenue of some $100m, and has a waiting list of thousands of designers. The company was valued at $1.9bn in a recent funding round, and has raised a total of $325m.
Then, there is IDG Communications (renamed Foundry), the 55-year-old tech magazine publisher which has used its legendary brands, audiences and marketing relationships to build a subscription business for companies hungry for ‘intent data’. It’s the 21st century version of ‘hot’ sales leads that might once have come from direct response advertising or list rental. Companies want to feed the top of their sales funnel with ‘hands up’ enquiries but also to build relationships with prospective customers warmed by their level of interest, track record, and online activity.
The ultimate aim is to identify those whose purchasing plans are imminent, of course. This is where the close relationships enjoyed by readers of branded web sites can come into their own. The journalism must be tailored to appeal to people who are “intent” on a purchase – and to help them along the journey. But you can see the potential power in the process of legendary print-turned-digital brands that have informed and educated three generations of executives in any given industry or company.
Although these two businesses each have a valuation of more than $1bn, they have valuable lessons for smaller publishers and information providers in B2B verticals.
Enter IRONPROS.
This three-month-old online service provides insights, research, and comparison for would-be purchasers of new construction equipment and workwear in the US. Would-be buyers can examine features, compare deep specification data, and contact manufacturers directly, also experiencing live demos, events, and interactive equipment product walkarounds.
You can see why I thought about IRONPROS in the context both of Material Bank and IDG/ Foundry. But there’s something else you should know. It has been launched by a small B2B specialist AC Business Media which is believed to have invested not much more than $1m in the online service which seems set to transform its business. The system uses non-proprietary software.
AC CEO Ron Spink, who has spent a publishing lifetime in the US construction related industries (principally with Hanley Wood), says: “The complexity of the purchasing process in heavy construction equipment and technology has dramatically changed in the past few years. Buyers are in need of more data around machines, long-term value, RoI, and efficiency. IRONPROS is now the largest collective resource of brand information in the field – taking disparate product data, research, and specs and combining them in a visually-exciting interface, surrounded by one-of-a-kind buyer’s content.”
It also allows contractors to manage their machinery assets and navigate industry trends through a range of multi-media content including articles, videos, podcasts, infographics, virtual events and webinars, informational guides, and product launches. But the sizzle for the launch in July this year came from IRONPROS TV, an AI-powered library of content using clever off-the-peg software from CLIPr which makes all video content completely searchable. You can search by manufacturer, find all the videos in which they are mentioned, and jump right to the points of context.
In so many ways, the “interactive showroom” of more than 5,000 products would have been the logical digital development during those distant years when B2B markets were discarding the print directories that had long been the information staple of professionals everywhere. But few publishers would have been able to develop such a system, affordable for a single B2B vertical.
AC Business Media is a Wisconsin-based publisher whose brands include the 35-year-old ForConstructionPros.com – comprising Asphalt Contractor, Concrete Contractor, Equipment Today, Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction, and Rental. The private equity-owned company is estimated to have revenue of $15-20m, is growing at some 10-20% annually, and employs some 55 people in total.
IRONPROS (whose branding is derived from contractors who describe their heavy equipment as “the iron”) stops short of actually selling the machinery; that is done by its dealer customers. The IRONPROS business model may eventually turn suppliers and dealers into subscribers and also get them to pay for hot sales leads., as well as online promotion.The publisher may also develop non-machinery e-commerce, including for workwear. Users will not be charged. It is a similar service to those for consumers wanting to buy a new or used car. And that’s the point. Even low-budget B2B media can now create first-class systems to embed their content and services in the workflow of professionals. Way to go.
