Why So Many Companies Miss Massive Digital Revenue Opportunities
A Human Explanation — Not a Technical One
This post is written for a very specific audience:
Founders, owners, CEOs, and GMs of technical and industrial companies who have the authority to change how marketing is done.
It is not written for internal marketing teams defending the status quo.
That distinction matters.
A Hard Truth Most Companies Don’t Say Out Loud
For more than two decades, digital marketing has been grossly underutilized by technical and industrial companies.
The result has been enormous lost sales opportunity — and in some cases, business failure — simply because companies did not adapt quickly enough to how buyers actually find, evaluate, and select products.
This problem existed long before AI.
But two major inflection points have occurred recently that make digital marketing not just important — but potentially a decisive competitive advantage for companies willing to act.
Inflection Point #1: The Post-COVID Industrial Market
COVID permanently changed how technical and industrial sales actually work.
Many traditional sales methods — especially those built around in-person visits, plant walkthroughs, and long relationship-driven sales cycles — became far less effective almost overnight.
Manufacturers’ representatives who once visited plants regularly simply couldn’t anymore.
And something else happened:
Buyers didn’t want things to go back to the old way.
People got used to:
- Working from home
- Making decisions faster
- Getting information on their own schedule
- Avoiding unnecessary meetings
A large portion of the industrial and technical workforce now works remotely or in hybrid environments. The casual sales visit often isn’t welcome — or even possible.
People still buy technical products.
They just discover them differently.
A Personal Example
My father was an excellent manufacturers’ representative in the 1980s.
He knew his product lines deeply. But just as importantly, people enjoyed spending time with him. They’d go to lunch at places like Dixon’s Chili, listen to his stories, and build trust over conversations that had nothing to do with the product.
That world no longer exists.
Today, buyers want to get their work done efficiently and get back to their lives. They find new products online. They research quietly. They narrow options before talking to anyone.
Digital marketing is no longer a “support function” for sales.
It is often the front door.
Inflection Point #2: AI-Driven Search
Even companies that never fully adopted SEO are now facing a second, faster shift.
Buyers are increasingly using:
- ChatGPT
- Copilot
- Perplexity
- AI-powered Google results
Instead of searching for websites, they’re asking questions — and trusting synthesized answers.
Companies that adapt early to this shift gain disproportionate visibility.
Companies that don’t often don’t realize they’re being bypassed.
AI doesn’t reward activity.
It rewards clarity, experience, and judgment.
Why This Isn’t Just a Skills Problem
It’s tempting to view all of this as a marketing competency issue.
It usually isn’t.
What’s happening inside many organizations is psychological.
In most companies:
- The CEO is focused on strategy, operations, customers, and capital
- Marketing is delegated
- The marketing manager learned their craft in a very different era
Keeping up with modern digital marketing — especially in technical markets — requires:
- Continuous learning
- Comfort with data and uncertainty
- Willingness to revisit past decisions
- Exposure to uncomfortable performance comparisons
That’s not just work.
That’s identity-challenging.
Why Outdated Marketing Gets Defended
When newer methods promise dramatically better results, they also imply something uncomfortable:
- Past strategies were incomplete
- Current performance isn’t optimal
- Authority might be questioned
- Change becomes unavoidable
For many people, that feels like risk — not opportunity.
So outdated marketing is often framed as:
- “Already optimized”
- “Industry standard”
- “As good as it gets for our market”
This is rarely dishonest.
It’s self-protective.
Understanding this matters — because it allows leadership to respond with clarity and empathy.
The Deming Story That Explains It Perfectly
Years ago, I saw a presentation by W. Edwards Deming that captured this dynamic better than any management theory.
An old steam-engine train pulls into a station, dragging behind it a set of worn, outdated passenger cars. It still runs — barely — and the people onboard have been riding it for a long time. They know it. They’re comfortable.
Next to it sits a modern bullet train.
The steam engine has been retired. It’s going nowhere.
The people step off and examine the bullet train. They’re given time to ask questions and decide whether they’re willing to board.
Some people will step onto the bullet train.
Others won’t.
But the critical point is this:
The steam engine isn’t leaving the station.
The bullet train is.
Progress doesn’t wait for comfort.
What This Means for Leadership
Recognizing the psychological dynamics at play doesn’t mean tolerating stagnation.
It means leading change intentionally.
Good leaders can say:
-
“I understand why this feels uncomfortable.”
-
“I appreciate the work that’s been done.”
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“But this level of performance is no longer acceptable.”
Sympathy and accountability are not opposites.
The Opportunity Most Companies Don’t See
Small and mid-sized technical companies are uniquely positioned right now.
They have:
- Fewer layers of approval
- Less institutional inertia
- Faster decision cycles
That means they can adopt modern digital and AI-driven methods before larger competitors do.
When they do, the advantage compounds quickly:
- Higher-intent inbound leads
- Shorter sales cycles
- Better alignment between marketing and revenue
But only if leadership is willing to support change.
Who Industrious Growth Is For — and Who It Isn’t
At Industrious Growth, we work with:
- Owners and CEOs who sense opportunity is being missed
- Leaders willing to question internal assumptions
- Companies ready to adopt modern, sometimes uncomfortable methods
- Organizations that care about revenue outcomes — not activity reports
We are not a fit for:
- Companies seeking validation of existing marketing
- Teams unwilling to examine performance honestly
- Organizations prioritizing comfort over results
That isn’t a criticism.
It’s our boundary to assure our success.
The Choice Every Company Eventually Faces
Every organization eventually stands between two trains.
One is familiar.
One is uncertain.
One feels safe.
One moves forward.
The companies that grow are not the ones without fear — they’re the ones willing to act despite it.
At Industrious Growth, we help companies board the bullet train — thoughtfully, responsibly, and with a clear understanding of where it’s going.
The train is leaving the station.
The only real question is whether you want to be on it.
