Industrial buyers settle three things before they call: do you make what I need, can you handle my size of job, and who has trusted you before. Around those sit questions on quality, price, the company itself and what happens after the order. A website that answers them in writing gets the enquiry. One that leaves them for the phone call often does not get the call.
- Do you make what I need?
- Can you handle my size of job?
- Who has trusted you before?
- Quality, testing and approvals
- Price, terms and delivery
- The company behind the product
- After the order
- If you sell through dealers
- If you export
Do you make what I need?
Purchase managers, engineers, consultants
The first question every buyer settles. If the website does not answer it in his terms, he does not get to the rest.
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1. "Do you make this exact product, in my size and grade?"
He is checkingWhether you are a maker of his item or a general supplier who might arrange it.
A good answerA page for the product, named the way he searches, with the size range, grades and standard in a table. "We make C and Z purlins from 1.0 to 3.0 mm, web depth 80 to 300 mm" settles it in one line.
Where sites fall short: One "Products" page with a photo grid → -
2. "What is the largest and smallest you can make?"
He is checkingWhether his requirement sits inside your range or at its edge.
A good answerThe limits written out: longest length, heaviest casting, widest coil, thinnest wall, largest diameter. A range with its ends stated is more convincing than "all sizes available".
Where sites fall short: Capacity, machines and plant not stated → -
3. "Which standards do you manufacture to?"
He is checkingWhether your product can be written into his specification without a deviation.
A good answerThe IS, ASTM, EN or customer standard named on each product page, with the grade, and a line on which standards you can test to in-house.
Where sites fall short: One "Products" page with a photo grid → -
4. "Can you make it to our drawing?"
He is checkingWhether you take made-to-order work, and what you need from him to quote.
A good answerA plain statement of the custom work you take, what you need (drawing, quantity, material, delivery point) and a quote form that accepts the drawing.
Where sites fall short: Buyers cannot send a drawing → -
5. "What material and coating do you use, and from which source?"
He is checkingWhether the raw material meets his project's approved list.
A good answerThe material grades and, where relevant, the mills or approved sources you buy from, with a note that mill test certificates go with each dispatch if they do.
Where sites fall short: Figures that differ from your spec sheets → -
6. "Is the figure on your website the same as on your datasheet?"
He is checkingUsually not asked aloud. He compares, and decides quietly.
A good answerFigures on the page and in the downloadable datasheet that come from the same sheet and agree, with the datasheet dated.
Where sites fall short: Figures that differ from your spec sheets → -
7. "Do you have CAD or BIM files we can use in our design?"
He is checkingWhether his designer can place your product straight into the layout, which tends to keep it in the specification.
A good answerDWG or DXF drawings, STEP models for components and equipment, and BIM objects for building products, downloadable from the product page and matching the current datasheet.
Where sites fall short: The facts live only in a PDF catalogue → -
8. "Do you have a datasheet I can forward to my consultant?"
He is checkingWhether he can pass your product on without rewriting it himself.
A good answerA short, dated, text-based datasheet per product or family, one tap from the product page.
Where sites fall short: The facts live only in a PDF catalogue → -
9. "Which of your products suits my application?"
He is checkingWhether you understand his use, not only your catalogue.
A good answerIndustry and application pages that say which product goes where and why, and guides that answer real choices ("which thickness for a coastal plant?").
Where sites fall short: The home page does not say what you make → -
10. "What do you actually make, and what do you trade?"
He is checkingWhether the "manufacturer" is a manufacturer.
A good answerThe first heading says what you make, and the plant page shows the lines that make it. If you also trade some items, say which; buyers respect the honesty.
Where sites fall short: The home page does not say what you make →
Can you handle my size of job?
EPC contractors, project buyers, vendor-registration teams
The second question. A buyer with a large order needs to believe you can deliver it before he asks for a price.
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11. "What is your installed capacity?"
He is checkingWhether his order is a fraction of your month or more than it.
A good answerCapacity as a number, in the unit he orders in: tonnes a month, pieces a day, metres a shift. On the home page and the plant page.
Where sites fall short: Capacity, machines and plant not stated → -
12. "Can you deliver this quantity by this date?"
He is checkingLead time and the risk of a delay that holds up his project.
A good answerTypical lead times by product, stated as ranges, and a line on how urgent orders are handled. The confirmed date comes in the quotation.
Where sites fall short: Capacity, machines and plant not stated → -
13. "Which machines do you have?"
He is checkingWhether the plant can make what you claim, at the tolerance claimed.
A good answerA machine list with make, size or capacity, and photographs captioned with what each machine does.
Where sites fall short: Capacity, machines and plant not stated → -
14. "How big is the plant, and where is it?"
He is checkingScale, and freight cost and time to his site.
A good answerPlant area, town and state written out, with the nearest highway or port where it matters for delivery.
Where sites fall short: Capacity, machines and plant not stated → -
15. "What crane capacity and covered area does the shop have?"
He is checkingWhether you can physically handle and store his heaviest or longest items.
A good answerCovered area and the capacity of the cranes in each bay, on the plant page, with photographs.
Where sites fall short: Capacity, machines and plant not stated → -
16. "Do you have power backup?"
He is checkingWhether a long project will stall during power cuts.
A good answerThe backup you have (DG sets, their rating, a second feeder, solar) stated plainly on the plant page.
Where sites fall short: Capacity, machines and plant not stated → -
17. "Do you keep stock, or make to order?"
He is checkingWhether a small or urgent order can be met from stock.
A good answerWhich items are stocked, in which sizes, and which are made to order.
Where sites fall short: One "Products" page with a photo grid → -
18. "Do you handle installation or erection as well?"
He is checkingWhether he deals with one party or two.
A good answerA clear statement of where your scope ends: supply only, supply and erection, design to erection, and who does it (your own team or a partner).
Where sites fall short: The home page does not say what you make → -
19. "Can you deliver to my state?"
He is checkingFreight, reach and whether you have done it before.
A good answerStates or regions supplied, and projects in them. A map is fine; the list in text is what search engines and assistants read.
Where sites fall short: Capacity, machines and plant not stated → -
20. "Have you done a job this size before?"
He is checkingThe real question behind capacity. Proof beats claims.
A good answerA project page for a job of similar size, with the tonnage, area or quantity and the year.
Where sites fall short: Client logos with no story behind them →
Who has trusted you before?
Consultants, EPC contractors, senior management
The third question. Recommending a supplier puts the buyer's own name at risk, so he wants proof he can point to.
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21. "Who are your main clients?"
He is checkingWhether companies like his, or bigger, buy from you.
A good answerClients named in text with their permission, or described by sector and size where they may not be named.
Where sites fall short: Client logos with no story behind them → -
22. "What did you supply to them, and when?"
He is checkingWhether a logo means a plant's worth of material or one repair order.
A good answerProject pages: what, where, for whom, why you were chosen, one figure and the year.
Where sites fall short: Client logos with no story behind them → -
23. "Can I speak to one of your clients?"
He is checkingWhether the record is real and the client would say so.
A good answerA line saying references are available on request for serious enquiries, and named testimonials with designation and company.
Where sites fall short: Stock photographs and template testimonials → -
24. "Are these your own photographs?"
He is checkingUsually unspoken. Stock images make him doubt the rest.
A good answerYour own plant, lines, stock, dispatches and sites, each captioned with what and where.
Where sites fall short: Stock photographs and template testimonials → -
25. "How long have you been in business?"
He is checkingStability, and whether the figure agrees everywhere.
A good answerOne founding year, used on every page and every listing, and a short company timeline.
Where sites fall short: Certificates out of date or out of reach → -
26. "Who runs the company?"
He is checkingWhom he is really dealing with, and whether they will answer when something goes wrong.
A good answerA founder or management page with names, background and a photograph, linked to their LinkedIn profiles.
Where sites fall short: Your facts disagree across Google, IndiaMART and LinkedIn → -
27. "What do others say about you?"
He is checkingWhat he finds when he searches your name, on Google, LinkedIn and the AI assistants.
A good answerConsistent facts across the website, Google listing, LinkedIn and directories, and reviews or testimonials he can trace to a person.
Where sites fall short: Pages search engines and AI assistants cannot read →
Quality, testing and approvals
Quality heads, consultants, vendor-registration teams
Often the filter that decides who is invited to quote at all.
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28. "Which certifications do you hold?"
He is checkingWhether you pass his vendor checklist.
A good answerOne certifications page: certificate, standard, issuing body, number and valid-until date, each one openable as a PDF.
Where sites fall short: Certificates out of date or out of reach → -
29. "Are you on the approved vendor list of the main buyers in my industry?"
He is checkingWhether another large buyer has already done the checking for him.
A good answerApprovals and vendor registrations named by the body that granted them, with the product they cover.
Where sites fall short: Certificates out of date or out of reach → -
30. "What tests do you run, and in your own lab?"
He is checkingWhether quality is checked or assumed.
A good answerThe tests run on each product, the equipment you own (a spectrometer, a universal testing machine, a hydrostatic test bench, whatever applies) and which tests go to an outside lab.
Where sites fall short: Capacity, machines and plant not stated → -
31. "Will you send a test certificate with the dispatch?"
He is checkingDocumentation his site and his auditor will ask for.
A good answerA sample test certificate one tap from the product page, and a line on what accompanies each dispatch.
Where sites fall short: Certificates out of date or out of reach → -
32. "Do you allow third-party inspection?"
He is checkingWhether his inspector or his client's can visit before dispatch.
A good answerA plain yes, with how it is arranged and the notice you need.
Where sites fall short: Certificates out of date or out of reach → -
33. "Can I visit the plant?"
He is checkingOpenness. Suppliers who welcome visits are trusted more.
A good answerAn invitation on the plant page, with the address, the nearest town and whom to contact.
Where sites fall short: Capacity, machines and plant not stated → -
34. "Is your certificate current?"
He is checkingUsually unspoken. An older ISO version in the text reads as careless.
A good answerCurrent versions only, with expiry dates, checked by someone whenever a certificate is renewed.
Where sites fall short: Certificates out of date or out of reach →
Price, terms and delivery
Purchase managers, procurement teams
Answered in the quotation, not on the website. But how easy you make it to ask decides whether you get the chance to quote.
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35. "How do I get a price quickly?"
He is checkingWhether you make it easy, or make him compose an email.
A good answer"Get a quote" on every page: a short form asking product, quantity, delivery location and a drawing, with call and WhatsApp beside it.
Where sites fall short: Only a phone number and an email to ask for a price → -
36. "Roughly what will this cost?"
He is checkingWhether you are in his budget before he invests time.
A good answerA cost guide with a worked example on your own pricing basis, for the products where a range can honestly be given.
Where sites fall short: Only a phone number and an email to ask for a price → -
37. "What is your minimum order?"
He is checkingWhether his order is worth your while, and his.
A good answerMinimum order quantities stated where they exist, so small buyers and large ones both know where they stand.
Where sites fall short: One "Products" page with a photo grid → -
38. "How soon will you reply to an enquiry?"
He is checkingWhether you will hold up his comparison.
A good answerA reply time you can keep, an acknowledgement sent at once, and a named person or team who answers.
Where sites fall short: Enquiries go to one inbox, and nobody counts them → -
39. "Who do I talk to in sales?"
He is checkingWhether there is a person, or only info@.
A good answerA named contact or designation for enquiries, with direct phone and WhatsApp.
Where sites fall short: Only a phone number and an email to ask for a price → -
40. "What are your payment terms?"
He is checkingFit with his company's policy.
A good answerUsually discussed in the quotation; the website can say which terms you work on in general and whether you are an MSME supplier, which affects his payment timelines.
Where sites fall short: Your facts disagree across Google, IndiaMART and LinkedIn → -
41. "Who pays for freight, and how is it packed?"
He is checkingLanded cost and damage risk.
A good answerDelivery terms you usually work on and how each product is packed and loaded, with photographs.
Where sites fall short: Overseas buyers cannot find what they check first → -
42. "Can you quote on GeM or through our tender portal?"
He is checkingWhether you are registered where he has to buy.
A good answerThe portals and registrations you hold, named, so a government or PSU buyer knows you can be ordered through them.
Where sites fall short: Certificates out of date or out of reach →
The company behind the product
Vendor-registration teams, finance and senior management
Large buyers register a supplier before they order. The website is where they check the details first.
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43. "What is your registered name and GSTIN?"
He is checkingWhether the company on the website is the one on the invoice.
A good answerLegal name and address on the website exactly as on the GST registration, with the trading name explained if it differs.
Where sites fall short: Your facts disagree across Google, IndiaMART and LinkedIn → -
44. "Why do your Google listing, IndiaMART page and website show different addresses?"
He is checkingAsked only after the doubt has set in.
A good answerOne company fact sheet, agreed once and used everywhere, so the question never comes up.
Where sites fall short: Your facts disagree across Google, IndiaMART and LinkedIn → -
45. "Are you an MSME?"
He is checkingProcurement preference, and his payment obligations.
A good answerUdyam registration stated where it applies.
Where sites fall short: Your facts disagree across Google, IndiaMART and LinkedIn → -
46. "Is the phone number on your website still answered?"
He is checkingUsually discovered, not asked. A dead number ends the enquiry.
A good answerCurrent numbers only, the same on every listing, routed to someone who answers.
Where sites fall short: Your facts disagree across Google, IndiaMART and LinkedIn → -
47. "Do you have a company profile I can file?"
He is checkingPaperwork for his vendor file.
A good answerA dated company profile, downloadable from the about page, with the same facts as the website.
Where sites fall short: The facts live only in a PDF catalogue → -
48. "Can I find you when I ask ChatGPT or Google's AI?"
He is checkingIncreasingly, the first check of a name he has just heard.
A good answerPages that can be read as text, company facts marked up for machines, and the same facts on the listings assistants read.
Where sites fall short: Pages search engines and AI assistants cannot read →
After the order
Plant heads, maintenance teams, project managers
Asked by buyers who have been let down before. The answers reassure more than any claim of quality.
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49. "What warranty do you give?"
He is checkingWho carries the risk if the product fails.
A good answerThe warranty terms by product, in plain words, and how a claim is made.
Where sites fall short: One "Products" page with a photo grid → -
50. "Who do I call if something goes wrong?"
He is checkingWhether anyone will answer after the invoice is paid.
A good answerA service or support contact, separate from sales, with hours and a phone number.
Where sites fall short: Only a phone number and an email to ask for a price → -
51. "Do you supply spares and accessories?"
He is checkingWhether he will be stuck later.
A good answerSpares and accessories listed with the products they fit.
Where sites fall short: One "Products" page with a photo grid → -
52. "Do you offer maintenance or an annual contract?"
He is checkingWhether you stay with him after supply.
A good answerServices such as inspections, repairs and annual maintenance on pages of their own.
Where sites fall short: The home page does not say what you make → -
53. "Do you have installation guides or drawings?"
He is checkingWhether his site team can work without calling you.
A good answerInstallation guides, fixing details and drawings, downloadable from the product page.
Where sites fall short: The facts live only in a PDF catalogue →
If you sell through dealers
End buyers, contractors, prospective dealers
Two kinds of reader: the buyer looking for a local stockist, and the dealer deciding whether to carry your range.
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54. "Where can I buy this near me?"
He is checkingWhether he can get it locally, today.
A good answerA where-to-buy page by state and city, with dealer names and phone numbers.
Where sites fall short: Buyers cannot find your dealers → -
55. "Is this dealer authorised?"
He is checkingWhether the product is genuine and the warranty stands.
A good answerThe authorised dealer list on your own website, which a buyer can check against.
Where sites fall short: Buyers cannot find your dealers → -
56. "How do I become a dealer, and which territories are open?"
He is checkingAsked by the dealers you have not met yet.
A good answerA page for prospective dealers: open territories, what you provide, the terms in outline, and how to apply.
Where sites fall short: Buyers cannot find your dealers → -
57. "What support do you give dealers?"
He is checkingWhether carrying your range will be worth his shelf space.
A good answerTraining, stock support, marketing material and lead routing, described plainly.
Where sites fall short: Buyers cannot find your dealers →
If you export
Importers, distributors, overseas sourcing managers
A buyer abroad cannot drop by. The website is most of her first impression.
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58. "Which countries do you already ship to?"
He is checkingWhether you know her market's rules and paperwork.
A good answerCountries supplied, named, with the kinds of buyer in each.
Where sites fall short: Overseas buyers cannot find what they check first → -
59. "Which certificates and audits do you have, with numbers?"
He is checkingWhat her customers and auditors will ask her about.
A good answerCertificates and audits with numbers, bodies and dates, openable as PDFs.
Where sites fall short: Overseas buyers cannot find what they check first → -
60. "How do you pack, and how much fits in a container?"
He is checkingLanded cost per unit and damage risk.
A good answerPacking and container loading described, with photographs and quantities per container.
Where sites fall short: Overseas buyers cannot find what they check first → -
61. "On which Incoterms do you quote, and what is the lead time?"
He is checkingHow to compare your price with others.
A good answerThe Incoterms you usually work on and typical lead times from order to shipment.
Where sites fall short: Overseas buyers cannot find what they check first → -
62. "Who handles export enquiries, and in which time zone?"
He is checkingWhether she will get an answer in her working day.
A good answerA named export contact with email and WhatsApp, and a form that accepts an international phone number.
Where sites fall short: Overseas buyers cannot find what they check first →
Why the website has to answer them
A purchase manager under a deadline, an engineer approving a make, a contractor choosing whom to propose: each forms his first opinion of you from a screen, often before anyone in your company knows he is looking. The questions he cannot answer there are not passed to your sales team. They are answered by the supplier whose website did.
The same is now true of the AI assistants. When a buyer asks ChatGPT or Google's AI which manufacturers make his product, the assistant answers from what it can read and match about each company. Every question above that your website answers in plain text is one more fact it can use.