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How to get more customers for a manufacturing company

Where engineers and buyers source suppliers, what makes them send an RFQ, and the channels worth your shop floor's time.

Find [industry] OEMs that buy [process and material] parts, reach their engineers and buyers, and run search ads on our [certification] capabilities.

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How to get more customers for a manufacturing company

Start with your capability pages. Engineers search for a process, material and tolerance, so build one page per capability with your certifications and a CAD upload on the RFQ form. Next, list the OEMs in your target industries and write directly to their engineering and purchasing leads, timed to new programs and supplier problems. Then run search ads on exact process terms like "5-axis titanium machining". Use trade shows to meet the people you've already contacted.

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  1. 01

    Pick the industries and parts you want more of

    Look at your best jobs from last year and note the industry, material, process and part size that ran smoothest and paid best. Pick two or three industries where your certifications already count, like aerospace with AS9100 or medical with ISO 13485. Write down the part families you want, such as "thin-wall aluminum housings" or "overmolded cable assemblies". Everything else in this plan points at that list. Your call; tell Revnu and it works from it.

  2. 02

    Build one page per capability

    Make a page for each process plus material combination you want to win, written the way an engineer searches it. Put tolerances, part size envelope, materials, secondary operations, certifications and inspection equipment on the page. Show parts you're allowed to show, and if your work is under NDA or ITAR, describe the part type and industry without the drawing. Add an RFQ form that accepts STEP and PDF files and says who will reply. Revnu writes and publishes these pages.

  3. 03

    List 50 target OEMs and the people at each

    Use industry associations, trade show exhibitor lists and Thomasnet to find OEMs in your chosen industries within the shipping range you want. At each plant, find the manufacturing engineer, the commodity buyer for your part type and the supply chain manager on LinkedIn. Note any signals like a new product launch, a plant expansion or a recall involving supplied parts. That list is your outreach plan for the quarter. Revnu builds this list and says why each fits.

  4. 04

    Write to them about one specific part family

    Send a short email and a LinkedIn note that names the part type they likely buy, your certification and one thing you do well, like holding a tolerance or quoting fast. Offer to quote a current part as a test or to give DFM feedback on something in development. Follow up once or twice with something useful, like a photo of a similar part or a note about your new machine. Skip attachments full of brochures. Revnu builds the list and writes to each one.

  5. 05

    Run search ads on exact process terms

    Bid on terms that name a process, material and qualifier, such as "AS9100 sheet metal fabrication" or "medical grade silicone molding". Add negative keywords for jobs, training, used equipment and "near me" searches if you ship nationally. Send each ad to the matching capability page, not the homepage. Check the search terms report every week and cut anything students or hobbyists are typing. Revnu runs these ads and asks before it spends.

  6. 06

    Use trade shows to meet people you've already contacted

    Before your industry's show, look at the exhibitor and attendee lists and write to the engineers and buyers you want to meet. Book short meetings at your booth or theirs. Bring sample parts in the materials they use. After the show, send each person a note that references what you talked about, ideally with a quote or DFM markup attached. You go; Revnu can write to companies before the show.

Who buys from a manufacturing company

A purchasing or supply chain manager at an OEM signs the PO. The design or manufacturing engineer usually picks which suppliers get the RFQ, and quality has to approve you before the first part ships.

  • Design and manufacturing engineers at OEMs

    They care whether you can hold the tolerance, work the material and give useful design-for-manufacturability feedback. A new product program or a prototype that a current supplier can't make sends them looking.

  • Purchasing and supply chain managers

    They want reliable lead times, fair pricing and a second source. Late deliveries, a supplier closing, tariffs or a reshoring push are what get them shopping.

  • Supplier quality engineers

    They check your ISO 9001, AS9100, IATF 16949 or ISO 13485 status, your inspection equipment and your PPAP or first article process. They rarely start a search, but they can stop one.

  • Product startups and hardware founders

    They need someone to take a design from prototype to low-volume production and often don't know what to ask. Funding or a crowdfunding campaign that closes is when they start sending files around.

  • Distributors and private label brands

    They want a maker who can run their spec under their name at a predictable cost. A product line expansion or trouble with an overseas supplier usually starts the search.

Where to find them

Google search for process plus material terms
Engineers type things like "swiss turning medical stainless" or "short run injection molding PEEK" when they need a new source. A capability page that matches that wording gets the RFQ.
Thomasnet and industry sourcing directories
Purchasing teams still use Thomasnet to build supplier shortlists, especially for second sourcing. A complete profile with certifications and equipment lists keeps you in the filter results.
Trade shows in your customers' industries
Exhibit at the shows your buyers attend, like MD&M for medical devices or the Paris and Farnborough air shows' supplier halls for aerospace. Booths at IMTS and Fabtech mostly put you next to competitors, so walk those shows instead.
LinkedIn, by title at named OEMs
You can find the manufacturing engineer and the commodity buyer at a specific plant by name and location. That's how you reach the people who build the bid list before an RFQ goes out.
SAM.gov and prime contractor supplier portals
Defense and aerospace primes post supplier registration and sourcing events, and federal work flows through SAM.gov. You need registration and, for defense work, ITAR registration before you can bid.
Manufacturers' reps and regional MEP centers
Independent reps already carry relationships with purchasing teams in their territory. Your state's Manufacturing Extension Partnership center also connects local OEMs with suppliers.

What to say

The hard part they can't source

We hold [tolerance] on [material] parts every day, and we can quote your [part type] from the STEP file in [turnaround].

Second source for supply risk

If [current supplier type or region] is your only source for [component], we can qualify as a backup without changing your drawing.

Certified for their industry

We're [AS9100 / ISO 13485 / IATF 16949] certified and already ship [similar part] to [industry] OEMs, so your quality team has less to audit.

Design feedback before tooling

Send us [part or assembly] before you cut tooling and our engineers will mark up where [process] can take cost out.

Which channels fit

  • Capability pages and SEOStrong fitEngineers search by process, material and certification, and one specific page per capability matches how they search and sends RFQs that fit your floor. Revnu writes and publishes these pages.
  • LinkedIn outreach to engineers and buyersStrong fitYou can name the plant, the program and the person, which is the only way into a supplier list that usually gets built from habit. Revnu finds these businesses and writes to them.
  • Cold emailStrong fitA short note to a commodity buyer about a specific part family and certification gets read when it's relevant, and it's how you reach OEMs you've never met. Revnu finds these businesses and writes to them.
  • Search ads on Google and MicrosoftStrong fitExact process terms carry clear buying intent, and Microsoft search reaches engineers on corporate Windows machines where Bing is the default. Revnu runs these ads and asks before it spends.
  • Trade showsSometimesThey pay off when you exhibit at your customers' show and book meetings in advance, and they cost a lot when you stand in a booth hoping engineers walk by. You go; Revnu can write to companies before the show.
  • Thomasnet and sourcing directoriesSometimesA complete free profile is worth having, but paid placement only makes sense if buyers in your niche actually use it to shortlist. Revnu submits the free listings; paid ones are yours.
  • Facebook, Instagram and TikTok adsWeak fitEngineers don't source a machined bracket or a molded housing from a social feed, and you can't target by plant, program or purchasing role there. Revnu can run Meta and TikTok ads from your own accounts, but it would reach buyers through search and outreach first.

Lead generation

Lead generation for manufacturers

Good manufacturer lead generation starts with a narrow list, not a big one. You want OEMs that buy your process, in industries where your certifications count, at plants you can ship to. Build that list from association member directories, trade show exhibitor lists and Thomasnet, then find the engineer and the buyer at each plant. Watch for triggers: a new product announcement, a new plant, a supplier leaving the market, a reshoring push or tariff changes on imported parts. Skip lead lists of "manufacturing decision makers" that mix plant managers at bakeries with buyers at defense primes. Example: a contract machining shop with AS9100 lists every aerospace tier 2 supplier within a day's drive and contacts the commodity buyers for machined aluminum. Then it offers to quote one current part from a drawing they already have.

Cold email

Cold email for manufacturing companies

Cold email works for manufacturing companies when it reads like a capable supplier writing to one buyer about one part family. Name the process, the material, the certification and something specific about their products. Keep it to a few sentences and ask a small question, like whether they'd send a current part to quote. Don't attach a capabilities brochure or a list of every machine on your floor. Engineers delete those. Never mention a customer's name or part without permission, because NDAs are common in this trade. Example: "I saw [OEM] launched the [product line]. We mold [material] housings for [industry] under ISO 13485 and could quote one of yours from the STEP file. Who handles sourcing for molded parts there?"

Advertising

Advertising for manufacturers

Manufacturer advertising that pays off is mostly search. Engineers type exact process and material terms when they need a source, and Google and Microsoft ads catch them at that moment. Microsoft matters more than you'd guess, because many corporate machines default to Bing. LinkedIn ads can work for staying in front of engineers and buyers at a named list of OEMs before a show or a program launch, but they cost more per click, so keep the audience tight. Skip Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for sourcing work. Avoid broad keywords like "manufacturing" that pull in job seekers. Example: a sheet metal fabricator runs ads on "stainless enclosure fabrication NEMA 4X" that land on a page with gauge ranges, finishes and a drawing upload.

How customers decide

An engineer or buyer sends an RFQ to a short list, compares quotes, then quality runs a supplier approval with an audit, first article inspection or PPAP before production orders start. Engineering, purchasing and quality all have a say, and the program's launch date often sets the pace. You speed it up by quoting fast with real DFM feedback and having your certs, inspection reports and capacity details ready before anyone asks.

One prompt, worked through

We're an AS9100 and ITAR-registered CNC machining shop in Dayton, Ohio. We want more machined titanium and aluminum parts from aerospace and defense OEMs in the Midwest. Find the buyers and engineers, write to them and run search ads on our capabilities.
  1. 1Revnu reads your website, works out that your buyers are commodity buyers and manufacturing engineers at aerospace and defense OEMs, and starts work in your account after you sign up.
  2. 2It finds those companies and the right person at each, then writes to them by email and LinkedIn in your voice, and your first sequence waits for your yes.
  3. 3It runs Google and Microsoft search ads on terms like titanium aerospace machining, and writes capability pages that rank on Google and get cited by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
  4. 4When a buyer replies, it drafts your answer and sends your booking link, and each morning it reports what moved on Slack or iMessage.

Frequently asked questions

Is paying for Thomasnet worth it for a manufacturer?

Fill out the free profile completely either way, with certifications, equipment and materials, because buyers filter on those fields. Pay for placement only if engineers in your niche actually shortlist there, which you can check by asking your last few new customers how they found you. If they all came from Google, a referral or a trade show, put the money into those.

How do I market my work when everything is under NDA or ITAR?

Describe the part type, material, tolerance and industry without naming the customer or showing the drawing. Make sample parts in-house that show the same features and photograph those. ITAR also limits who can see controlled technical data, so keep anything controlled off your website and out of email to unknown contacts.

Should I exhibit at trade shows or just attend?

Exhibit at the show your customers go to, like a medical device or aerospace show, and walk the big machine tool shows to see equipment and meet suppliers. A booth only pays off if you book meetings with engineers and buyers before the show. Standing in the aisle hoping for walk-ups is the expensive way to do it.

Do I need a manufacturers' rep or can I sell direct?

A good rep brings years of relationships with purchasing teams in a territory and can get you onto bid lists fast. Direct outreach gives you control and works well when your niche is narrow and you know exactly which plants buy what you make. Many shops use reps in regions far from the plant and sell direct close to home.

Why do I get RFQs for work we don't want?

Your website probably describes your capabilities too broadly, so it attracts every job that mentions machining or fabrication. Rewrite your pages around the part sizes, materials, volumes and industries you want, and say plainly what you don't do. Tighten your ad keywords the same way and add negatives for the work you turn down.

What does it cost?

Plans start at $99 a month, and Revnu starts on what you typed as soon as you sign up. Cancel any time in Settings.

Does anything run before I sign up?

No. Nothing is checked or generated on this page. Revnu does the work inside your account, where it can read your website, keep what it finds and carry on from there.

Where do I learn how Revnu works?

The docs at revnu.com/docs/get-started walk through your first day, and revnu.com/docs/what-revnu-can-do lists everything it can do.

Last updated October 21, 2026

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