Traditionally, specialty chemical go-to-market strategies were divided between marketing (brand, promotion, visibility) and sales (prospection, account management, closing), but these tactics fail to reflect the complex, multi-step nature of the specialty chemical buying process.
Today, digital buyers' behavior with multiple touchpoints, channels, and new capabilities of understanding buyers' intent make this approach obsolete. To align with how buyers search and buy chemicals today, suppliers need a new growth approach, based on creating and capturing the demand.
From "form fills to buying signals: Why traditional tactics are falling behind
In most organizations campaigns are built around collecting as many contacts as possible, nurturing with email drips, and handing off to sales.
But in real life:
-
Buyers don’t fill out forms until late in the journey
-
They rely heavily on peer recommendations and independent research
-
They often stay anonymous while actively evaluating suppliers
This creates a disconnect between marketing effort and commercial outcome. Demand-focused strategy fills that gap by shifting focus away from short-term capture and toward long-term engagement, education, and trust-building. From first touch to first deal.
The next Go-To-Market strategy: Demand Creation and Demand Capture
Viewing Go-to-Market strategy as Demand Creation and Demand Capture is simply more effective. It puts the customer at the center, delivering a more personalized and relevant experience that matches where buyers are in their journey.
This approach also adapts to your product’s maturity. Are you competing for share in an established market, or do you need to create the market to initiate self-sustained demand one day? Each scenario calls for a tailored strategy to move buyers forward and accelerate growth.
Demand Creation: Creating interest before there’s a Project
Most chemical suppliers are built to respond to demand, not create it. The majority of buyers won’t reach out, submit an RFQ, or even compare suppliers until they’ve already defined the spec.
Most buyers aren’t even actively searching for your material today.
Demand creation is about reaching them before they start the search and helping them recognize a problem, consider alternatives, and trust your solution.
👉Tactics vary depending on the technology, problem awareness, company positioning, and reputation
- Educational content that frames the problem
“Why conventional flame retardants underperform in EV battery modules” - Application-focused webinars
Invite formulators or R&D to explore trends or regulatory updates before product selection begins - TOFU articles that challenge assumptions
“5 outdated resins that you should be looking to replace.” - Platform visibility on trusted sites (like SpecialChem)
Get in front of technical buyers who are passively researching
This work doesn’t bring palpable results overnight. But it ensures that when buyers start their project, you’re already on their radar.
📌 Demand Creation is for:
| Buyers who are unaware or “problem-aware” | New applications or adjacent markets | Materials that require a mindset or process change | Innovation-stage or early GTM commercialization phases |
Demand Capture: Converting high-intent buyers already in motion
While demand creation opens the door, demand capture brings buyers through it.
Once buyers are solution-aware and actively evaluating, demand capture strategies help bring them in. This side of the strategy focuses on engaging buyers who are already in-market.
It’s not about awareness. It’s about accessibility, relevance, and response time.
👉 Key Demand Capture Tactics:
- Paid technical search (e.g., “bio-based epoxy for flexible electronics”)
- Product selectors with filter logic
- Retargeting campaigns for site visitors or content consumers
- Pricing, datasheets, and sample request CTAs
On SpecialChem, demand capture happens when intent is detected, not simply interest:
- A buyer filters for your product family
- Compares performance specs side-by-side
- Downloads a TDS and returns 3x in 10 days
These are project signals, not just marketing touches.
📌 Demand Capture is for:
| Buyers who are actively researching or comparing solutions | Projects that are already in motion or spec-defined | Mature markets with known needs and competitive benchmarks | Converting high-intent behavior into sales |
"Demand capture focuses on engaging when buyers are ready, but without demand creation, your brand might never be considered."
If you only invest in demand capture, you’re limited to the small % of the market that’s buying now.
If you only do demand creation, you’ll build interest, but struggle to convert without a system for action.
The right strategy pairs both: Demand creation plants seeds with future buyers, and Demand capture harvests signals and converts them to the pipeline.
Chemical purchasing is anything but transactional. It involves:
- Multiple stakeholders: formulators, specifiers, compliance, procurement
- Long sales cycles that span months, not days
- High risk in switching or trialing new materials
- Complex specifications and validation processes
In this environment, buyers need to self-educate long before they contact suppliers. If you’re not visible early, you’re likely not considered at all.
Key Benefits of the full-funnel approach
When done right, it doesn't just shift tactics, it transforms commercial outcomes.
Higher-Quality Leads
Focus on fit and intent, not just volume. Capture leads who are researching your solutions.
Shorter Sales Cycles
Educated buyers move faster. When marketing handles early-stage education, sales enters the conversation with less friction.
Stronger Brand
Become known for expertise, not just availability. This pays off over time through preference, referrals, and pipeline velocity.
Lower Cost of Acquisition (CAC)
Always-on content and visibility reduce reliance on cold outbound and paid lead lists.
Better Sales-Marketing Alignment
When sales understands which accounts are engaged, which content is resonating, and what buyers are doing before they reach out, everyone operates with more precision.
For chemical suppliers, making the shift isn’t just about getting more leads, it’s about getting the right attention, from the right buyers, at the right time.
If your commercial strategy is still optimized for form fills, it’s time to modernize. Because the buyer has already changed.
Want to learn how SpecialChem helps suppliers transform customer engagement? Let’s talk.
