JurnalPost.com Digital marketing has long been associated with consumer products such as food, clothing, apps, or services targeting the general public. However, building a digital presence is becoming increasingly vital for heavy industries, including the refractory sector.
Refractories are heat-resistant materials used as linings for various industrial facilities, ranging from steel furnaces and cement kilns to smelter furnaces. Unlike consumer products, the decision to purchase refractories typically involves engineers, maintenance teams, plant management, and procurement departments.
In such a market, the function of digital marketing is not merely to attract attention. Its role is more strategic: ensuring a product is included in a potential customer's consideration list before direct communication with suppliers begins.
Significant Opportunities for National Refractory Producers
The Indonesian refractory market still relies heavily on imported products. Approximately 74 percent of market demand is met from abroad, while the largest local producers only control about 10 to 15 percent of the market.
In 2021, China dominated Indonesia's refractory imports with a share of approximately 88.12 percent, reaching a value of US$174.84 million.
This condition indicates that the competitors for national refractory producers are not just other local companies, but also international suppliers that have long-standing relationships with industrial users in Indonesia.
The problem is that the biggest challenge does not always lie in price or product specifications. User habits pose an equally significant barrier.
Many companies tend to stick with products that have already been proven in their facilities. The reasoning is logical: errors in selecting lining materials can lead to furnace damage, production shutdowns, and losses far greater than any price difference.
Consequently, national products that have not been used before often fail to make it onto the initial consideration list.
This is where digital marketing can play a role. Producers need to demonstrate their existing technical capabilities while building trust so that their products are given the chance to be used in an initial project.
Once a product is successfully used and delivers good results, the opportunity to enter subsequent projects becomes much more accessible.
Industrial Buyers Seek Information Before Contacting Suppliers
Shifting B2B buyer behavior makes a digital presence increasingly important.
Gartner notes that B2B buyers spend only about 17 percent of their time in the purchasing process meeting directly with potential suppliers.
Meanwhile, a 2025 6sense survey shows that the average buyer only contacts sales representatives after about 61 percent of their purchasing journey is complete. Vendors that have become the preferred choice before the first contact are also reported to win the transaction in the majority of the purchasing processes studied.
While this data originates from global research and does not specifically describe the Indonesian refractory industry, the patterns shown are relevant to the evolution of industrial procurement processes.
Today, potential customers can first search for information regarding products, company reputation, technical documentation, and project experience online before contacting a supplier.
Thus, a list of candidate suppliers can be formed long before the sales team is even aware of a project opportunity.
A Website Should Be More Than Just a Showcase
Many national producers already have company websites, digital catalogs, and social media accounts. However, these channels are not necessarily sufficient if they only contain company profiles and product lists.
Industrial potential customers require more specific information.
An engineer, for example, is likely not just looking for a product name. They want to know about performance, installation methods, technical characteristics, usage experience, and results achieved in similar applications.
Therefore, the digital marketing strategy for refractory producers should start with technical content.
Producers can provide technical data sheets, installation guides, dry-outprocedures, laboratory test results, and lining failure analyses.
Such information is more useful when grouped by application needs, such as for kilns, ladles, smelting furnaces, or other industrial facilities.
Documentation should also be written using terminology commonly used by technicians and engineers when searching for information via search engines.
Other content, such as installation videos, project documentation, webinars, and online seminars held with universities and industry associations, can strengthen a producer's credibility.
In the industrial market, the quality and relevance of content are far more important than the number of social media followers.
Reaching the Right Companies
Industrial digital marketing does not need to chase a massive audience.
A more effective approach involves mapping companies that have the potential to use the products, then identifying the parties involved in the decision-making process.
These individuals may come from engineering, maintenance, production, or procurement departments.
Once target companies are identified, producers can provide relevant information via LinkedIn, email, webinars, or other digital communications.
Potential customer activity should also be recorded systematically.
When someone from a target company downloads a data sheet, requests a sample, attends a webinar, or contacts the company, that information can be entered into a customer relationship management or CRM system.
In this way, the sales team has a better picture of potential customers who are actively looking for product alternatives.
Projects Must Be Transformed into Digital Proof
One of the most powerful marketing assets for refractory producers comes from completed projects.
When a product is successfully used, the results should not just remain as internal reports.
Producers can document the condition of the lining, service life, installation process, inspection results during shutdown, and performance comparisons before and after product use.
With customer approval, this documentation can then be developed into a case study.
For industrial potential customers, one case study showing real results is often more valuable than various promotional materials.
Case studies can also serve as conversation starters with other companies that have similar facilities or problems.
Digitalizing inspection reports and recording refractory service life can also be part of marketing.
This means that post-sales technical service not only functions to retain customers but also generates data that can strengthen market trust.
Global companies have already moved toward this approach. RHI Magnesita, for example, developed a Lining Evaluation Scan service to help customers evaluate lining conditions based on scan data.
This approach shows that competition in the refractory industry is no longer just about selling bricks or heat-resistant materials, but also about the ability to provide data-based information and technical support.
Opportunities from Domestic Product Policies
Policies on the use of domestic products also provide opportunities for national producers.
In certain procurements, the use of domestic products is encouraged through requirements for Local Content Level (TKDN) and Company Benefit Weights.
The government also continues to push for an increase in Indonesian-made products within the electronic procurement ecosystem.
For refractory producers, these opportunities must be supported by digital readiness.
Information regarding TKDN certificates, product specifications, catalogs, project experience, and contact information for quote requests must be easy to find and access by potential customers.
The easier this information is to obtain, the greater the chance that national products will enter the radar of state-owned enterprise (BUMN) procurement teams or projects using government budgets.
Success Metrics Must Change
In an industry with a relatively limited number of buyers, the number of social media followers is not the primary indicator of digital marketing success.
Producers are better off measuring activities that lead toward purchasing decisions.
Some indicators that can be used include the number of sample requests, trial requests, data sheet downloads by target companies, invitations to be included on vendor lists, quote requests, and repeat purchase rates.
Digital marketing cannot replace product quality and technical work in the field.
In fact, when marketing succeeds in opening the door to a first project, the product quality must truly meet customer expectations.
In the refractory industry, failure on an initial project can make potential customers even more reluctant to provide subsequent opportunities.
Therefore, marketing, product quality, installation, and technical service must work in a single, cohesive chain.
Ultimately, digital marketing in heavy industry is not about how much a brand is talked about on social media.
The main goal is to make national products well-known and trusted enough to secure that first opportunity.
Once that opportunity arrives, the results in the field must be transformed into proof that can be found by the next potential customer.
For national refractory producers, this proof is ultimately the strongest asset for expanding the market and competing with imported products.
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