How TCS Used Industry-Specific Content to Reach 'Silent Buyers'

When Anupam Singhal, president of manufacturing at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), arrived in Sweden for a sales meeting, he didn't need to introduce himself. His prospect already knew his perspective on mobility, thanks to the company’s industry-focused thought leadership content. This interaction highlights a successful shift in strategy at TCS, where a revamped content program helped the company reach "silent buyers"—the operational and supply chain stakeholders who influence high-value deals but are rarely part of traditional sales conversations.

What happened

According to the Content Marketing Institute, TCS previously focused its thought leadership on horizontal technology themes like AI and cybersecurity, targeting CIOs. However, this approach failed to resonate with the industry-specific buyers who actually apply these technologies. Vikrant Gaikwad, chief marketing and communications officer for industry markets, led a pivot to industry-contextualized research.

By collaborating directly with business leaders, the marketing team ensured research topics—such as the "Future-Ready eMobility" study—addressed specific customer pain points like range anxiety and battery ecosystems. The company moved beyond simple report publishing; they launched findings at industry-relevant venues like the Detroit Auto Show and empowered their experts to share these insights through social media, blogs, and infographics. This strategy earned over 100 media mentions in outlets like Forbes and CBS News Detroit. While direct attribution is difficult in long sales cycles, the company tracks success through meeting requests, research downloads by target accounts, and anecdotal evidence from the sales team.

Why it matters for small companies

For small business leaders, the "silent buyer" phenomenon is a critical reminder that your sales team is likely missing half the conversation. In complex B2B sales, the person signing the contract is often influenced by a dozen other stakeholders who never attend a demo. If your content only speaks to the technical "how" rather than the industry-specific "why," you are effectively invisible to those influencers. TCS proves that you don't need a massive enterprise budget to win; you need to align your marketing "ingredients" with the specific business problems your customers are currently debating. By positioning your internal experts as industry thought leaders rather than product pitchmen, you build the trust required to shorten sales cycles and enter meetings as a known, credible entity.

What to do this week

1. Identify one "silent buyer" role in your typical sales cycle—such as an operations manager or a procurement lead—and list the three biggest industry-specific challenges they face today.
2. Audit your existing content to see if it speaks to those specific operational challenges, or if it is still focused purely on your own product features.
3. Ask your sales team to share one piece of "customer intelligence"—a question or concern they hear repeatedly in meetings—and turn that single topic into a short, insightful LinkedIn post or blog article authored by one of your subject matter experts.

Sources

• How a B2B Brand Wins Over Silent Buyers With Thought Leadership — Content Marketing Institute