The shift to digital is no longer optional for the natural stone industry, it’s a matter of visibility and survival. Yet many quarries rush into the digital space without a clear strategy, losing time, money, and opportunity. Here are the five most common mistakes, and how to avoid them.
1. Treating “digital” as a marketing add-on
Many quarries think that uploading a few photos or a PDF catalogue online is enough. It’s not. True digital transformation means making your materials usable inside architectural tools, BIM files, data sheets, and interactive libraries, where real specifications happen.
2. Ignoring BIM (Building Information Modeling)
Architects today design in BIM. If your stone isn’t available as a BIM file, it simply won’t appear in their projects. This single gap leaves room for synthetic materials and competitors to take your place during the design phase.
3. Poor material data and inconsistent visuals
Low-quality images, missing technical information, and inconsistent naming confuse specifiers. Accurate metadata, dimensions, finishes, sustainability info, and coherent visual branding make your stone trustworthy and ready to be specified globally.
4. No collaboration with distributors
Your distributors can only sell what architects can specify. Without BIM-ready materials, they’re forced to compete with better-presented alternatives. This lack of visibility directly impacts orders, distributors are ordering fewer containers of your natural stone and more containers of synthetic materials that are easier to present, specify, and deliver.
Empowering your distributors with digital tools and data reverses this trend, helping them sell more of your material to the right projects.
5. Forgetting the power of storytelling
Even the most beautiful stone needs a story. The digital market rewards brands that combine technical data with emotion stunning videos, and architectural case studies. A digital stylist approach connects your quarry’s heritage with modern design aspirations.
The takeaway
Going digital is not about technology, it’s about making your materials discoverable, trustworthy, and desired. When done right, it opens global markets, strengthens your distributor network, and reclaims visibility from the synthetic material industry.