BrandMuscle Publishes First Channel Marketing Report for the Manufacturing Industry
CHICAGO, Ill., January 14, 2019 – BrandMuscle has published new research to help manufacturing industry brands, dealers, and channel partners gauge their local marketing maturity. The State of Local Marketing in Manufacturing Report is the first-ever channel marketing research for the manufacturing industry, published as an extension of BrandMuscle’s annual The State of Local Marketing Report. This new industry companion guide examines investment and knowledge in local marketing, corporate and dealer commitment, and the quality and relevance of brand-provided content and support.
Dealers and channel partners in the manufacturing industry exhibit a much lower level of marketing maturity when compared to local business partners in other verticals (e.g. insurance, technology and telecommunications, retail, and restaurants). Two factors drive this lower level of marketing maturity:
Channel partners and dealers are spending substantially less on marketing
Channel partners and dealers lack confidence that their corporate sponsor is properly committed to the marketing program they provide
“BrandMuscle has found that channel partners with the highest year-over-year revenue growth invest their own dollars on marketing at a level that is on par with the small business industry average, and have access to a corporate provided program that offers co-op funds,” says Lori Alba, BrandMuscle’s Vice President of Marketing. “Partners that have access to a corporate provided marketing program, but no co-op funds, achieve a lot less regardless of their spending level. Both channel partners and brands should have skin in the game.”
A considerable number of channel partners say that the marketing programs manufacturers provide them are missing core components and tactics. Furthermore, they feel marketing programs are scattered and rarely integrated.
“Whether perception or reality, our findings indicate a reduction in partner spend due to inadequate corporate provided marketing programs,” states Jason Tabeling, EVP of Product Strategy at BrandMuscle. “Only one-third of channel partners invest more than 1% of their revenue on marketing, compared to the cross-industry average of 2% to 4%. This anemic spend negatively impacts their ability to properly create awareness and represent your brand at the local point of sale.”
Only one-third of channel partners invest more than 1% of their revenue on marketing, compared to a cross-industry average of 2% to 4%
Channel partners and dealers put significant emphasis on websites and landing pages and less on direct mail as compared to other industries
Channel partners and dealers use traditional media more often than the benchmark with TV and radio ranking as a top three priorities. Yet, on average, they tend to use digital channels slightly more than other industries
60% have claimed their online business listing on Google, slightly higher than other industries, but they put far less emphasis on Yelp than the benchmark
