More than half (52%) of manufacturing companies believe there is room for improvement in their marketing activities.
According to The UK Manufacturing Landscape – an insight into marketing trends, gaps and opportunities – commissioned by Cognition Agency – the majority of respondents (74%) use online advertising, 68% have a social media presence and 65% use online content.
Despite this, one-in-three felt their marketing activities were outdated. Respondents also cited a lack of dedicated teams was the biggest challenge for a third of manufacturing companies.
Peter Hughes, MD at Cognition, said although most manufacturing companies are aware their marketing needs a refresh, it’s never a priority.
“While companies in the manufacturing industry are catching on to the importance of digital channels,” said Hughes. “It is clear from the results of our survey that marketing is behind the times and in need of manpower to implement marketing strategy effectively.”
Measuring marketing success was similarly simple.
Some 66% use ROI as a metric for success and another 22% only use this metric to determine performance.
Despite the presence of digital, traditional marketing channels such as print were popular for manufacturing businesses, particularly those with 50-90 employees, who deemed print the most effective marketing method.
Hughes added: “Print remains an effective marketing channel in manufacturing – yet the benefits of PPC and paid social aren’t being explored, particularly within smaller businesses where the marketing budget is limited.
The majority of companies have seen an increase in budget over the past five years; Hughes encouraged businesses to be more willing to invest to bring their marketing into the 21st century.
