Manufacturing Industry Partners, Dealers Spend Less On Marketing Activities

Channel partners and dealers in the manufacturing industry are spending substantially less on marketing than a cross-industry average, according to data collected by BrandMuscle, a provider of integrated local and channel marketing solutions.

The shortfall in spending was partially attributed to a lack of confidence among channel partners and dealers that brands are properly committed to the marketing programs they provide. A considerable number of channel partners say that the marketing programs provided to them by manufacturers 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,” said Jason Tabeling, EVP of Product Strategy at BrandMuscle, in a press release. “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.”

Lori Alba, BrandMuscle’s Vice President of Marketing, commented that “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.”

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, Alba said.

The State of Local Marketing in Manufacturing Report, published as an extension to BrandMuscle’s annual The State of Local Marketing Report, concluded that 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).

Some of the key findings of the report include:

• 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.