IEEE GlobalSpec Releases Findings from Its Annual Industrial Marketing Trends Survey

ALBANY, N.Y., Dec. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IEEE GlobalSpec, the leading provider of digital media solutions designed to connect industrial marketers with their target audience of engineering and technical professionals, today announced the release of its annual research, "2017 Trends in Industrial Marketing: How Manufacturers are Marketing Today." This report addresses the marketing trends, challenges and expenditures within the engineering, technical, manufacturing and industrial communities.

Earning the top spot for the sixth year in a row, the survey reveals that customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction are top priorities for industrial marketers, with 42 percent of survey respondents citing customer acquisition as their primary marketing goal. Results also indicate that the focus will continue to be on the customer, with customer acquisition and customer satisfaction being two of the top three measures of success for marketing initiatives over the next five years.

"In this age, we know so much more about customers because of the digital footprint they leave," says Don Lesem, vice president and chief design officer, IEEE GlobalSpec. "This has opened up countless new opportunities to reach target audiences. Savvy industrial marketers recognize this and are focusing their strategies accordingly."

Other key findings include:

• Fifty-four percent say their company's key differentiator is the quality of products/services offered.
• Fifty percent use both push/outbound and pull/inbound marketing initiatives, but only a quarter of survey respondents are satisfied with their marketing mix.
• The majority of companies are increasing spending on their company website, content creation and distribution, social media and search engine optimization.
• Thirty-four percent are just getting started with content marketing. Only 12 percent can show how content marketing contributes to sales, yet 58 percent have increased spending on content marketing.

The report also offers recommendations to industrial marketers to help them allocate their budgets, develop a sound marketing strategy, and plan effective programs and campaigns.

The 503 survey respondents represent a variety of company sizes and a range of annual marketing budgets. 18 percent are CEOs, a larger percentage than in past surveys. Twenty-three percent are marketing managers and 16 percent are marketing coordinators. Forty-eight percent work for a manufacturer, 19 percent for distributors, and 19 percent for service providers.

The complete research results are available for download here.

About IEEE GlobalSpec
IEEE GlobalSpec is a community built by engineers, for engineers - delivering the single source for trusted, expert engineering content, information, insight, tools and community for engineers and technical professionals across multiple industries and disciplines. An engaged community of more than 8 million industry professionals rely on IEEE GlobalSpec as a trusted resource at every stage of the research, product design, and purchasing process. For industrial marketers, our mission is to provide comprehensive digital media solutions that connect manufacturers, distributors and service providers with engineers and allied technical professionals and generate unparalleled results ? delivering measurable and actionable awareness, demand and engagement opportunities at all stages of the buy cycle. Learn more at www.globalspec.com.  

About IEEE
IEEE is the largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice in a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers, and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics. Learn more at http://www.ieee.org.

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SOURCE IEEE GlobalSpec