Topic
Marketing strategy and budget for manufacturers
How manufacturers with 50 to 500 employees decide where the marketing money goes, and how to defend the number to an owner. Start with the one-page 2027 plan, check it against what 56 public manufacturers report spending on advertising, and size your market with our Census count of mid-size manufacturers. The economic indicators calendar tells you which monthly releases should change the plan.
Everything on strategy and budget, newest first (17)
Durable goods orders are up 8% in 2026, and primary metals orders fell once price is taken out
After taking each industry's producer price change out of its 2026 orders growth, we estimate machinery volume is up 8.7% and primary metals volume is down 4.0%.Architect or engineerSpecContractor buysArchitectural billings index at 44.7: where to send spec reps in 2027
Architects' billings fell again in September 2026. Beneath the national score, commercial/industrial firms and the West and Midwest have moved the other way since January, and that is where we would point spec selling time in the first half of 2027.
The manufacturing PMI says rebound. The new money is narrow.
September 2026's numbers show orders rising across most of manufacturing, but the hiring, machine buying and big construction starts are clustered in a few end markets. What that means for a 2027 plan.
The 2027 marketing plan for a manufacturing company, on one page
A 2027 marketing plan fits in six boxes: the end markets you will win, the accounts, the proof you lack, three channels you can staff, the budget and four numbers you report monthly. The template, an illustrative filled-in example and a six-week schedule that starts the week of Oct. 26, 2026.
What public manufacturers spend on advertising: a B2B marketing budget benchmark from 56 10-Ks
We pulled the advertising expense that 56 public manufacturers and industrial distributors reported in their latest 10-Ks. The median was about half of one percent of revenue. These are public companies that chose to disclose the number, not typical 50 to 500 person shops, so the pattern at the edges tells you more than the median.
Trade show marketing that pays back: a 2027 ROI worksheet for manufacturers
Set the target before you sign the space contract, price the show with every line in, and give every badge scan 10 business days to become an opportunity. A worked example with real 2027 rates shows how thin the margin can be.
Trade show booth cost in 2027: what 12 exhibitor price sheets actually say
We pulled the published 2027 space rates from 12 shows that manufacturers exhibit at. A 10x10 runs $3,000 to $6,300 before you add a chair, a carpet or a plane ticket, and five shows still will not put a price on their website.
Manufacturing trade shows in 2027: 123 shows by industry, with the off years marked
IMTS, MODEX, PTXPO, PACK EXPO International and CONEXPO are all off in 2027. NPE and ProMat are on, and 46 of the year's 112 dated shows land in April and May.
Account-based marketing for manufacturers: build the target account list from public data
You do not need a data platform to pick the 100 to 300 accounts worth chasing in 2027. You need five public signals that show who is spending, a scoring sheet and an hour a month. The method below comes with real, dated examples of the signals.
Marketing team structure for a manufacturer: what a team of one to three should own and hand off
We read 20 marketing job postings from US manufacturers and industrial distributors that were live on Indeed on Oct. 26, 2026. Most describe a generalist who supports sales, runs trade shows and keeps the website current. How to split that work across one, two or three people, and what to buy from outside.
NAHB Housing Market Index at 29: what building products marketers should do in Q1 2027
Builder confidence fell to 29 in October 2026, tying June 2012 as the lowest reading in more than 14 years, and 43% of builders cut prices. Building products marketers should move first quarter spend toward active buyers, lead with installed cost and time paid media to their region's spring ramp.
Selling into the data center supply chain: who buys, and what they need from suppliers
Data centers were the three largest construction starts in September 2026, and one big electrical distributor's US data center sales grew by triple digits in the third quarter. Who actually places the orders, what a project buys, and how a mid-size manufacturer or distributor gets on the approved supplier list.
Economic indicators calendar 2027: release dates and timing for the ISM PMI and seven more numbers manufacturers watch
Eight monthly releases tell a manufacturing marketer whether customers are about to buy more or less. This calendar lists the 2027 dates the publishers have posted, ISM's expected dates and the usual timing of the three releases with no posted schedule, plus what each release measures and which industries it leads.
Is IMTS in 2027? The big shows taking an off year, and what to do instead
IMTS 2027 does not exist, and neither do MODEX, PTXPO or PACK EXPO International. The seven big shows taking 2027 off, when each returns, the 2027 shows that fill each gap, and how to spend a budget that suddenly has room in it.
How many manufacturing companies are in the US? 25,716 have 50 to 499 employees
Census counts 239,265 manufacturing companies in the US. Only about one in ten is mid-size, which means the list of every company that could buy from you is shorter than you think.
Your first 90 days as a marketing leader at a manufacturer
Spend the first 30 days listening, the next 30 auditing what already exists, from account logins to show contracts and distributor literature, and the last 30 shipping two wins the sales team can see, starting with inquiry response time. The audit checklist draws on 20 manufacturer job postings live on Oct. 26, 2026.