New analysis has revealed that construction product marketing budgets have increased for a third of manufacturers. The report was released by NBS, a specification and product information platform for the construction industry, and Glenigan, an intelligence business for the sector, in its ‘Construction Manufacturers’ Marketing Report’, which surveyed 166 building product manufacturers.
The report’s findings showed that, for one in three construction product manufacturers (29%), marketing budgets have increased in recent years, even with Covid and other uncertainties affecting the industry. Marketing budgets have remained static for half of construction product manufacturers (52%), and this was particularly evident in companies with the highest turnover, the report revealed.
Robin Cordy, NBS’ marketing director, said: “The construction product sector marketing is changing fast, and it’s refreshing to see marketers generally optimistic about the future. However, the data supports that there’s endemic under investment in this critical business function.
“Most manufacturers say they want to digitise their marketing, and they know they need to digitise their product data. But this doesn’t seem to be supported from an investment point of view.” He continued: “There’s a significant opportunity around digital product information for construction marketers. Right now, an over reliance on outdated means of managing product data is adding potential risk to manufacturers’ businesses.”
More than four out of five respondents viewed sustainability and increased digitalisation as forces for good. However, Covid-19, Brexit and supply shortages still pose a marketing challenge, the survey revealed.
Despite one in three respondents saying that managing product information was a barrier to effective marketing, just 23% stated that they use product information management (PIM) systems. More than half (63%) use PDFs and 51% rely on Excel. The lack of PIM use is extremely low, NBS and Glenigan argue, given that almost three quarters of respondents (72%) see golden thread adoption as a positive move.
Among the challenges that marketers reported, resourcing (55%), demonstrating ROI (43%) and difficulties in reaching target audiences (35%) were highlighted. External factors such as supply shortages and Brexit were also cited as having an impact.
Ian Bellamy, Glenigan’s head of marketing, said: “Marketers are having to react to complex, shifting market conditions, changing how they target and communicate with their audiences, with digital channels becoming much more important as marketers look for maximum reach from their budgets. And while marketers expect challenges around materials shortages and the Brexit transition, it’s great to see a heavy focus on sustainability over the next few years.”
To download the Construction Manufacturers’ Marketing Report, for free, click here.
