• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, June 15, 2020

Industrial marketers are working with reduced marketing budgets as businesses re-open following the pandemic shutdowns, according to a new study from IEEE GlobalSpec.

Of the firms polled, 44% have decreased their marketing allocations to date, and 14% expect to do so. 

In addition, 39% have postponed some of their marketing spend, and 29% have cancelled a portion of it. Only 4% report an increase, while 35% have shifted funds to digital advertising.

IEEE GlobalSpec surveyed 110 industrial marketers in continuation of research conducted since March.

Of that sample , 61% had planned to attend or exhibit at an event that had been cancelled, and 10% have delayed a new product launch. 

Content creation appears to be the dominant tactic at this point. The study shows that 27% have shifted funds to content creation.

Moreover, 36% expect that content marketing will be their most successful channel in 2020. In contrast, only 11% say organic website traffic will be their most successful channel, and 11% cite webinars.

A mere 8% believe email to in-house lists will be their most effective tactic, and 8% feel that e-newsletter advertising will be the most effective.

Of the individuals polled, 51% are now working at home. Another 25% have the option to do so, and 14% are required to work onsite, while 12% have reduced working hours.

Asked whether they would be comfortable working onsite, 34% answered yes. But 28% won’t feel right about it for one to two months, and 11% in three to six months. 

However, 16% would prefer to wait until a vaccine is available, and 9% cite other choices.

In bad news for event producers, 35% would not be comfortable attending a trade show or other large gathering until a vaccine is available. Also 24% say they would rather wait for six months, and 18 would wait three to six months. Only 16% are ready now, and 2% will be ready in one to two months. 

IEEE GlobalSpec is an online catalog listing tens of millions of parts from a dozen verticals, which produces content for clients, ranging from email newsletters to white papers.