The Manufacturing Marketer Building your 2026 manufacturing marketing budget: data-driven planning for industrial companies
Nov 6, 2025
Wes Temple, a strategist at Gorilla 76 specializing in data-driven marketing for industrial companies, joins Brendon Forrest and Allen Fennewald to discuss building effective marketing budgets. They delve into working backward from revenue goals to establish realistic budget needs and explore calculating close rates and cost-per-lead. The conversation emphasizes balancing digital and traditional marketing, avoiding common budgeting mistakes, and the importance of ongoing expense tracking. Essential insights for anyone in manufacturing marketing preparing for future growth!
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Give Data Collection Time
- Allow at least three months to start collecting marketing performance data and six months to capture seasonality.
- Use this data collection phase to learn messaging, customer behavior, and channel performance before finalizing budgets.
Model Multiple Scenarios For Buy-In
- Run multiple budget scenarios when leadership wants different performance assumptions.
- Show how changes to close rates or cost-per-lead alter required spend and propose compromises tied to initiatives.
Digital Is The Backbone For Measurement
- Digital must be a priority because it provides transparency and tracking for results.
- Digital tools let you quantify the impact of traditional tactics like events and enable data-driven decisions.