For the third year running, we conducted our State of External Data survey. This time, we surveyed industrial manufacturers’ use of external data.
One of our major findings in this year’s report is that the use of external data in the manufacturing industry, for marketing, sales and related activities lags behind its use in other industries. Manufacturing firms lack awareness around the benefits of external data, with GTM teams still relying mostly on traditional, subjective sources rather than on sources grounded in hard data.
The report shows that despite manufacturers’ use of lists, trade shows and customer surveys, only 33% responded that knowing their target customer was a strength.
Further analysis reveals misalignment in how sales and marketing executives perceive their target market, their ICP, and where to find new potential customers. We see that data silos lead to departmental misalignment on target markets.
To get additional analysis and insights – download the full report.
