Building a Sales Program

The State of Manufacturing 2025-2026

March 24, 2026 | by Kathee Kelly

Two colleagues collaborate at a laptop, with a bar graph illustrating qualified leads in the foreground.

The digital transformation in manufacturing is changing the rules. Is your commercial strategy ready?

Deep industry expertise meets data-driven commercial execution. This is what a winning manufacturing marketing strategy in 2026 looks like.

Download the 2026 State of Manufacturing Report

The manufacturers pulling ahead are getting three things right

The manufacturing industry is navigating a convergence of pressures it hasn’t faced at this scale before. A cautiously stabilizing economy with unpredictable purchasing patterns. Persistent workforce shortages limiting both production capacity and technology adoption. And buyers who complete more than 70% of their research before sales ever enters the conversation.

The companies responding effectively and leading the digital transformation in manufacturing aren’t just investing in bleeding-edge technology. They’re building the data infrastructure, process alignment, and commercial strategy to actually use it. Manufacturing data analytics is central to that shift, with leading organizations connecting CRM, ERP, and operations data into unified forecasting models that give every team the same visibility.

The gap between manufacturers who are adapting and those who are absorbing disruption is widening. This report documents both sides of that divide.

“The common thread across all these pressures: Manufacturers need better data, better insights, and better alignment between operational reality and commercial strategy.”

Kathee Kelly

President, demandDrive Manufacturing

A smarter manufacturing marketing strategy starts here

B2B demand generation for manufacturers has evolved well past trade shows and cold outreach. The companies generating consistent, qualified pipeline today are investing in content-enabled selling, account-based revenue programs, and tighter qualification frameworks, the same commercial transformation strategies this report documents across the sector.

A data-driven manufacturing marketing strategy separates the organizations growing market share from those just defending margin. Whether you’re building one from scratch or pressure-testing what you already have, this report gives you the benchmarks, buyer behavior insights, and investment trends you need to make better decisions.

The accelerating digital transformation in manufacturing is creating pressure at every level of the business. The question isn’t whether change is coming. It’s whether your commercial engine is built to capture the opportunity.

This is B2B manufacturing marketing intelligence built for practitioners, not consultants.