How well is your marketing set up for accelerating growth in 2026? Does your business have the strategy and tools in place to support expansion, diversification and recruitment? Or are you facing the New Year with inconsistent marketing assets and underperforming tactics?
Samantha Vassallo, Managing Director of industrial marketing specialist and EMN Affiliate Horizon Works, is here to help engineering and manufacturing companies take stock and take action, as the New Year looms…
Measure your marketing
Have you been measuring your marketing through 2025? Do you know if (and how) it’s making an impact?
Now is the time to review how your marketing activities have performed over the last 12 months. Website engagement and enquiries, SEO, social media engagement, trade shows, media coverage, advertising performance, e-marketing, network engagement and PPC should all be under the microscope.
What could you invest more into – and what needs a rethink?
Plan ahead
What are your objectives for 2026? And do you have a marketing strategy in place to help you achieve them?
It’s crucial to have a focused, tailored strategy which underpins your marketing activities – and provides the foundations for success. Without a marketing roadmap to guide you, your activities could become piecemeal, inconsistent and ineffective.
Focus on your brand
Going into the New Year, does your brand truly represent your business’s purpose, beliefs and values?
Is your brand ingrained into your company’s narrative, communications, visual identity, marketing activities and community relations?
Your brand should resonate with customers, staff and stakeholders. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to act – and reinvigorate your brand.
Is your website fit for purpose?
Does your website give prospects confidence in your capabilities as an engineering or manufacturing company? Does it make a strong visual impact, convey your USPs – and make people want to work with you? Or is letting you down with irrelevant content, poor functionality and an outdated design, that isn’t showing your business in its best light?
If it’s the latter, then a website revamp should be a priority for 2026…
Getting prepped…
Heading into the New Year, it’s useful to do a ‘stock take’ of your marketing assets and capabilities and ask:
What will our business development and sales teams need in 2026?
- This could include high-impact sales decks, data sheets, case studies, exhibition materials, brochures, corporate films, product/process animations and even merchandise.
What campaigns are we running next year? And do we have the assets to support them?
- Consider the visual identity of each campaign, and plan out social media content, e-marketing, advertising, PPC, video, and animation. Public relations will also have a part to play, to amplify your messages and position your business as a leader.
Face to face
Do you have an event plan in place, or are you going to take each month as it comes?
It’s easy to see your marketing budget drained away by exhibiting at trade shows and expos that don’t fully align with your business objectives. The costs of travel, accommodation and of course, stand space, will soon add up.
So think strategically for 2026. Draw up a wishlist of expos, conferences and networking events, based on their audience data, and the potential for lead generation and profile raising. Research the marketing add-ons they provide. Consider sponsorship and speaking opportunities. And then map these events out into a plan shaped to maximise ROI.
Get the most out of EMN!
As a EMN member, you have the opportunity to connect with a vibrant and collaborative engineering and manufacturing community, and showcase your business to potential customers, partners and employees.
So in 2026…
- Engage with EMN on LinkedIn via the company page linkedin.com/company/engineeringmanufacturingnetwork – share posts, contribute to the community, support new announcements and help to spread good news.
- Send your company news to EMN – it will feature on the website and on social media, helping your business reach a wider audience
- Worked with another EMN member? Consider a collaboration story to show the strength of membership.
- Ensure you attend EMN events – and be ready to follow up with the new contacts you make.
Need support in reviewing and reshaping your marketing for 2026?
Contact Horizon Works at www.horizon-works.com, email hello@horizon-works.com or call 0345 075 5955.
Headquartered in Blyth, Horizon Works helps technical companies succeed in complex sectors such as advanced manufacturing, precision engineering, renewable energy, defence, industrial technology and automotive.
The company has a proven track record of delivering industrial marketing solutions that resonate on a global scale and its marketing is reinforced by in-depth industry knowledge.
Horizon Works’s capabilities cover strategy, creative, PR, content, social media, and web & digital.