IronBenchmark
2026 Report · Now Open
First Annual · 2026

The Heavy Equipment
Marketing
Benchmark

For the first time, we're publishing real data on how heavy equipment dealers and OEM marketing leaders allocate budgets, which channels are delivering results, and where the industry is headed.
200+ practitioners. Anonymous data. Free report for everyone who participates.

Take the 5-minute survey → Anonymous and aggregated. You'll receive the full report free.

Independent research — not sponsored by or affiliated with any equipment manufacturer, dealer group, or vendor.

Why participate

What you actually get out of this.

Five minutes of your time earns you access to the only benchmark data that exists specifically for this role. No generic marketing stats. No enterprise SaaS vendor surveys. Just your peers.


What's in the report

What the report covers.

Built from practitioner survey data combined with public market analysis — rate cards, show floor data, digital ad library scans, and the first-ever industry maturity index.

Section 01

What Trade Media Actually Costs — and Who's Spending

Rate card comparison across Equipment World, Construction Equipment Guide, For Construction Pros, Roads & Bridges, and Diesel Progress — plus inferred ad spend from real trade pub issues.

"CPM benchmarks by format, and the brands with the most consistent trade media presence."
Section 02

The True Cost of a Trade Show Presence

Fully-loaded cost models for CONEXPO and AED Summit by booth size — including setup, graphics, staffing, and travel.

"What 10×10 through 40×40 actually costs, all-in."
Section 03

Digital Adoption — Where the Industry Actually Is

Facebook and LinkedIn ad library analysis: who's running ads, what formats, and how long. Plus a Digital Maturity Index across 50 dealers.

"The gap between digital adoption at large dealer groups vs. independent dealers."
Section 04

Budget Allocation + Cost Per Lead

Channel budget allocation split by dealer vs. OEM and company size. Cost-per-lead by channel, ranked. The misalignment finding — where budget goes vs. where ROI actually comes from.

"The channel with the best reported ROI vs. where budget is actually concentrated."
Section 05

Team Structure — How the Function Is Built

Marketing team size by company size, in-house vs. agency breakdown, and how the function differs between dealers and OEMs.

"The in-house vs. agency split — and what's being outsourced vs. kept internal."
Section 06

What's Working, What's Next, and the Confidence Gap

Best ROI channel ranked, biggest marketing challenges, planned investment increases, and the confidence index — how many practitioners believe their current mix is optimized.

"Only X% of respondents said they're confident their current marketing mix is optimized."
Section 07

The Industry Maturity Index

Where dealers and OEMs actually sit on the journey from spreadsheets and relationships to demand intelligence — CRM adoption, lead response times, buyer visibility, and the gap between Level 1 and Level 2 operations.

"How many operations are still running on instinct — and what Level 2 looks like in practice."

Get the report when it publishes.

Drop your email and we'll send you the full report the day it goes live — before it's publicly available. No newsletter. One email with your report.

Methodology

The 2026 IronBenchmark Report combines primary survey data with secondary analysis of publicly available market information. All survey responses are anonymized and aggregated — no individual or company-level data is ever disclosed.

Survey Data

  • Survey open: May – June 2026
  • Target respondents: 200+
  • Respondent types: dealer marketing managers and directors, OEM marketing managers and directors, dealer principals with marketing oversight
  • All responses anonymous and aggregated
  • Report published within 60 days of survey close

Public Data Sources

  • Trade publication rate cards (Equipment World, CEG, FCP, R&B, Diesel Progress)
  • CONEXPO-CON/AGG and AED Summit exhibitor prospectuses
  • Facebook and LinkedIn ad libraries
  • Dealer website and digital presence analysis
  • AEM market data (publicly available releases)

Independent Research

IronBenchmark is an independent annual research project, not sponsored by or affiliated with any equipment manufacturer, dealer group, or industry vendor. It is published to give heavy equipment marketing leaders access to peer benchmark data that doesn't exist anywhere else. All survey responses are anonymized and aggregated — individual data is never shared, sold, or used for sales targeting of any kind.