IronBenchmark 2026 Survey — Heavy Equipment Marketing

Question 1What best describes your role?

Dealer marketing manager / director OEM marketing manager / director Dealer principal or GM with marketing oversight Marketing agency serving equipment dealers or OEMs Other

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Question 2How many locations does your dealership or company operate?

1–2 locations 3–10 locations 11–25 locations 26+ locations / national

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Question 3What is your approximate annual marketing budget (all channels)?

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Question 4How many people (FTE or equivalent) work on marketing at your company?

Just me 2–3 people 4–10 people More than 10

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Question 5How is your marketing function structured?

Entirely in-house Primarily in-house, some agency support Mix of in-house and agency Primarily agency, small in-house team Just me — no agency

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Question 6What brand line(s) do you represent or primarily work with? (optional)

e.g. Caterpillar, Komatsu, John Deere, Volvo CE, CNH, independent / multi-line

Question 7Which channels are you actively investing in right now?

Select all that apply.

Trade shows and events Google Search Ads Google Display / YouTube LinkedIn Ads Facebook / Instagram Ads Trade publication advertising (print or digital) Email marketing to your own list SEO / content marketing None currently

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Question 8Of those channels — which represents your single largest budget allocation?

Trade shows and events Google Search Ads Google Display / YouTube LinkedIn Ads Facebook / Instagram Ads Trade publication advertising Email marketing SEO / content marketing Even split across channels

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Question 9In the next 12 months, where are you planning to increase spending?

Select all that apply.

Trade shows and events Google Search Ads Google Display / YouTube LinkedIn Ads Facebook / Instagram Ads Trade publication advertising Email marketing SEO / content marketing Not planning to increase spending

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Question 10Which single channel delivered your best ROI in the last 12 months?

Trade shows / events Google Search Ads LinkedIn Ads Facebook / Instagram Ads Trade publication advertising Email marketing SEO / content / word of mouth I don't track ROI by channel

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Question 11What's your estimated cost-per-qualified-lead from your best-performing channel?

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Question 12What's your single biggest marketing challenge right now?

Generating enough quality leads Justifying marketing ROI to leadership Keeping up with digital / knowing what works Differentiating from competitors in my region Retaining customers / repeat business Finding and keeping good marketing staff

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Question 13Looking at your marketing results over the last 12 months — how would you describe your overall performance?

On track — we hit our lead and revenue goals Mixed — some channels worked well, others didn't Below expectations — results came in under what we planned for Hard to say — we don't have clear metrics in place

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Question 14Which best describes how your sales and marketing operation runs today?

Primarily relationship-driven — no formal CRM or digital lead tracking Leads come through referrals and direct relationships. Follow-up is managed by the rep. Spreadsheets, notes, and phone calls do most of the work. CRM and digital tools are in place — used for tracking and campaigns You have a CRM, run email campaigns, and track leads digitally. The team logs activity and follows up based on what's in the system. Connected systems — fleet data, service history, and buying signals inform outreach Your CRM connects to machine data or service records. You can identify which customers are likely approaching a purchase decision based on usage patterns — before they call.

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Question 15How would you describe how your team actually uses your CRM?

Consistently — it's our system of record, everyone uses it Partially — some team members use it regularly, others less so We have one but it's not yet fully adopted We don't use a CRM

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Question 16When a new inbound lead comes in, how quickly does your team typically respond?

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Question 17Can you identify prospects who are researching your equipment before they reach out to you?

Yes — we track website visitors or use tools that flag interested prospects Sometimes — we pick up some signals but it's not consistent No — we find out someone was interested only when they reach out No — and it's not something we have tools in place for yet

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Work email address

Please use your work email — we use this to verify you're an industry practitioner and to send you the report.

Please enter a valid work email address (no gmail, yahoo, or hotmail).

What state are you in? (optional — helps us segment regional findings)