Engineers spend 62% of the buying process researching online. For 53% of technical buyers, brand familiarity influenced their most recent purchase. TREW Marketing and GlobalSpec released the 2026 State of Marketing to Engineers on March 25.
What the article says
The 2026 State of Marketing to Engineers comes from TREW Marketing and GlobalSpec, in collaboration with Elektor International Media, and is in its ninth year. Engineers spend 62% of the buying process researching online. 53% of technical buyers say brand familiarity influenced their most recent purchase decision, and 70% are more likely to choose the better-known brand when evaluating technically similar solutions. Technical publications and vendor websites remain the top sources of product information, with publications now slightly ahead. Technical buyers rate generative AI answers 4.7 out of 10 for trustworthiness, against 4.4 in 2025.
Why it matters at the top of the house
For a manufacturer, the engineer does the research first and speaks with a vendor later. When two products are technically similar, 70% of buyers lean toward the better-known name. The question for a president is what that engineer finds before the first call: the spec sheets, the application notes, the name in the trade press.
Source: TREW Marketing and GlobalSpec, “Engineers Spend 62% of the Buying Journey Researching Online; New Study by TREW Marketing, GlobalSpec Shows How AI, Brand Visibility, Expertise Drive Vendor Selection,” by TREW Marketing (press release on PR Newswire, no byline), March 25, 2026. Research: 2026 State of Marketing to Engineers, TREW Marketing and GlobalSpec, in collaboration with Elektor International Media. The Marketing Table shares the link and a note on why it matters; the article and its copyright belong to the publisher.
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