Nobody’s booking your CPD. Here’s why
Nobody’s booking your CPD. Here’s why
Are you investing time and resources in producing great CPDs, but bookings are eluding you?
CPDs present a unique opportunity to gather architects, engineers, contractors and other specifiers into a room to share how your products solve their problems.
If, however, those specifiers aren’t booking to attend, you will be wondering where you’ve gone wrong.
The CPD promotion gap
You’ve probably adopted the right approach in terms of the content:
- Yes, your CPD has been professionally designed and produced
- Yes, you have focused on content that expands your attendees’ knowledge
- Yes, you have targeted your content to specifiers you will invite
But have you established a clear, effective strategy for promoting the CPD to attract bookings and ensure it doesn’t sit on a server without ever being presented?
Architects, chartered surveyors and building engineers must all complete a set number of CPD hours every year to maintain their accreditation with professional bodies, so failing to promote the CPD is a missed opportunity and costly mistake.
At Time54 we design and write CPDs for clients that educate specifiers and drive engagement. Here we offer tips on how to promote your CPD to generate those all-important bookings.
Help specifiers understand why your CPD is worth attending
CPD marketing assets must provide sufficient information to convince specifiers that attending is worth their while. It’s important to remember that you are competing for their time. If you don’t entice them to spend one of their CPD hours with you, another manufacturer will.
A vague listing with just a title and a single paragraph makes the specifier do all the work: Is it worth my time? What will I learn? Does it help me to meet specific standards? A lack of clarity is likely to result in them moving on without wanting to find out more.
An informative listing with a running time, named technical lead, a clear structure, and a stated outcome - "you can specify this product to meet ‘a certain’ standard" - is far more likely to generate interest and lead to a booking.
Key promotion channels for CPDs
Targeted promotion via channels where architects are active will get their attention more quickly. The less effort they need to make to find your event, the better!
Here are some examples.
Construction industry media and directories
Advertise your CPD event on industry-dedicated platforms, websites and magazines. This is where architects, engineers, QSs and other specifiers will actively search for CPD hours.
An exclusive invitation
Inviting individual practices to your CPD is a direct approach that removes reliance on algorithms and readership reach. An exclusive, personalised invitation, containing the details mentioned above, appeals to many practice decision makers.
LinkedIn and company website – share expertise and case studies
Promote your CPD event on personal and company LinkedIn pages, and your company website. Include teasers of what attendees will learn, make your technical expertise clear, and pinpoint the problem your product solves. Include links to case studies, and vary the type of post – video, text and image, case study link etc. Make sure you include a direct link to book on or make contact, to remove any unwelcome friction.
CPD accreditation
To attract chartered members of professional bodies, who must complete between 18 and 35 hours of CPD every year depending on the organisation, gaining accreditation for your CPD is essential, as is promoting that accreditation.
Key professional bodies that specify CPD hours include:
- RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) – 35 CPD hours / year
- CIOB (Chartered Institute of Building) – 25 CPD hours / year
- CIAT (Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists) – 35 CPD hours / year
- RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) – 20 CPD hours / year
- CABE (Chartered Association of Building Engineers) – 35 CPD hours / year
- CIH (Chartered Institute of Housing) – 20 CPD hours / year
- ICWCI (Institute of Clerks of Works and Construction Inspectorate) – 18 CPD hours / year.
It’s worth noting that RIBA runs CPD online expos where you can be one of several manufacturers presenting shorter sessions back-to-back in a virtual conference.
Offer flexible formats
While an in-person CPD event is the most ideal scenario for building relationships with specifiers, offering flexible formats for CPDs connects you with attendees you would otherwise be unable to attract.
Specifiers are busy people. While they may be keen to fulfil their CPD obligations, they may not be so keen on having to travel. If presenting the CPD in person is not possible, offering flexible formats is the next best option.
Live webinars, on-demand pre-recorded webinars, and interactive online modules for bitesize learning widen your potential audience.
Final takeaway - focus on problem solving, not products
Remember! Architects don’t book CPDs to find out more about products. They attend CPDs to learn, find problem solving solutions, and get better at what they do. Don’t fall into the trap of making your CPD a product specification.
Promote your CPD as outlined above, and there will be no ambiguity for specifiers about why they should book their place.
Work with Time54 Construction Marketing Specialists to produce and promote a CPD that specifiers will want to book
Through a clear understanding of the specification process and how CPD accreditation works, Time54 builds CPD programmes architects want to see.
Driving attendance
We don’t just write and design CPDs, we generate the interest that fills the room. That means running a targeted campaign to drive real bookings: invitation emails, a follow-up sequence for engaged openers, and audience targeting, built from our own database plus additional data sources to reach the right architects and specifiers.
A longer-term strategy
And a CPD works best as part of something bigger. We build 12-18 month marketing schedules that keep your business in front of architects and specifiers consistently, raising awareness and increasing specification over time.
Book a discovery call by calling us on 01606 241054, or email info@time54.co.uk.
Interested in finding out how Time54 can help your business?
Simply book a discovery call using the form opposite (or below if viewing on a mobile).
Or call us on 01606 241054 or email at info@time54.co.uk
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