The Three Stages in Building Relationships with Specifiers, through your Marketing
The Three Stages in Building Relationships with Specifiers, through your Marketing
It is increasingly difficult for building product manufacturers to stand out in the construction sector. With so many competitors vying for the attention of specifiers, architects, and contractors, how do you ensure your products stands out and ultimately gets specified? It isn’t enough to simply have a good product in today’s market. You need to communicate it in a way that is solves a problem for specifiers. Product manufacturers that know this get specified and build long-lasting relationships.
But how do you become the brand that specifiers love? Architects, contractors and other specifiers are inundated with high performance products all the time. And gone are the days when sales reps could drop by a specifier's office for a face-to-face chat. Specifiers are busier than ever, juggling multiple projects with tight deadlines, leaving little time for traditional meetings. Nowadays, building product manufactures must build relationships with specifiers in the digital world, as they're turning to online product research.
The first step in building relationships to get your products specified
To stand out and build relationships with specifiers, you need to break down the process of how relationships are formed, which we do through three important steps – Awareness, Nurturing and Trust.
Chris Ashton, Director at Time54 comments,
“We often hear from business owners of product manufactures who say they ‘just want sales’ or ‘want to focus on sales rather than building a brand’. And we get it, businesses need sales to survive and thrive.
But it’s important to realise that sales only happen when a specifier knows about you, is interested in what you have to say or offer, and ultimately trust you enough to buy from you.
Specifying products isn’t an impulse purchase, it is a carefully considered process. Their jobs are on the line if they choose a product that isn’t fit for purpose.
In today’s digital world, you have to position yourselves as the go-to experts in whatever product you manufacture. And not just that, tell a story to specifiers as this is the best way for them to learn about your product.
Building relationships with specifiers in today’s digital age is done through effective, consistent marketing.”
How did Time54 help Knotwood build relationships and increase specification
In October 2022, Knotwood launched into the UK market, bringing its range of timber effect aluminium cladding products. Being a new brand name within specification brings its challenges.
You must build relationships with architects and contractors in a way to position yourselves as a better solution to one they already have. They partnered with Time54 to help them increase specification within UK build projects and develop strong relationships with architects and contractors.
Targeting key specifiers, we employed SEO, thought leadership content, and strategic emails. Leveraging social media, trade show participation advice, and construction insights, we achieved a heightened brand presence. The result: increased product specifications across various UK building projects.
The stages of building relationships through marketing
Stage 1: Awareness - you can't be chosen if you’re not known
The first step in any relationship is making that initial connection. In marketing terms, this means increasing your brand's visibility within the construction sector. Awareness is about getting your products and services in front of the right people - those who make the decisions and specify the products in construction projects.
The UK construction market is saturated. Standing out requires more than just a quality product; it requires visibility. This is achieved by consistent marketing activities such as content (e.g. case studies or thought leadership content), SEO, social media, emails, and industry trade shows.
Stage 2: Nurturing - relationships aren’t built overnight
Once you've caught the attention of your target audience, the next step is to nurture that interest. This stage is all about building a connection and keeping your brand at the forefront of their minds.
At a given time, 95% of your audience isn’t ready to buy. They’ll be specifying on projects that don’t have a requirement for your project. Because of this, consistent marketing and communications ensures when they do have a need, they think of you.
Stage 3: Trust – trust is earned, not given
The final stage is about solidifying the relationship. Trust is the cornerstone of any long-term business relationship, especially in an industry where projects are significant investments and reputations are on the line.
Specifiers need to regularly see your content, whether that’s case studies, social media posts, technical articles, or emails. It needs to resonate with them and it needs to be of value. By doing this, over time it creates trust as they see you as experts and a reliable option for their specification.
Bringing it all together
Building relationships through marketing isn't a linear process but a cyclical one. Awareness brings new prospects into your sphere, nurturing keeps them engaged, and trust turns them into loyal customers. But it doesn't stop there – you need to continue to nurture and maintain that trust to foster long-term specification partnerships.
At Time54, we've seen first-hand how this approach transforms businesses. By focusing on these three stages, building product manufacturers can not only increase product specification and brand awareness but also develop stronger, more meaningful relationships with specifiers.
Are you ready to build lasting relationships through effective marketing? Let's have a chat about how we can help you navigate each stage successfully.
Book a free Power Hour with us today and we can discuss actionable marketing strategies to build relationships with specifiers and boost your business.
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