Why building trust and authority is key for successful specification
Why building trust and authority is key for successful specification
As a business owner or marketing manager within a construction business, you will understand the importance of securing tender specifications for your products for overall business success.
But what factors influence the specifier’s choice?
Trust and authority are key elements that can make or break your chances of being specified.
In this article, we will explore why trust and authority are so crucial for successful specification and provide actionable steps to help you establish your business as a reliable and knowledgeable partner:
The importance of trust and authority in the construction industry
Trust is a major barrier to a sale, and is the difference between a successful specification or not.
Building trust and authority are fundamental in the construction sector for several reasons:
- Specifiers need to rely on the products and services they choose to meet the project’s requirements in terms of performance, safety, and durability.
- Clients and project stakeholders expect the construction team to work with reputable and trustworthy partners to minimise risk and ensure project success.
- A strong reputation for trust and authority can differentiate your business from competitors and increase your chances of being specified in future projects.
- By building trust and authority, you not only increase the likelihood of being specified in projects but also create long-term relationships with clients, specifiers, and other industry professionals.
Establishing trust through quality and consistency
Some of the most successful businesses within construction or interiors, in getting their products or services specified, are relentlessly consistent in their marketing.
There are 3 stages in building relationships, particularly online, nowadays – curiosity, enlightenment, and commitment.
Curiosity is where your audience is introduced to you. They’re curios in how you can solve their problem i.e. their project they are working on.
Enlightenment is where they start to like the content you put out there. It’s clear in what you do and how you can help your audience.
Commitment is where your audience commits to buying from you, after reading and noticing your content, whether that’s blog posts, social media or emails.
With this in mind, consistency is crucial if your audience is going to notice you, like you, and trust you enough to buy from you.
Remember this…
Most of your audience isn’t ready to buy.
The goal of marketing and a strong online presence is that when they are ready to buy, your brand is top of their mind.
If your brand is well known among architects, contractors, engineers and other specification professionals, you have more of a chance of being specified. But why is that?
Purchasing is done with emotions and justified with logic. So for example, if you manufacture balustrade handrails and an architect has the choice between your product and your competitors. If both yours and your competitors’ products are essentially the same aesthetically and technically, conforming to the required UK Building Regulations, how will the architect choose between the two products?
They will generally choose the brand they have a relationship with. But if they don’t have a direct relationship they will opt for the brand they have more trust with.
This could be they have read the brand’s thought leadership articles; they have seen and engaged with their social media posts; they have read emailshots from them; and they have found the brand high up in a Google search.
All of these elements combine to build trust. And trust will help you to build relationships and ultimately increase your sales.
Showcasing expertise to build authority.
To build trust and establish your business as an authority in the construction industry:
- Share your knowledge and expertise through informative content such as blog posts, articles, whitepapers, and case studies. Focus on topics relevant to specifiers, including industry trends, best practices, and product innovations.
- Offer continuing education opportunities, such as CPDs or workshops, to help specifiers stay informed and enhance their skills.
- Collaborate with industry associations and organisations to contribute to industry standards and guidelines.
By showcasing your expertise, you position your business as a trusted authority in the industry and increase your chances of being specified.
Time54 is a specialist marketing agency that works exclusively with construction industry clients. We can build your brand awareness and trust through strategic marketing that leads to specification inclusion.
Time54 works with and has helped many building and interiors companies raise their awareness in the marketplace and increase their specification inclusion on numerous projects.
We are a specialist building and interiors marketing agency and help brands to:
- Increase specification.
- Influence architects and interior designers.
- Build authority.
If you are interested in how we can help your business grow with specification led marketing, get in touch to organise a Power Hour zoom meeting.
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