In the built environment, technical content serves as the backbone of every new project, so understanding the sources architects turn to for this information is crucial for your marketing strategy.

In a notoriously competitive industry like construction, standing out from the crowd requires some hard work. Effective content marketing can help you achieve this goal by strategically positioning your brand on search engines for relevant topics, which in turn attracts more qualified leads to your business.

Building product companies often grapple with the challenge of reaching architects at the opportune moment. But standing out amidst the competition demands more than just great products.

To reach the right audience at the right time, a marketing approach that aligns with architects' concept and design research process is essential.

Reaching architects at the right time presents a formidable challenge for construction companies seeking to promote their products and services effectively. In this digital era, the key to success lies in building meaningful connections and personalised interactions.

As a building product company, it’s important to know which channels architects prefer, so you can make sure your content shows up in the right places. 

If you’re aiming to capture an architect’s attention, this could be different to the channel you use to target other members of the construction industry.

How does an architect think?

Unless you undergo seven years of intensive training, it's hard to understand fully. 

Marketing to Architects is a challenge because of this. Their persona is complex - technical, analytical, and creative. Drawn to self-expression but restrained by regulations and limitations.

Also, architects are exacting and have high standards for their suppliers. They are constantly under time pressure, and the easier you can make their life, the better.

Understanding their point of view is crucial to marketing to them.  

It feels like there are two very opposing camps when it comes to using AI for content marketing in 2023. Those that are looking to embrace the latest innovation, and those that are apprehensive of what AI could mean for the world, or even for them personally.

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, content remains king. A well-executed content strategy can drive organic traffic, engage target audiences, and lead to conversions. However, building a robust content-driven marketing engine requires a systematic approach that spans multiple stages of development.

Building product businesses are racing to support specifiers’ online specification research process, but are not getting the best advice on how to do this. Digital specialists are not generally construction specialists, and often don’t understand the complexities of the industry and the specification route to market.

Before we go any further on this, first let’s address what makes the digital specification research process so important.

Creating an effective SEO content strategy can seem daunting for anyone unfamiliar with the intricacies of search engine optimization. However, having a planned and organized approach to your content marketing efforts can be incredibly rewarding in the long run.

Microsoft recently made a $10 billion investment in an artificial intelligence company called Open AI.

Ever found yourself wondering what your building products business should be blogging about? Have you established a content strategy but you’re struggling to turn it into action? Have you been asked to write about a topic but you’re not confident that Architects and Specifiers will want to read what you have to say?

With Q4 drawing near, building product businesses are contemplating how they can improve their performance in preparation for the upcoming year.

This is the time marketing plans get drafted, modified, discarded, and reformulated, to be the pillar on which the company rests as the team steers the business to success. A marketing plan should help you stay on track with company objectives, mission, and KPIs and achieve maximum potential for your building product brand.

In 2022, the average percentage of the revenue spent on marketing has been 11%. This budget increased year-on-year since the pandemic, reflecting the new role marketing is playing in the success of the industry in the post-pandemic world.

2023 is a likely contestant to see some of the biggest marketing budgets to date, asking marketers across the industry to be more resourceful with how they design their marketing plans.

By analysing your competition and monitoring them on an ongoing basis, you'll get to know their behaviour, enabling you to anticipate their actions and stay one step ahead.

Competitive research is crucial to your success as a building products business because it arms you with the ability to quickly identify industry trends and adapt to competitors' campaigns or strategies to maintain a foothold or even out-compete them.

The UK Construction industry is worth an estimated £110bn in revenue every year, and construction product sales turnover more than £50bn annually. Architects are responsible for the specification and selection of a very large proportion of this expenditure.

So how does this impact your construction marketing strategies and why does Inbound Marketing become the ideal method of adapting to this change?

Often depicted as a sprint, marketing can often feel more like a marathon. It requires work, hard work that, however, if done right, always pays back. Building product brands often feel frustrated about their marketing strategy, feeling like they are trying a thousand tactics without getting any results. But there is another way (or rather, ten other ways!) to do marketing for your building product brand.

Live From #BrightonSEO

Despite spending most of their workday diving among analytics and spreadsheets on their laptops, SEO experts thrive in face-to-face conversations. Attending the series of conferences organised within the Brighton SEO workshop has clearly shown how much we were missing talking about topics that we are passionate about and live for.

Diversity probably isn’t the first word that comes to mind when thinking about the construction industry. Let’s face it – we have a long way to go!

Understanding why building sustainability matters for the built environment will allow you and your building product brand to grow professionally and personally. The conversation has started, and it is not going anywhere. Here are the recent past, present, and future of what sustainability will bring for building product manufacturers. 

Live From #BrightonSEO

Workshops, conferences, and lectures, for me, have always been a source of inspiration. I consider myself privileged to attend talks and discussions conducted by thought-leading experts that reflect their passion for high-quality content with every slide they present. What an excellent time to be a writer!

The average percentage of the revenue spent on marketing is 11%. Yes, that is right! Companies are spending £1 out of every £10 that they earn on keeping the ball rolling.

And, for 44% of the companies spending that percentage of their revenue on marketing activities, the clear goal is lead generation. The main areas of investment lay within digital and online marketing, particularly focusing on paid search, SEO, and content marketing.

Leads. No building product business would deny their importance.

Without them, you’re sitting in stasis. With them, you are driving your business forward.

While their importance can’t be understated, finding ways of getting construction leads can be challenging. Getting more leads helps you convert into more sales and in turn, more money.

With Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn (yes, indeed!) boosting the reach video content gets in their network, it comes with no surprise that marketers around the globe are prioritising video-based marketing in their strategy.

Is this shift towards video content applicable to building product manufacturers? It is, it absolutely is! In this post, I will go over the different types of video marketing strategies you should try in 2022 to make the most of your marketing efforts.

Producing a successful blogging strategy is not easy, and the truth is, blogging about the construction sector does not make it any simpler!

As a swiftly changing industry, building product brands often feel that time is slipping through their hands and decide to drop marketing activities, such as blogging, which is key to their marketing efforts' success.

The long and short of it is: Yes.

Incredibly, 82% of all internet traffic is video-based in 2022.

Since its inception through TV advertisements in the ’40s, video marketing has been an efficient, engaging and accessible way of conveying your company message and identity.

A lot has changed in 80 years, but despite this, video continues to be the go-to content format for every generation. Whether it’s the soaps on TV, YouTube tutorials or TikTok, video has seeped into every facet of our lives in 2022.

With over 86% of businesses using video in their marketing plans, it’s important that the construction products industry tries to stay ahead of these trends, else it risks falling to the wayside.

Sustainability. It's a word we hear a lot in construction right now. Some would say, with good reason. 

The built environment, of which the construction sector is a crucial component, currently contributes around 40% of the UK’s carbon emissions, and it is estimated that the construction sector contributes up to 11% of global carbon emissions.

So, it’s hardly surprising to see a growing desire within the industry to go green with sustainable construction…

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what's the value of video?

Since Brian Palmer first conceptualised video marketing with the birth of television advertisements around 70 years ago, video marketing has evolved incredibly. Now 82% of ALL internet traffic is video in 2022.

With 86% of businesses using video as a marketing tool, can you really afford to be part of the 14% of businesses that don't? In this blog, I'll answer 3 of the worlds most common reasons for not using construction marketing video, allowing you to convince your Boss of its importance. Let's go!

We’ve talked about the importance of setting a specific goal for your Barbour ABI email campaign (to read more about that click here). But after you have a goal, you need a landing page that will convert your contacts and help you achieve your goal. If your goal is for a prospect to download a whitepaper, view an infographic, use a calculator, or book a meeting, then you need a landing page focused on helping people do that. 

Every year, new content marketing trends appear, forcing businesses to reconsider their approach to reaching their customer base.

When it comes to your building products, what content marketing techniques are you using? Can your construction product business take advantage of a wider range of approaches?

As 2022 approaches, many building product businesses are looking ahead to see how they can improve our businesses for the coming year.

Your marketing plan will be the pillar your building product business hangs on to, as it steers itself towards success. Your 2022 marketing plan will allow you and your team to keep track of your company objectives and maximise your potential.

This blog will cover the key elements to consider to deliver a solid marketing plan for 2022.

You’re looking to expand and recruit a construction marketing agency to assist with your marketing strategy, but where do you begin?

Using a digital marketing agency is essential for growing your business in the digital age and can make a world of difference. But whilst they can help boost your ROI, it is still a huge decision. You have to remember, the agency you choose soon becomes your colleagues that you could be building your brand with for years to come.

Live From #INBOUND2021

I have always found the science behind human behaviour fascinating! And, because of that, the talk “Using Behavioural Science To Improve Customer Success” was probably one of the sessions I was looking forward the most. The session was led by Andrea Belk Olson, Behavioural Scientist at Pragmadik, a market research organisation that uses data to improve customer engagement, differentiation, and build communities.

After 1 postponement, 3 lockdowns and countless litres of hand sanitiser used, last week finally saw the return of UK Construction Week after almost 2 years. 

Taking place at the NEC, the entire construction industry headed to the Midlands to share their latest innovations, educate their peers and understand the industry as it moves out of one of the most turbulent times in living memory.   

But with exhibitions spending so much time on the sideline during the pandemic, was it worth the two-year wait or is this once ‘standard’ marketing technique teetering on the edge of irrelevance? 

Well, we took the time to speak to several exhibitors and attendees on the final day of the show to discover which marketing direction the industry is looking towards. 

So, you’re new to construction marketing. Let us start by saying: Welcome! You’re part of one of the fastest-changing markets out there today. 

It has never been a better time to step foot into construction marketing. The way things have been done for decades is starting to see some dramatic change.  

Specifiers are becoming more and more digitally focused as the years go by - so much so that 98% of architects now prefer to conduct their research online. Gone are the days of traditional “handshake” interactions - and the reliance on trade shows and face-to-face CPDs to promote yourself is falling to the wayside. 

Over the years, we have repeatedly seen the construction industry not fully embracing construction content marketing within their marketing plans.   

In 2016, a study found that 93% of construction companies said they were allocating more funds for marketing, but was it being used effectively?

It's understandably difficult to know which strategies will generate you the most sales leads, and the ones that work best are dependent on your building product needs and goals.

So, how do you know what digital marketing strategies are best to improve your construction sales leads? Read on to find out more…

In their 2021 State of Marketing report, HubSpot found that 63% of the companies surveyed increased their marketing budget in 2021. Surprisingly enough, the results showed that increasing revenue was the least prioritised for their primary marketing goals in 2021. Instead, most companies focused their marketing efforts mainly on improving their brand awareness.

Live From #BrightonSEO

Finally, a conference in person with real-life people. I might be the only one wearing the bright red t-shirt stating ‘SEO is my superpower’ they sent out in the post before the event, but I’m fully embracing it. I’ve never been to Brighton before or Brighton SEO plus, it’s a free bloody t-shirt! 

Feel like you’re stuck in construction marketing Groundhog Day?

You wake up every morning, use the same tried and tested marketing techniques, reach out to the same list of prospects and end up not getting anywhere. It’s like someone switched the polarity of your marketing magnet!

Don’t be disheartened. There’s one, very quick and easy solution.

Digital marketing agency services are an essential part of growing your business in the digital age, especially within the construction industry.

That’s why hiring an agency to work on your construction business’ behalf can make a world of difference. You can get access to a whole team of industry specialists and double down on the ROI that investing in your digital marketing can provide.

If you’re thinking about which construction marketing services to look out for, here are 5…

Establishing and maintaining an online presence may seem like wizardry, and something construction companies never need worry about, but its proven: it actually works.

The construction industry is set to undergo significant growth over the next 12-months, returning to levels that haven’t been seen since before the pandemic.

This makes it a fantastic time for construction product manufacturers to rethink their marketing strategy.

With countless marketing agencies to choose from it can be difficult for construction companies to know where to begin looking and even more difficult to decide on which marketing agency is best for them.

In this blog, we discuss everything that a construction marketing agency should be.

Deciding to work with a construction marketing agency is a big business decision, particularly if you haven't invested in marketing before. 

Yet, when you make an informed and educated decision in selecting an agency partner, you can increase your engagement exponentially, and it can help you improve your ROI for your building product business.

But, how do you know which is the right agency for your unique business?

If you’re wondering how to narrow it down, here are key things you should consider when searching for a construction marketing agency, read on to find out…

81% of the construction leaders interviewed within the Construction Front Line Survey shared their expectations to enact or put in place initiatives to improve their construction businesses digitally in the following 12 months. With that 12-month deadline quickly approaching, it becomes clear that the construction industry is finally catching up with digital innovation.

Despite over half of the firms surveyed admitting that the sector has been slow adopting digital, results show that attitudes towards digitalisation within the construction industry are almost instantly rewarded, reducing their operating costs, and increasing their employee productivity. But the changes that come together with digital transformation go beyond adopting new technologies.

How well does your website perform? How hard does it work for your building product or construction company? Do you even know how to find out?

Outstanding websites that convert architects to returning customers requires an investment, both time and money, and you need to know what your return is on that investment.

If your website was one of your sales reps, would you let them off not meeting their key performance objectives or quotas? Would you be happy to just give them a pat on the back, and say, “Just try your best!”? No… I didn’t think so.

For many Building Product businesses, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has shown to be a successful route to market. It is also an important aspect of the professional growth of architects and specifiers.

However, due to the rise of digital technology - working from home and streamlining our approaches - we've all had to alter our techniques and think in new ways.

And this is done by digitising CPD sessions.

In reality, digital CPDs are providing manufacturers with new opportunities to reach out to a larger audience, expand their network, and establish thought leadership.

Producing a digital CPD involves more than just making a PowerPoint presentation and talking about the benefits of your products and services, however. What will set you apart from the competition is your ability to provide compelling, engaging content.

Many building product businesses used paid search advertising to promote awareness of their products and services, often forking out in the thousands to fund campaigns each month.

But over the past few years, performance for paid advertising has been declining, with costs going up and results going down.

We’ve heard of businesses whose month on month cost per click and customer acquisition costs are increasing while their sales conversion rates are plummeting.

But what’s the alternative? Well, content marketing of course.

In this article, we will put content marketing and PPC head-to-head to see who really delivers when it comes to sales and revenue.

Are you still feeling disheartened about England narrowly missing out on European glory? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one.

But don’t let that get you down for too long. After all, think of the journey Gareth Southgate and the lads have been on for the last few years, taking us from international embarrassment to unity and pride.

There are significant lessons to be learned from England, so let’s talk about how a change in your construction marketing tactics can pave the way for a shift in fortunes.

It can be difficult to find a construction marketing company for your building products business.

However, when searching for an agency partner, you may be unsure whether they'll be the ideal fit for your company and your marketing goals.

We get it.

That’s why we’ve put this blog together, so you know what things to look out for when you search for a construction marketing company…

There are many reasons why Sales and Marketing teams can be misaligned. Usually, it traces back to the issue that they are under different mandates, have different goals, and are tracked using differing metrics.

There can also be tensions that arise between the two teams – “Well, I did my part!”

If these are the sort of issues in your business, you may want to continue reading as in this post we will be covering everything you need to know to diagnose, fix, and ensure sales and marketing alignment for your building product business.

Even if factors like efficiency or functionality have been recently highlighted as the elements specifiers seek within a brand, construction professionals keep driving their research by a particularly human feeling, trust.

Specifiers find themselves looking for specifications of over 5,000 products for each project they lead, spending countless hours online waiting for the perfect fit. A building product brand that aligns with them and that is worth sticking with can save them from having to find a new project to specify for every project they have. In this post, we help you make sure that your content marketing plan has the essential key elements you need to build that trust.

When planning the growth of your building product business, there is always one question at the back of your head that might be keeping you awake at night:

“Am I doing enough to guarantee the success of my company?”

For some building product manufacturers, this question comes with an even more pressing sense of urgency and, most often than not, with a fair share of frustration:

“Why am I not seeing results?”

It’s essential that you seek out the right information before embarking on any construction marketing campaign.

Failure to do so may result in a considerable loss in time, effort, resources and, ultimately, money.

It may be tempting to go in all gung-ho with blogging, SEO, website improvements and PPC, but taking a step back in the initial stages of any campaign will pay off ten-fold in the long run.

And asking smart marketing strategy questions is the most efficient route to smart answers.

When designing your construction marketing strategy, we might feel tempted to describe all the reasons our building products are the best ones in the market. Putting our efforts into creating a list with the characteristics that make our services great seems sensible, but how will that make us any different from our competitors? And, most importantly, will that be enough to make a difference when a prospect is doubting between our products and those of a competitor?

If you’re planning on knuckling down on your construction marketing strategy and are considering a specialist marketing agency to help you supercharge your business growth, then there are many things you might not have thought about.

If you are taking the opportunity to rethink your goals and get strategies set in place for how your building product business can continue to move forward and grow, then this is the perfect article for you.

Email marketing is a standard within the marketing section of any business, with 87% of marketers utilising the capability of email marketing to generate leads.  

Although it may seem like a complex maze of trial and error (although partly true) this isn’t always the case when it comes to email marketing.  

The only time trial and error comes into it is when you have no guidance for email marketing, apart from that, the only real experimentation that comes into it is when running AB tests on your emails before you find the winning solution.  

To find out the 4 tips for increased success in your email marketing, read on...

Email marketing should be a standard in your building products business, but what are the true benefits of using email? 

Developing a blog for your business is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase organic traffic and build trust amongst your audience.

When adopted alongside a holistic Inbound Marketing approach, you’ll be on track to increasing your sales, reaching new markets and establishing your building product brand as a leading authority within the space.

As with any new approach, though, a certain degree of strategy and planning must take place in order to truly reap the rewards highlighted above. Cut corners and you stand to waste a lot of valuable time and resources.

In this post, we identify ten actionable steps for a successful (and rewarding) blogging campaign for your building product business. 

Read on…

Construction marketing has evolved significantly in recent years. Today campaigns are surgically targeted, planned, and tracked, but many construction product businesses aren’t confident about how to measure the effects of their content marketing efforts.

In fact, 65% of marketers can’t quantitatively demonstrate the impact of their marketing, but by the end of this blog, you will.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CONTENT MARKETING BY DOWNLOADING OUR FREE CONTENT GUIDE. JUST CLICK HERE

It’s a polarising question.

Creating a consistent blogging strategy isn’t as simple as it once was.

Twenty years ago, you could blog about a specific subject and you’d stand a good chance of getting ranked on page one of Google.

Many businesses capitalised (and profited) from this approach… and then everyone started doing it.

Google became cleverer, and consequently, getting ranked became harder.

Fast forward to 2021… generating results from blogging has now become somewhat of an artform.

And it’s left many building product manufacturers questioning,

How should I blog for my building product business?!

So, in this post, we’ve got all the tips and tricks to get you started on - what should hopefully be – a successful blogging journey.

Read on…

There’s been much talk in recent months about the introduction of the Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI), which is set to roll out this summer.

Developed by the CPA’s Marketing Integrity Group (MIG), it is a response to the issues raised in Dame Judith Hackitt’s report, ‘Building A Safer Future’, and it aims to hold building product manufacturers responsible for providing clear, accurate, up-to-date, accessible and unambiguous product information.

This post aims to give you a high-level, objective overview of what the CCPI is, and what you could be doing to best prepare for it.

Optimising and improving your building product business’ lead management process is an important aspect towards really getting the most out of your sales and marketing activities.

Did you know 93% of businesses use content marketing?
That’s a lot of businesses right? But not all businesses produce good content and it needs to be good – really good in fact – to be worthwhile to consumers.

Find out why 72% of businesses say that content marketing strategy is the key to success and how you can create an effective content marketing strategy for your business – less the headache.

“You guys are great, but your website’s shocking.”

Many building product manufacturers come to us having experienced this feedback from their Customers. You’ve spent years building up a positive reputation within your space, but your website hasn’t been changed since the 90s and it’s in need of some serious TLC. In short, it’s letting you down. It’s stopping you from winning those bigger and better projects.

A website redesign isn’t a simple process. It’s an investment in your time and your money. So, before parting ways with your hard-earned cash, we’ve put together 6 design essentials that your building product website needs in order to thrive.

Similarly, if you’ve recently undergone a website re-design but it’s not quite generating that ROI, use this post as a checklist to see if it’s ticking all the boxes.

Read on…

Sales and marketing alignment is all about getting your sales and marketing teams on the same page, working collaboratively to achieve the same goals. When both come together and support each other’s activities, you can achieve maximum efficiency and productivity, boosting your ROI and increasing revenue.

As time moves forward, a new generation is coming into the construction scene.

Gone are the days of driving cross country to explain a product to a potential client. Now we have tools to give us a much wider reach of qualified individuals, from the comfort of your office.

Using social media can have a  positive effect on your building products brand. Especially through the use of video.

In this blog we will be looking at ways the use of video can help boost your social media marketing efforts, how the use of video can resonate with customers, as well as the best tools to use to create informative videos for your marketing.

For building products businesses, the construction industry, or any company looking to grow; creating and implementing a winning lead generation strategy can be the determiner between failure or success.

The process can be complicated and things can often be overlooked, which is why a comprehensive model such as the 7 Pillars of Lead Generation can help you to build a lead generation strategy that will sustain your business into the future.

Pillar 4 covers the systems that can be used to collect and collate data or enable sales teams to contact leads. And it looks at how your team can learn and develop the skills to use these systems and get your products specified.

A few years ago I made a simple mistake, innocuous really, but one that would set off a chain reaction that would personally cost me over £1 million, reshape my future and drive me to succeed and be happy.

Here’s what happened.

Content marketing can be daunting, especially for construction products companies.

It’s easy to see campaigns from Coke or Nike and assume that you can’t do content marketing effectively without a seven-figure marketing budget – You’d be wrong. Clever ideas are free and sometimes all you need is inspiration.

So, if you're looking for something to spark an idea- Look no further. Here are 3 clever examples of content marketing you MUST see.

The ‘news’ or ‘blog’ section is often an underused asset on many building product websites, but when its powers are harnessed, it can yield some lucrative results for your business.

In fact, one of our clients received a 58% increase in quotations as a result of blogging*. If anything, this just highlights your missed opportunities if you don’t start taking blogging – or content marketing in general – seriously.

That’s right; In a world where the majority specifiers are conducting product research online, updating your website consistently with useful content will ensure you stay on top of the search results.

So, if you’re thinking about starting blogging, or if you’ve tried before but failed to see the results, give this post a read and find out what your building product blogs should be used for.

Read on…

If your building product business is struggling with: 

• Not meeting your sales KPIs 
• Suffering from low conversion rates 
• Or not having a sales forecast that you can rely on 

Then your business is probably struggling from poor sales and marketing alignment. 

It feels like every building product business wants to be a thought leader at the moment. It may even be something you’ve included in your marketing strategy – “become THE Thought Leader in our space.”.

I often ask, “so what’s your big idea then?”, to be told about how the brand has existed for 50 years, is a market leader, has supplied prestigious projects, etc.

But this isn’t enough. It’s not your past that makes you a thought leader, it’s your vison of the future.

So, what do you need to do to become a thought leader, and is that really what you want your brand to become?

Proceed with caution….

In the world of digital marketing, the word “blog” has been bandied around for several years now, and professionals in the field just assume that everyone knows what one is.

Whilst writing blogs has been a successful content marketing tool used by many industries, we’ve found that there are still some misconceptions amongst professionals within the building products and construction industry.

So, for my next series, I’ll be taking it back to basics. We’ll be exploring what blogs are (and what they’re not!), we’ll be looking at how to write a blog, what they look like and how you can get the most out of them.

In this post, we’ll be covering,

What is that blog thing people keep going on about?!

Read on…

Content marketing, besides being a buzzword is an atomic construction marketing tool and with the route to specification changing so dramatically, content is quickly taking the place of traditional CPDs and tradeshows.

But what types of content REALLY drives specifications, and is it even worth shifting your business model to accommodate it?

A key pillar to a strong alignment between sales and marketing in any business is a Service Level Agreement (SLA). If your building product business is suffering from slow lead follow-up or disjointed marketing to sales hand-off, then an SLA is the perfect piece to introduce - to solve your misalignment dilemmas.

An SLA is an important document that builds trust and collaboration between your previously siloed sales and marketing teams. Both departments come together to work on the ideal blueprint their teams should be working from. It sets down on paper exactly what is expected from each team which helps to contribute towards more successful lead conversions.

In this article, we will discuss what a Service Level Agreement is, why it’s important, and how to implement it into your building product business.

With content marketing costing 62% less than traditional marketing but generating 3 times as many leads, content marketing is a game changer for businesses worldwide.

But, what does this mean for your building product business, is it relevant for you?

Read on to find out more.

The 7 pillars of lead generation is a comprehensive model that guides you to grow your building products business. Each pillar brings its unique qualities and works in tandem with the others to increase the number of enquires, contacts and connections your company will make.

This blog is part 2 of the second pillar, which is Content Creation. Part 1 of Content Creation, covers the essentials of how to build a content marketing plan for your building product company and how to deliver it to the right audience.

In Part 2 we will discover how to make the most of the content you’ve created, by leveraging SEO to increase the visibility of your content and how to gate content to capture information for your CRM.

Now, this may seem obvious to some but the most vital factor specifiers consider when selecting a product is its technical performance. But, if this is the case why do so many building product brands get it so wrong?

Let me show you what specifiers are REALLY looking for.

Specifiers, architects and leads want valuable content from your building products business. You can adopt digital to reach your audience in a way that feels natural and organic rather than being disruptive and spammy.

Content marketing attracts, engages, and delights, your target markets – in fact:

• 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing
• 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content each day
• Conversion rates are nearly 6x higher for content marketing adopters than non-adopters

By adopting digital to improve content marketing, you can increase conversions, improve your brand awareness and ultimately – boost revenue.

Read on to find out how you can adopt digital to improve your content marketing…

If you’re a building product business with limited resources, creating marketing materials for your sales team may not be your first priority. 

But I've seen many building products businesses whose marketing is actually working against their sales teams' efforts.

Aligning your sales and marketing teams is a key goal in making sure your building product business is running smoothly and efficiently. When sales and marketing are out of sync, it affects your growth, your bottom line, and your team’s morale.

When you make driving alignment between sales and marketing a key priority, you not only get everyone on the same page - working together on the same goals - but you will also experience an average growth of 20% in annual revenue, according to Aberdeen Group.

Successful lead generation relies on the bringing together of 7 key pillars that unite to give you a robust strategy for driving the number of enquiries, contacts and connections that your building products company make.

The second pillar of these 7 is content, which will be delivered in two parts. This term umbrellas a host of written elements that make up your content library throughout your company.

In this second instalment of The 7 Pillars Of Lead Generation series, we will explore how content can help you in the building of your lead generation strategy.  Pillar 1 – Strategy can be read here.

Here’s a question: where does your building product brand live?

Does it live out on the road with your sales reps? Is it based on one-to-one interactions with your customers? Are your high-profile projects a reflection of your brand?

If you answered ‘yes’ to all of the above, that’s great.

But, is that enough in this day and age?

If you want to generate more leads, build up a strong identity and engage with new specifiers, then your website should be the home of your brand.

In today’s post, we look at some key things that every architect wants to see from your online offering, with key insights from Insynth's very own Head of Design, Louise Urquhart, who'll be sharing her pearls of wisdom when it comes to creating lead generating building product websites.  

As technology and digital habits evolve, it's not really surprising that video usage has shot up dramatically.  

It has even been predicted that users will spend 100 minutes a day watching online videos this year, highlighting opportunities for specifiers and architects to see your video marketing content.

When it comes to digital adoption, videography is something you should strongly consider for your construction marketing and here are some interesting facts to drive home this point:

• 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool
• Mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year
• By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all specifier internet traffic

Read on to find out how using video for your building products business can benefit you…

For building product manufacturers, developing trust with architects is essential in getting specified. To do this effectively it is crucial you understand what architects want from your brand and how you can influence their decision throughout the specifier journey.

Read on to find out more...

In my role with Project Prospecta, I find myself involved with sales more days than not. In my other role at Insynth, I help out with marketing. Being on both sides has given me a new appreciation of the need for sales and marketing to work together.

It’s so important for every part of your business to work towards a common goal (not doing "random acts of marketing").

Businesses within the building products and construction industry – who are dissatisfied with their website - normally fall into two categories:

1. Your website is dated and being used as a “brochure.”
2. Your website looks great (visually), but it’s attracting consumers, rather than specifiers.

In this post, I’ll be exploring what you can do to turn your website into a swiss army knife: a technical resource AND extra salesperson, helping you to gain more specifications, increased gross margins, multiple-purchase deals and better, more rewarding relationships with decision makers .

Both marketing and sales departments have one goal in common: helping their business grow.

The 7 pillars of lead generation create structure within marketing, sales and the overall business function of a building products company. By following them consistently, lead generation will provide your business with steady growth and profitability.

All 7 pillars work in tandem and without each other the structure crumbles. To create quality leads which your sales team can convert, all 7 pillars must be in place.

Each week, I’ll be exploring each pillar in-turn, helping you develop  a clear pathway to generating leads for your building product business.  

The first pillar is creating a winning strategy. Imagine this as the central column around which the other pillars are built. A mature and established strategy will guide your business through every stage of the process, and be a detailed plan to direct your building products company towards success.

As we move towards the digital way of working, team management tools have become a necessity for many businesses, especially whilst working remotely. Not only do these tools enable the organisation and management of your team, but they can also help to increase efficiency.

Brand awareness is the way in which specifiers and architects recognise and remember your building product business.

The greater brand awareness you have, the more your intended audience is familiar with your building product brand.

By boosting your brand awareness, specifiers and architects will be more likely to buy from your building product business over a competitor’s business with which they’re not as familiar with.

You can work to improve your brand awareness with the help of digital adoption, read on to find out how…

We always hear the phrase “work smarter, not harder”, and in many cases it’s true. If you know an easier way to reach a goal, why not use it and get there before your competitors?

Working smart essentially means figuring out what your strengths are and building a network around you to build upon those in order to reach goals in the quickest and most efficient way possible.

The easiest way to work smarter may be through the use of technology: building your tech stack. In this blog, we will be looking at what technologies you may want to consider for your building product company for smarter working, and gaining an advantage over your competitors in 2021.

Here’s a fun fact: Millennials are described as individuals born between 1981-1996. That means that the oldest millennials will be turning forty this year!

That’s right; us young whippersnappers make up for more than a third of the global workforce, and this is set to rise to 75% by 2025.

So, what does this mean for your building product business?

It doesn’t take a mathematician to realise that a large proportion of specifiers within the construction industry will be millennials: the first generation to live alongside the digital world, sharing an affinity with technology that helps shape their lives.

There’s much to learn about the behaviours of millennials, and in this post, we’ll show you how to make those necessary changes to accommodate the new way that these young specifiers and buyers research and select their products.

Read on to find out more…

What is successful social media marketing for your building product business? It’s everything from engaging users, attracting potential customers, researching, and keeping in mind the ultimate goal of gaining awareness to convert followers and connections into customers.

It’s important to improve your social media strategy because:

• An average of 3 hours per day is spent on social networks
• 54% of social browsers use social media to research products
• 71% of specifiers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend the brand to fellow specifiers

Read on to discover how to adopt digital to improve your social media strategy…

For owners, MD's, CEO's, sales teams and marketing depts of building products businesses, learning how to grow your business better in the digital age is essential for 2021.

Within this, transforming your business through content marketing is guaranteed to help your brand stand out against your competitors. It will generate incredible ROI for your company, generating leads and improving rankings on Google.

2020 is over, but the challenges didn't disappear when you flipped the calendar page.

As a building products manufacturer, you’ll undoubtably be looking for ways to save time. Enter: email marketing automation. Streamlining set features on autopilot ensures that your business stays relevant and your brand stays at the front of your architects’, specifiers’ and contractors’ minds.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the Insynth team returned from our visit across the pond. The main aim of our trip was to attend Inbound 2019: an annual sales and marketing conference that brings together industry leaders to deliver high-quality, educational sessions.

As you can imagine, I learnt a lot! You can read about my top five highlights here.