Based on AIA findings, offering the specific resources architects seek when researching product information can help manufacturers stand out from the competition. But it’s equally important to proactively inform architects that your brand provides these valuable tools.

Two critical touch points for doing this effectively are email marketing and paid media. Together, they offer multiple opportunities to raise awareness and influence decisions as architects move through their journey to specification.

• Email marketing allows brands to deliver targeted, personalized content directly to architects, who rely on accurate, up-to-date information to specify products. By segmenting email lists and providing relevant updates, manufacturers can develop strong, productive relationships with architects.
• Paid media, on the other hand, amplifies reach and visibility. It can target architects based on behavior and demographics, ensuring product information and educational content reach the right audience on a large scale.

Combined, these strategies ensure consistent engagement and visibility throughout the architect’s specification journey. Here are three practical tips to make the most of these channels.

1. Deliver Relevant Content Via Email to Build Brand Awareness and Stay Top of Mind

A successful email marketing program is built on providing a great customer experience. Your messaging should not only get people interested in your brand but also provide an intuitive path forward on their journey to specification. A key to this is ensuring there aren’t points where the audience can get lost or frustrated by the inability to easily find the information they want.

The 2023 AIA report emphasizes the importance of up-to-date product information and responsive communication. Email marketing excels here by offering architects product updates, detailed specs, access to CAD/BIM files and educational information directly in their inboxes. Automated campaigns can ensure architects receive regular, relevant information without the need for constant manual effort on the part of the sender.

2. Use Paid Media to Showcase the Tools Architects Need During Product Research

Paid media can target architects on platforms where they are actively seeking information. For example, LinkedIn and industry-specific websites are strong opportunities to target professionals looking for new products. By using targeted ads and sponsored content, manufacturers can ensure architects are exposed to their products during crucial research phases.

Tapping into publisher partnerships can put your brand in the same place the architect is already looking for industry news, which helps create credibility. Offering access to educational webinars or in-person events not only fulfills what we see in the AIA report but also provides a great indicator of an architect’s interest in your brand. When they actively enroll, you know they’re committed to engaging with your brand.

Then, you have to pay it off with responsive sales reps, customer service, technical resources and a great website experience that offers easy-to-find product technical specs and descriptions. If you provide a poor experience for the architect at any point during these key decision-making moments, your brand risks creating frustration among architects. This can result in losing a chance to build desired brand affinity and potentially not having the product specified in the design.

3. Target Your Messaging to Reach Architects at the Right Time With the Right Content

Using analytics, manufacturers can refine their paid media strategies based on email campaign performance, focusing on high-engagement content. Coordinating messages across all touch points ensures consistency and reinforces the manufacturer’s brand and product benefits.

In running successful lead gen campaigns, paid media hands the baton to email marketing to continue the engagement with the architect. However, it’s important to understand the messaging that’s been used in the paid media campaigns and connect with it so there’s a consistency that helps create a natural path to continue the journey.

Manufacturers should focus on segmentation to send tailored content based on the architect’s firm size, project type and past interactions. Including content that is more helpful and less promotional, such as case studies, success stories and testimonials, can build trust.

As the report notes, architects rely on manufacturers to learn about new products. Offering educational content on building materials and products via email begins to build that 1-to-1 relationship and positions manufacturers as valuable resources. After all, the architects in your database already have a relationship with your brand (to varying degrees) and should be the most engaged of your marketing channels. While emails should be to the point, you have a little space to convey the value of your product, showing how it can be the solution to a challenge that architects face when designing buildings.

Transform Your Marketing Plan

By leveraging both email and paid media, manufacturers can create a targeted marketing strategy that addresses the needs of architects, ensuring the brand remains top of mind during the specification process.

To learn more about how Wray Ward taps insights from organizations such as AIA to help our clients build and nurture valuable relationships with key stakeholders, explore our content library where we analyze topics such as why the design-build model makes brand awareness more critical.