Libby Zbaraska, Eazier Agency
If you market construction products, you will probably agree that there are few audiences more important than specifiers.
They make the decisions that often determine which products and systems make their way onto projects. And they make a lot of them, too. According to NBS, 13.6 million decisions are made through its specification platform every month, with more than 3,400 architectural and engineering practices using it.
So, understandably, you want their attention. What tends to the problem is that so does everyone else.
Specifiers are surrounded by product information, technical data, new launches, CPDs, emails, LinkedIn posts, case studies and increasingly AI-generated answers. But, at the same time, the decisions they make are becoming more complex and subject to more scrutiny.
And for those trying to engage with them, it can be pretty difficult to figure out what content will really cut through the noise.
With plenty of clients coming to us with this exact question we thought that, rather than asking manufacturers what they think specifiers want, we’d go straight to the horse’s mouth.
Our recent webinar with the School of Specification, Beyond the Buzzwords did exactly that. Chaired by Kate Perrin, Marketing Director at Barbour ABI, the session brought together Mark Schumann, Regional Director at Matthews; Paola Boffo, Head of Specification at WilkinsonEyre; Scott Farrar MCIAT, Associate Technologist at Scott Brownrigg; and John Ramshaw, Technical Editor at Architecture Today.
There was a lot to unpack. So, we’ve pulled together the seven things that really stood out.
1. More isn’t always more
In a world where we have more information at our fingertips than ever before, finding information is rarely the problem these days, being able to trust it is.
That applies across most sectors, but in construction the consequences of getting it wrong can be far more significant, with decisions affecting safety, compliance, performance and the wellbeing of the people using a building.
As Mark put it: “The challenge is no longer finding information. It’s about having confidence in its accuracy and the relevance to your specific project.”
That becomes even more important as AI makes it quicker and easier to find and compare products. For manufacturers, that means making sure technical information is accurate, transparent and easy to verify, with clear context around where and how it applies.
And when a standard data sheet doesn’t have the answer, make the next step obvious. Signpost specifiers to knowledgeable technical people who can advise on specific applications and requirements.
The goal isn’t to flood specifiers with all the information under the sun. It’s to make it easier to find the right information at the right time that they know they can trust.
2. Problem first, not product first
This was probably the clearest message of the whole discussion. Manufacturers naturally want to talk about their products: the features, benefits, performance figures and everything that they believe differentiates them from the competition. But that isn’t necessarily where the specifier wants the conversation to start.
Scott summed it up simply: “Marketing that gets my attention is when manufacturers lead with a problem first, not a product first.”
It sounds obvious, but there’s a big difference between saying ‘here’s a new product’ and saying ‘we understand the problem you’re facing and here is how we might help you solve it.’
The latter gives you a reason to be part of the conversation. But, to get to that place, you need to make sure you’re talking to the audience or, more importantly, listening to them. Not just making assumptions.
3. Proof in practice
We talk a lot about case studies in marketing, but the discussion made me think about what makes one useful to someone making product decisions. And it’s not just about pretty pictures, landmarks or famous names. For a specifier, the interesting bit is often the messy bit in the middle.
What that means is that, often, the real value is often in the detail. Not what went right but what might have gone a bit wrong: the technical challenge, the part that had to get fixed, how a problem was overcome, and how the product interacted with the wider system to create the solution.
Scott said he likes to see case studies showing how a product solved a particular technical issue because seeing it deal with real-world challenges gives him greater confidence in specifying it.
For marketers that means trying not to sanitise the difficult bits, they are often the most valuable part.
4. Putting experts front and centre
Unsurprisingly, nobody on the panel wanted more sales calls.
But what they did emphases is the value of access to people who genuinely know their stuff.
Paola talked about the importance of competency and the need for architects to work with manufacturers and technical teams that have deeper specialist knowledge. Similarly, Scott stressed the importance of being able to speak directly to technical departments when he needs to, especially for more complex projects and detailing.
For marketers that means finding a way to give technical teams a platform, bringing them to events, talking to them about campaigns, getting them on meetings, and working with them on thought leadership. Indeed, I often find that it’s when I’m speaking directly to the technical team that I get the real nuggets of gold.
5. Ditch the sales pitch
Many of us know that CPD is one of the strongest opportunities to get in front of architects and specifiers. But there’s a pretty clear caveat: it has to teach them something.
That sounds like it should be obvious, however, product promotion often overcomes the ‘juicy stuff’ in manufacturer CPD.
And, as Paola described, CPD is an opportunity to understand not only a product and its application, but the knowledge, expertise and willingness to collaborate that sits behind the manufacturer. It can be a brilliant relationship builder. But a catalogue disguised as a CPD will have quite the opposite effect.
Scott added to this, saying that he wants CPDs to explore how and where products could fail at a system level, and what can be done to avoid that failure.
That reiterates the need to show how products perform in the real-world. Expertise doesn’t mean pretending your product exists in perfect conditions, instead, credibility can come from being willing to talk about the more difficult stuff.
6. Getting beyond the shortlist
AI is increasingly becoming part of the way specifiers search, research and compare products. As Kate pointed out, it often now sits between a manufacturer and a specifier before the manufacturer ever gets a look in.
That could sound like bad news for traditional marketing and PR. But, in reality, I think it just makes the fundamentals more important.
If AI is helping to find and summarise information, there needs to be credible information there to find in the first place. Technical articles, case studies, expert commentary, CPD, webinars and Q&As all contribute to the authority surrounding a brand.
And AI doesn’t remove the human relationship at the end of that journey either. As Paola explained, it can be a useful starting point for research and comparison, but eventually the conversation comes back to manufacturers, technical expertise and people.
7. Building authority over time
Enquiries, downloads, attendees etc. are often the first things we go to when measuring success. Which makes sense, as it gives us hard numbers to prove ROI.
But specification marketing is as much about reputation and trust as it is numbers. We need the numbers, of course, but considering both is fundamental.
Someone might encounter your brand through an article, case study, webinar, CPD, podcast or LinkedIn post long before they have a project that needs you. That means consistency really is key.
John Ramshaw made the point that specifiers are a sophisticated audience and manufacturers need to demonstrate expertise through regular education and thought leadership. As he put it: “It’s sharing knowledge and thought leadership that seems to cut through.”
That knowledge is something that you need to build up over time. So that when the right project does land on someone’s desk, your brand is one of the first names they remember, see when they’re looking up solutions and trust when they could do with specialist expertise.
Perhaps Mark gave us the best summary for all of this in one sentence: “Don’t tell me what you’re selling. Tell me why it matters to my project.”
For anyone trying to influence specification, as far as briefs go, you can’t ask for one much clearer than that.