Demand Generation Marketing for AEC
Introduction
For the past five years, I’ve worked at a startup serving AEC professionals. I’ve spent a lot of time researching potential users, which included visiting hundreds of Linkedin profiles and websites.
What I found is that AEC professionals aren’t leveraging many of their unique and valuable marketing channels.
Wasting Money on Marketing “The Old Way”
It’s not their fault that they’re marketing “the old way.”
When I go to the national SMPS website, all I find are courses on proposal writing and in-person business development techniques.
That’s all fine if you’re in a small, local market. But if you’re in a city or want to grow regionally, you’ll want to think bigger.
I’m going to pause a moment to mention that there is also Inbound Marketing, which was coined by the founders of Hubspot. Inbound Marketing relies mostly on website content and SEO to drive search traffic.
This method is still relevant, but it doesn’t capture the whole picture. Nor does it present all of the opportunities and channels that AEC firms can be leveraging.
Demand Generation Marketing aka “The New Way”
Then there’s Demand Generation Marketing. This new approach asks you to ungate knowledge to position yourself as an expert. By doing this, you’ll create demand for your firm and services.
So, while “the old way” leans into expensive PR and proposal writing, Demand Generation Marketing focuses on inexpensive channels that build awareness about your firm. The only lift is that you need to document your knowledge and share it.
Examples of Demand Generation Marketing
Here are a couple examples of AEC professionals successfully doing Demand Generation Marketing:
1. Christine Williamson, Building Science Fight Club
You’ve probably seen one of Christine’s videos on social media or attended one of her lectures. Christine is an architect and “Building Scientist” who breaks down technical architectural problems and makes the solutions accessible.
She’s ungating her vast knowledge to help others who may have a similar problem. She’s also showing WHY it’s valuable to have a technical expert (aka the architect or engineer) as part of their building team.
Now, I’m not saying that you give your services away for free.
What I am saying is that you shouldn’t be afraid to get technical on social media. You’ll have to be careful not to violate client privacy, but you can speak more broadly about challenges you’ve encountered. And how you’ve solved them.
Also, one more pro tip: focus on sharing knowledge on your personal Linkedin page versus the Company page. People want to hear from people, not companies.
2. Neumann Monson Architects Website
I was ecstatic when I came across Neumann Monson’s Pricing page.
I was used to seeing Pricing pages on startups and app websites before. But, I had never seen a page like this on a professional service firm’s website.
It’s revolutionary because most AEC firm leaders are highly proprietary or secretive about how they work with clients.
Firm leaders also forget that their website is the single most powerful marketing tool to connect them to their ideal clients.
Neumann Monson’s Pricing page does several things right:
First, it grabs a visitor’s attention since a Pricing page is not your typical page
Second, it clearly explains the value that they bring to a project
Next, it educates visitors about why they charge what they charge
And last, it qualifies potential clients by weeding out those who don’t share the same values or who don’t have the right project budget
I’m guessing that Neumann Monson’s Principals group and Marketing team have saved months of time that they would normally would spent entertaining clients who aren’t the right fit. What a time saver!
A well done Pricing page like this one is a smart Demand Generation technique that is easy to add to any website.
Conclusion
Is your firm stuck marketing “the old way?” Are you paying expensive publicist bills or trying advertising campaigns that aren’t performing?
I encourage you to shift your approach to Demand Generation Marketing.
It’s less expensive AND when you’re consistent, it can create a reliable pipeline of your ideal clients.
Key Takeaways
“The Old Way” of marketing with proposals and PR doesn’t cut it
Ungate your knowledge to create demand for your services
Share your expertise on social and make it easier to qualify clients
Interested in learning more about Demand Generation Marketing?
I’m here to help! Contact me to get started >
About the Author:
Jessica Wyman is chief marketing strategist and graphic designer at Wyman Projects. She’s spent the past two decades building healthy marketing systems and client relationships for AEC clients and startups. Contact Jessica >