AEC Marketing Communication in the New World:
Low cost strategies
that really work
By Mark Buckshon
What are the best techniques and
methods to find new business in the
current era of rapidly developing
technologies and intensified compe-
tition? The answer to this question com-
bines some new approaches with
long-standing traditional and effec-
tive marketing strategies. You need
to build on your brand - and that is
primarily based on your actual client
experiences and their genuine enthu-
siasm and enjoyment in working with
you. Then you apply technological in-
novations to accelerate and enhance
your positive reputation, with effec-
tive client-focused editorial and vi-
sual marketing content, a solid
website, and some easy to manage
social media strategies. Finally, if you
wish, you can package these quali-
ties, combining current technologies
with future-looking concepts includ-
ing Building Information Modelling,
virtual/augmented reality, and – look-
ing forward – the powerful potential
of machine learning and artificial in-
telligence. At root, the basics of effective
AEC marketing haven’t changed in
decades. People (and business-to-
business clients are of course indi-
viduals working for companies) like
doing business with organizations
where they feel good about their ex-
perience. Clearly, your actual
work/service/product must be com-
petent, but if your clients’ overall ex-
perience isn’t at least satisfactory,
you will have a one-time relationship.
However, your goal should be to
make their experience super great,
by anticipating needs, communicat-
ing frequently, and where you can,
providing value added extras that
14 – MARCH 2018 — Florida Construction News
don’t cost much money but make
the process more enjoyable.
Why is the client experience so
important? Consider the fundamental
data that I’ve gathered over the past
decade through an ongoing poll on
my constructionmarketingideas.com
blog. At least 71 percent of the con-
tractors, architects and engineers
who have responded over the years
say that repeat and referral business
is their most important source of rev-
enue. (It breaks down to 41 percent
from word-of-mouth/recommenda-
tions and 30 percent from repeat
clients.) Advertising (at 13 percent)
and leads services/open RFPs and
public tenders (at 11 percent) are sig-
nificant business builders but don’t
really move the needle as much. Irri-
tating and intrusive techniques such
as telemarketing and door-to-door
canvassing work for only a few con-
tractors (at five percent).
The point in these numbers is that
anything you can do to improve your
repeat and referral business will have
disproportionate impact on your bot-
tom line. So you need to do every-
thing you can to connect with and
deliver value to your clients.
Your goal: Win sincere testimoni-
als and recommendations – so you
can make it easier for other clients to
say “yes” - and of course, to develop
additional repeat or recurring busi-
ness. Please note: While it is essential
to provide great client service, you
must never assert that your market-
ing/business strength is providing
“great customer service”. This is inef-
fective. If anyone asserts this fact
(assuming it is true), it should be
your customers themselves, through
their actual experience and testimo-
nial statements, either written (or
even better) in video format.