Building product manufacturers face the complicated challenge of marketing to the architect community. Finding a solid path for reaching architects can be elusive, and leave manufacturers feeling lost and frustrated. In this article, we discuss how data marketing can help shed light on how to reach the AEC community, and how a partnership with CADdetails gives building product manufacturers the tools they need to get their products specified into construction projects.
How Can Data Marketing Help Building Product Manufacturers?
Data marketing employs a combination of metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to reveal the results of a marketing campaign. In this context, metrics are different individual data points. Marketing KPIs are measurable metrics that can be tracked to gauge performance. KPIs reveal the effectiveness of a marketing campaign and confirm the ROI (return on investment). This insight is valuable as it allows a business to invest in the marketing avenues that are working, and make adjustments to the marketing elements failing to deliver an ROI.
Measuring KPIs starts with determining the baseline you are at, and then setting specific targets. Goals are set based on what the baseline is. To determine baseline KPI, the manufacturer has to determine the current status in a period of measurement then what do they want to reach in terms of awareness, leads, Ad's clicks.
Different marketing objectives may have different KPIs. For example, one objective for a campaign may be to generate sales, while other campaigns may focus on raising awarenes, marketing leads, or sales qualified leads. Marketing starts with awareness by providing a simple message and it moves on to address the pain points or problems the target audience encounters.
How Has Data Marketing Changed in the Last 10 Years?
Data marketing has changed significantly in the last decade. The information available to marketing is more granular and in-depth, and thus better enables marketers to analyze and understand the results of their marketing activities. For example, a website visit used to be the main metric for a website. Over time, more information became available and the visitor turned into a unique visitor or person. Measuring the KPI of page views is now more commonly measuring users and sessions. Measuring KPIs provides data on the number of users that engage with content, sessions generated per user, and pageviews per session. This is possible in modem analytics using first-cookie technology that assign an anonymous identified to each user that helps to understand every user behaviour, by keeping the privacy of the user intact. Users can access multiple pages and do various things, and all of that information is recorded in one session. These analytics empower marketers to understand how to keep users engaged by providing information on how users engage with content, pages, files, and videos.. The content changes made as a result of KPIs can then in turn be captured to determine how engaged users are with the new content that has been developed, allowing for further fine-tuning of the content presented to the user and the messaging.
In addition to data marketing changing over the last decade, the target audience for building product manufacturers continues to evolve. In medium and large firms, many architects tasked with making product decisions are junior architects. This means that building product manufacturers should be aware that some of their targets are Millennials. New generations of design professionals embrace new technologies to access information, make product decisions, and improve overall efficiency.
What Sets CADdetails Apart From Other Design Platforms?
CADdetails.com is a one-stop platform for designers and architects to find the files they need to specify a product. Other platforms are focused on specific design file types while we have a range of design files. We have a well-rounded offering for architects and designs and provide a good user experience. We are the number one option because we make it easy for architects and designers to find what they need to specify manufacturers’ products.
How Can Landscape and Building Product Manufacturers Best Leverage CADdetails Participation?
CADdetails offers manufacturers a full suite of marketing and technical solutions that are focused on getting manufacturer products specified into projects. Our technical solutions ensure manufacturers have the quality design files architects need to specify their products including 3-Part Specifications, CAD drawings, BIM models, and SketchUp models. Our marketing solutions empower manufacturers to deliver this design content to over 640,000 registered design professionals in North America and over a million globally.
CADdetails reporting takes much of the mystery out of marketing to architects and designers. Since CADdetails users are registered, we can deliver valuable metrics to the manufacturer and provide KPIs and insight into how users interact with manufacturer product information. CADdetails provides monthly metric reports that provide insights so manufacturers can see who downloaded their design files and better understand their audience and how the industry is interacting with their content. Manufacturers can use this insight to further refine their messaging and determine which types of design files gain the most traction for their specific products.
In addition to the exposure to the design community that manufacturers gain through participation on CADdetails.com, CADdetails provides manufacturers with stand-alone Microsites that offer designers all of the design content available on CADdetails. Microsites can be shared with the design community anywhere online, added to digital marketing campaigns, and leveraged by salespeople. Microsites also come with enhanced analytics to provide even more insight into how designers interact with their product content.
Manufacturers can inspire the design community by showcasing projects that their products have been featured in via their Project Gallery. Projects are linked to the products used, making the technical design content easy to access and download. Reach can be expanded by advertising on the CADdetails blog, Design Ideas for the Built World, or through the CADdetails AEC Newsletter. Manufacturers can enhance visibility and boost downloads by promoting products through Featured Product Positions and Front of Site advertisements. Since CADdetails has a large user base, manufacturers are also able to reach out to designers through branded email campaigns. CADdetails can send a branded email on behalf of a manufacturer to boost exposure and design file downloads. CADdetails is constantly working to create new channels to help manufacturers reach architects and designers and increase the opportunities to get their products specified in construction projects.
CADdetails is dedicated to helping manufacturers get their products specified through a well-rounded approach. Manufacturers of landscape and building products need their products specified to be included in construction projects. Act now to get started with CADdetails, and get specified!