--- title: The Challenge of Marketing to Architects description: "How to Market to Architects: navigating building product sales and marketing challenges and writing a new playbook on marketing to this technical audience" image: https://www.insynth.co.uk/hubfs/Blog%20Header%20-%20How%20to%20Market%20to%20Architects%20-%20Challenge%20of%20Marketing%20to%20Architects%20%281%29.jpg --- [Skip to the main content.](https://www.insynth.co.uk/blog/challenge-marketing-architect#main-content) [![clean-logo-2024-white](https://507386.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/507386/clean-2024/logo/clean-logo-2024-white.svg "clean-logo-2024-white")](http://Insynth%20Marketing%20Ltd) [![Insynth | Construction Marketing Agency HubSpot Experts | Content Specialists](https://www.insynth.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/2021%20Branding/New-Insynth-Logo-Landscape-1.png?width=1073&height=352&name=New-Insynth-Logo-Landscape-1.png "Insynth | Construction Marketing Agency HubSpot Experts | Content Specialists")](http://Insynth%20Marketing%20Ltd) - Services - [CRM Strategy and Consultancy](https://www.insynth.co.uk/en/strategy-and-consultancy-for-building-product-manufacturers) - [HubSpot Consultancy](https://www.insynth.co.uk/hubspot-services-construction-industry) - [HubSpot Website Development](https://www.insynth.co.uk/building-products-website-design) - [Resources](https://www.insynth.co.uk/construction-marketing-resources) - [Results](https://www.insynth.co.uk/construction-marketing-case-studies) - [About](https://www.insynth.co.uk/about-us) - [Insynth News](https://www.insynth.co.uk/news) - [Careers](https://www.insynth.co.uk/en/careers-at-insynth) - [Blog](https://www.insynth.co.uk/blog) - [Contact](https://www.insynth.co.uk/contact-insynth) Search Toggle Menu Search Toggle Menu - Services - [CRM Strategy and Consultancy](https://www.insynth.co.uk/en/strategy-and-consultancy-for-building-product-manufacturers) - [HubSpot Consultancy](https://www.insynth.co.uk/hubspot-services-construction-industry) - [HubSpot Website Development](https://www.insynth.co.uk/building-products-website-design) - [Resources](https://www.insynth.co.uk/construction-marketing-resources) - [Results](https://www.insynth.co.uk/construction-marketing-case-studies) - [About](https://www.insynth.co.uk/about-us) - [Insynth News](https://www.insynth.co.uk/news) - [Careers](https://www.insynth.co.uk/en/careers-at-insynth) - [Blog](https://www.insynth.co.uk/blog) - [Contact](https://www.insynth.co.uk/contact-insynth) 4 min read # The Challenge of Marketing to Architects [![Picture of Jack Meisinger](https://www.insynth.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Team%20Members/8.jpg?width=30&name=8.jpg) Jack Meisinger](https://www.insynth.co.uk/blog/author/jack-meisinger) : 27-Jul-2023 10:25:52 [Inbound Marketing](https://www.insynth.co.uk/blog/tag/inbound-marketing) [Marketing Strategy](https://www.insynth.co.uk/blog/tag/marketing-strategy) ![The Challenge of Marketing to Architects](https://www.insynth.co.uk/hubfs/Blog%20Header%20-%20How%20to%20Market%20to%20Architects%20-%20Challenge%20of%20Marketing%20to%20Architects%20%281%29.jpg) Why should you read an article about marketing to architects?  There are two potential reasons.   1. you are a marketer for a building product company. 2. You are responsible for revenue for a building product company and are seeing a decrease in sales performance and wondering whether marketing can help. Whether your are in the first or second category, this article is for you.  Put plainly, marketing is the best way to drive revenue for building product businesses today.   Why is this?  Let us look at the challenges that sales teams are facing, and how marketing presents a solution.  ### The expert spec sales team put on a development plan (and why it happened)  Recently, a large manufacturer put their entire sales team on a development plan. The team had an average of 15 years with the company and had never previously missed their targets.  When we drilled down further, it was obvious that the reps were not the problem. They were doing the same things they had always done.   They were running the same playbook they had been for their entire careers.  But the landscape was changing.   Architects are harder to reach.   Sales teams complain that architects are impossible to get a hold of and rarely call you back until they need something urgently.   A few factors contribute to this. Busy schedules. Urgent issues. Reliance on email, Slack, and messaging systems. But mostly, architects want to engage on their terms. When they are ready.  This challenge leaves specification sales teams frustrated and out of control.   As a business seeking specification, it is important to understand these dynamics, to understand how you can adapt and support.   The correct response is usually not to put your sales team on a performance plan.   It is to consider how you can engage specifiers early, to generate good conversations for your sales team.  NBS reports that 92% of specifiers turn first to online search for product information. In second place are manufacturers’ websites (87%). Then technical sales reps (67%).  ![NBS Specifier Sources of Product Information](https://www.insynth.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Header%20-%20Specification%20marketing%20Why%20digital%20specialists%20get%20it%20wrong%20(1)-1.png?width=619&height=348&name=Blog%20Header%20-%20Specification%20marketing%20Why%20digital%20specialists%20get%20it%20wrong%20(1)-1.png) The most important thing to note is that your online search results and website (the domain of your marketing team) is the first place specifiers go - before your sales team.  Because specifiers are more independent and less reliant on sales teams, you must consider their first contact with your company.   What is the first experience they have with your brand?  According to the NBS research, this is determined by your organic search results performance, website design and content, and then your sales team.  It’s these digital experiences which determine whether you get the phone call from the architect, or your competitor.  Making sure that those channels are active, influential, and aligned, makes or breaks your opportunity to engage specifiers early.  So instead of putting more pressure on sales, it is time to evaluate how well your marketing efforts are aligned to the goal of engaging specifiers early, to generate good conversations, quotes, and orders for your sales team. [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3859543/a7b8c667-d898-4473-a04e-324f4c42a6d2.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3859543/a7b8c667-d898-4473-a04e-324f4c42a6d2)   ### The Challenges of Marketing to Architects    Despite marketing playing an increasingly important role in gaining specifications, it is still undervalued and under-resourced.  There are a number of challenges construction industry marketers face when trying to get a seat at the decision-making table, and getting the buy-in they need to succeed. *Here are the top 3...* #### Long-term vs. Short-term marketing  Management teams (and especially CFO’s) often look for return-on-investment from marketing activities in the next month or two. This puts pressure on marketing to be busy, but not necessarily effective.   With this kind of pressure, marketers are limited to "direct response" marketing campaigns that only seek to capture existing demand for their products, which is quite limited at any given time. Probably less than 1% of their total addressable market.  With project life cycles ranging from several months to several years, architect’s decision-making process is extended and involves numerous stakeholders. Making sure your marketing is set up to support this entire process means taking a longer view on return on investment. You must make sure your marketing is set up to fully support your audience's specification process. Without doing this there won’t be any results to measure, and the plug will be pulled on the marketing program. You will be back to where you started.   So setting the right expectations with management is essential.    [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3859543/a7b8c667-d898-4473-a04e-324f4c42a6d2.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3859543/a7b8c667-d898-4473-a04e-324f4c42a6d2) #### Technical content vs. “promo” content  Marketing is often synonymous with promotion.   This is how marketers are trained.   It’s how they think.   It’s what they’re expected to do.   But they need to take a cue from their specification sales team. The best specification sales reps aren't typical salespeople. They don’t drive sports cars, sell ice to Eskimos, or "work a room". They are practical. Knowledgeable. And according to some sources – “a little bit nerdy”. Often, they would have been good engineers or architects themselves, but ended up in building product sales.   Similarly, specification marketing teams must be invested in the details. They must care about the same things as architects. They need to understand where they fit into the architect’s workflow and provide the educational and technical material they need at every stage. This means that epic product demo video might need to take a back seat to a [CPD academy](https://www.insynth.co.uk/services/construction-cpd-writing-production).  #### Lack of Knowledgeable Industry Voices  We're not big fans of marketing guru's, but there is a noticeable lack of construction marketing industry voices and advice. Look up B2C marketing and you'll find data-led insights.   B2B Saas – thousands of playbooks for exactly how to do it.   Marketing to Architects?  None.   At least, none published in the last decade, and they hardly touch on digital marketing.   In the past, getting articles published in industry journals, email blasts, and trade shows were the domain of the marketing department.   So there is a lot of understanding about these channels, but these are not the most effective ways for reaching architects today.  There is research on the architect persona – but not a proven playbook.   That’s what this blog series will be all about. We will be publishing a series of articles on “How to Market to Architects”, writing the playbook for the new era of building product sales and marketing.   If you’d like to follow along, subscribe to our [newsletter](https://www.insynth.co.uk/newsletter-sign-up).   ### Conclusion  Building product businesses need to adapt to a new reality – architects will get in touch with you on their terms. If you’d like to influence their decision as to whether they call you or not, you have to think upstream. - What is their research process? - Are they finding you during this process? - What impression are making? - Are they finding everything they are looking for? - How do you follow up on that initial research?  By answering these questions with the latest in building product marketing strategy, you can position yourself in prime position to influence their specification, help your sales team crush their quotas, and establish marketing as a key role in the growth team.  If you’d like to follow along, subscribe to our [newsletter](https://www.insynth.co.uk/newsletter-sign-up), and you will get each new article over the next 12 weeks.     [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3859543/a7b8c667-d898-4473-a04e-324f4c42a6d2.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3859543/a7b8c667-d898-4473-a04e-324f4c42a6d2) ### ABOUT INSYNTH At Insynth we deliver a predictable flow of leads, customers, and specifications for building product brands through our inbound marketing approach, proven to connect with a technically demanding audience. The latest marketing techniques such as construction inbound marketing, help building product companies to grow sustainability. As the only HubSpot-certified agency to major in construction marketing. We have a proven formula of bringing a variety of functionalities together including [CRM Implementation](https://www.insynth.co.uk/en/hubspot-implementation-support), [Web Design](https://www.insynth.co.uk/en/building-products-website-design), [SEO](https://www.insynth.co.uk/construction-marketing-seo-building-product-search-engine-optimisation), and [Content Marketing](https://www.insynth.co.uk/en/content-marketing-for-building-product-companies) to achieve your ultimate aim: Growing your business and gaining new specifiers and customers. [Book A Free Consultation Today](https://meetings.hubspot.com/jack355/jacks-diary) to discover more. [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3859543/a7b8c667-d898-4473-a04e-324f4c42a6d2.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3859543/a7b8c667-d898-4473-a04e-324f4c42a6d2) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ##### ABOUT INSYNTH ABOUT INSYNTH Insynth Marketing is a HubSpot-certified construction marketing agency. We help construction-related businesses to generate predictable flows of leads, customers, and specifications in this era of digital transformation. [![platinum-badge-color (2)](https://www.insynth.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/platinum-badge-color%20(2).png?width=100&name=platinum-badge-color%20(2).png)](https://ecosystem.hubspot.com/marketplace/solutions/insynth-marketing-ltd)            ##### Useful Links Useful Links - [Marketing Resources](https://www.insynth.co.uk/construction-marketing-resources) - [Case Studies](https://www.insynth.co.uk/construction-marketing-case-studies) - [Insynth News](https://www.insynth.co.uk/news) - [About Insynth](https://www.insynth.co.uk/about-us-old) - [What We Do](https://www.insynth.co.uk/construction-marketing-services) ##### LATEST BLOG LATEST BLOG [Featured Blog Image](https://www.insynth.co.uk/blog/elevating-your-construction-product-brand-hubspots-crm-and-ai-integration) ###### [Elevating Your Construction Product Brand: HubSpot's CRM and AI Integration](https://www.insynth.co.uk/blog/elevating-your-construction-product-brand-hubspots-crm-and-ai-integration) The pivotal shift towards customer-centric philosophies has asked from companies within all... ##### Contact Us Contact Us +44 1952 897 097 [hello@insynth.co.uk](mailto:info@insynth.co.uk) Insynth Marketing Ltd The Mansions Shifnal Shropshire  TF11 8BB United Kingdom  [![Insynth Construction Marketing Agency HubSpot Experts Content Specialists](https://www.insynth.co.uk/hubfs/2021%20Branding/Insynth%20%20Construction%20Marketing%20Agency%20%20HubSpot%20Experts%20%20Content%20Specialists.svg)](https://www.insynth.co.uk) © 2026 Insynth Marketing Ltd. ![](https://dc.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=206356&fmt=gif) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Jack Meisinger", "url" : "https://www.insynth.co.uk/blog/author/jack-meisinger" }, "dateModified" : "2023-08-01T11:26:21.571Z", "datePublished" : "2023-07-27T09:25:52.000Z", "headline" : "The Challenge of Marketing to Architects", "image" : [ "https://www.insynth.co.uk/hubfs/Blog%20Header%20-%20How%20to%20Market%20to%20Architects%20-%20Challenge%20of%20Marketing%20to%20Architects%20%281%29.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.insynth.co.uk/blog/challenge-marketing-architect", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.insynth.co.uk/hubfs/2021%20Branding/New-Insynth-Logo-Landscape.png" }, "name" : "Insynth Marketing Ltd" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org/", "@type" : "FAQPage", "mainEntity" : [ { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "FAQs, or Frequently Asked Questions, are a set of common inquiries and their corresponding answers that provide quick and concise information to website visitors. For your UK building products business, FAQs are crucial as they deliver high-level information swiftly, capturing your audience's attention and guiding them towards informed decisions. Additionally, FAQs play a significant role in enhancing your website's visibility on search engines, improving user experience, and establishing your brand as an authoritative source." }, "name" : "What are FAQs, and why are they important for my UK building products business?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "FAQs can enhance your website's search engine visibility by earning featured snippets and "People Also Ask" box placements on SERPs. When you structure your FAQs using schema markup and incorporate relevant keywords, search engines better understand your content's context and relevance, increasing the likelihood of showcasing your FAQs prominently in search results. This enhanced visibility drives more organic traffic to your website, boosting your rankings and authority in the industry." }, "name" : "How can FAQs help improve my website's visibility on search engines like Google?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "FAQs streamline the user experience by providing quick and informative answers to common questions. With easily scannable content, FAQs help users find the information they need without having to navigate through lengthy articles. By addressing user queries efficiently, FAQs foster engagement, keep visitors on your website longer, and build trust and credibility with your audience." }, "name" : "What is the role of FAQs in enhancing user experience and engagement on my website?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Generating relevant FAQs starts with understanding your target audience's pain points, interests, and frequently asked questions. Analyse customer inquiries, industry trends, and competitor research to identify popular queries. Utilise keyword analysis to find phrases your audience commonly uses. Tailor your FAQs to cater to both informational and transactional queries to ensure you provide valuable answers across the customer journey." }, "name" : "How can I generate relevant FAQs that resonate with my target audience and address their needs?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Striking the right balance is essential. Consider the purpose and stage of the buyer's journey for each page. Pages with informational content might include a higher number of FAQs, while transactional pages may benefit from a more focused selection. Aim to provide concise and relevant information to maintain a clean and user-friendly FAQ section." }, "name" : "Is there an optimal number of FAQs I should include on each page of my website?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Research your target audience's search behaviour and study relevant keyword data. Utilise the "7 Construction Marketing Themes You Should Be Writing About to Improve Your SEO" guide to discover topics relevant to your industry. Address frequently searched, underserved queries to position your building products business as a trusted authority." }, "name" : "How do I choose the right topics for my FAQs to ensure they align with my audience's search intent?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Craft questions to mirror natural language and phrasing of user queries. Be concise, specific, and solution-oriented. Use action words to create a sense of urgency and relevance. For example, "How do I select the best sustainable roofing materials for my project?" or "What are the key features of your energy-efficient windows?"" }, "name" : "What are the best practices for crafting compelling FAQ questions that mirror user queries?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Your answers should directly address the queries, offering valuable insights. Avoid vague or ambiguous responses. Back your answers with well-researched and authoritative information to demonstrate your expertise in the industry. Providing accurate and trustworthy answers builds your brand's authority and credibility." }, "name" : "How do I provide clear and informative answers to my FAQs that establish my brand's authority?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Absolutely! FAQs with structured data (schema markup) enable AI assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa to understand and present your content more effectively. Optimised FAQs increase your brand's discoverability in voice search and AI-assisted search results, reaching a broader audience through these popular platforms." }, "name" : "Can I use FAQs to boost my website's rankings in voice search and AI-assisted search results?" }, { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Schema markup is a standardised vocabulary of tags that provides search engines with valuable context about your content. Implement schema markup for your FAQs, using the "FAQPage" schema type to signal question and answer pairs. User-friendly tools like Google's Structured Data Markup Helper make implementing schema markup accessible, even for marketers with limited web development knowledge." }, "name" : "How do I leverage schema markup to enhance the visibility of my FAQs on search engines?" } ] } ```