3 min read

How to Connect with Specifiers in 2021

How to Connect with Specifiers in 2021

How do you get in front of architects, designers, buyers, and specifiers as the pandemic rolls into the New Year? Business won't stop, but it will change. And the need to connect with specifiers will continue to change the way we reach out.

Whether it’s online exhibitions or 1-2-1 virtual meetings, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with specifiers that are digital versions of old formats. However, this digital-only-era brings new opportunities too.

The biggest opportunity is in the spaces we currently inhabit day in and day out: websites, email inboxes, and social media.

Designers, architects, and specifiers are online, and many of them are digital-natives having grown up with social media and digital technology. And regardless, everyone, whether they are digital natives or not, are adapting to connecting in these spaces.

Have a personality. When you talk about connecting with specifiers you are talking about connecting with people. In order to connect with a person you have to be personable! 

Some business websites and social profiles have no personality because they don't have any recent activity. If someone tries to pay them a visit online it looks like no ones home. Others are active and speaking up. The latter are the type that will connect with specifiers in 2021, because they've built an online personality for their brand by being active and visual in these digital spaces. 

Insynth Marketing | 2021 Free consultation

Here are 2 simple practices can help bring personality to the online presence of your business and help you connect with specifiers in 2021:

Be active and visual ONLINE

In order to connect with specifiers you have to be active. In order to get people to stick around you have to be visual.

Be Active

This means you have to establish a presence in the virtual meeting places of today: LinkedIn, email inboxes, your website.

What should you talk about? Why not contribute to conversations that specifiers are already having about sustainability, post-pandemic best building practices (ventilation, remote solutions, ergonomics) or fire regulations.

Not relevant to your business? Maybe answer questions frequently asked about your business. Or post helpful comments. Relevant information. Share success stories from your business or the industry.

Start talking - that’s the key. 

I’ve looked at many building product companies websites and noticed a pattern. Many of these companies have a blog but most of them haven’t been updated since 2018! This says to specifiers, "no bodies home. We're not doing anything". This is probably the last message you want to send, but the innevitable one you are sending if you don't maintain an active online presence . 

This is an easy thing to turn around. You can update the blog, then you can post it on LinkedIn. You can post on LinkedIn three times a week. It’s not a sophisticated marketing strategy, and you don’t need a marketing degree to do it, but it can make a significant difference to your visibility.

It’s easy to get into your own head on the internet, and imagine that what you’re writing is irrelevant. Like at a party where you try to add to the conversation and end up feeling awkward. Then you think everyone is thinking about you – but they’re not – they’re just having a good time and the quicker you can get back into the conversation the better.

Post. Post consistently. Have a voice in 2021.

Many businesses assume that their sales process is too technical for their web presence to matter. All that matters is tendering then getting in touch with quantity surveyors a few months later.

But specifiers are doing more and more research online.

What do you do when you’re thinking of doing business with a company? You Google them. And you take a quick browse of their website to get an impression of what type of business they are.

So why would specifiers be any different? Even if their first priority is budget, they will likely choose a company who is competitively priced and has a website that communicates quality too.

And don’t wait for them to come to you. If you’ve developed a good web presence, the next step is to introduce yourself to specifiers. This is where email marketing comes in handy. You can directly reach specifiers without spending lots of time or money.

This is where a tool like Project Prospecta really shines. After you have established an online presence, it can introduce you to specifiers, and let you know who is interested.

Be visual

The next step is to quickly communicate quality at every opportunity. 

Insynth Marketing | 2021 Free consultation

You can communicate craftsmanship, quality and excellence with a few well chosen images. This is more effective than if you were to list all the technical specifications up front. You need the technical spec too, but people won’t stick around to check it if you don't immediately catch their eye.

Of course, it’s easier to have great imagery if you supply timber cladding or something visually impressive. It’s harder if you sell plumbing solutions. But what you are really selling is the outcome, not the product. So use images of the outcome: if you are a plumbing company this could be happy families in beautiful homes.

Include beautiful images on your homepage, your LinkedIn posts, your blog covers, and you will quickly have a digital presence that communicates quality and excellence.

Conclusion

As you think about how to connect with specifiers in 2021, it will help to keep it simple: be active, and be visual.

If you’re doing these things consistently, you’ll build an online presence. This is essentially a personality for your company in the digital space. This is key to connecting with specifiers in 2021.

Insynth Marketing | 2021 Free consultation