BIM (Building Information Modeling) is one of the digital levers profoundly transforming the construction sector. Indeed, it is revolutionising the way buildings and infrastructure are planned, designed, built and operated. While this technology primarily concerns specification teams, marketing and communications departments see in it real potential for influence for their brands...
In a complex distribution market, specification is a formidable lever for multiplying business volume over the long term.
While it goes without saying that the BIM approach is genuinely a matter of long-term corporate strategy, in this article we will confine ourselves to looking at it through the lens of communication. As you probably see every day, brands that choose to allocate a dedicated sales force to specification are still all too rare. So, alongside managing a network of multiple distributors (builders' merchants, hardware and industrial supplies...) and client accounts, the technical sales representative is sometimes also responsible for developing specification (architects, engineering consultancies, quantity surveyors...). Yet this audience requires an altogether different approach and, ultimately, the deployment of a specific message and tools in line with its expectations.
If specifiers have become increasingly sought after by manufacturers' brands in recent years, one of the main reasons may lie in the slowdown of the growth levers offered by distribution: market saturation, loss of competitiveness, difficulties with training and engagement in marketing campaigns... Specification thus emerges as a growth opportunity enabling, through a targeted effort, the multiplication of recommendations and, ultimately, of business volume.
Even so, specifiers remain difficult to engage: heavily courted by brands, short on time, and "impervious" to traditional marketing techniques. The key therefore lies in developing targeted, attractive and relevant content in line with their expectations. And why not within an inbound marketing approach?
13 December 2021
Paul R.
8minBIM emerges as an opportunity to build a lasting, privileged relationship with the specifier audience.
« By activating targeted content on the right touchpoints, we use the BIM theme as a pretext to initiate a lasting relationship of trust with the specifier audience » explains Paul Ricateau, account director at the agency. Object libraries, site case studies, events, training, videos, (social) media, digital: there are many formats for engaging our audiences in a meaningful way. « BIM is an attractive subject for supporting manufacturers through the digital transition of the construction sector. In this sense, it represents a relevant communication angle for brands wishing to position themselves as leaders in their market ». However, there is no room for opportunism: the essential thing remains to ground the approach in a genuine brand strategy driven by a long-term vision. Ready to move up a gear with a communications agency that specialises in your markets?