In a context where the end of the health crisis is (at last) coming into view, it is time for a first stocktake. What impact will the past two years have had on the marketing and communication strategies of manufacturers in the housing and construction sector? How can you come out on top in this new reality? How should you (re)position yourself in relation to your markets and your audiences? Between evolving messaging and new digital strategies, there is no shortage of challenges. Fortunately, there is no shortage of answers either (especially when you are supported by an agency that specialises in the sector!).
As a construction manufacturer, how can I move from being a “product supplier” to being a partner in the success of the project?
Evolving your brand promise and taking action
The past two years have forced society as a whole to digitalise, and construction and housing brands are no exception. How do you stay visible when consumption cycles and customer journeys are hostage to pandemic waves that restrict movement, human interaction and commercial flows? This challenge is forcing brands to re-examine their positioning and their promise, adapting them to this new environment in which time is accelerating and their messages risk being rapidly diluted in an endless mass of information.
Time to rethink your strategy?
While brands will certainly be re-examining their strategies in 2022 in the light of the past two years, they will also, logically, be evolving their messaging and their main communication tools and actions: product catalogue, website, marketing campaigns and operations, presence and strategies at builders' merchants, a stronger focus on specification, the roll-out of relationship-driven approaches, and so on. A few questions can help you clarify the issues, take action and strengthen your strategy:
- How do I create a bond with my audiences when digital has taken centre stage in the customer relationship?
- How do I bring coherence and fluidity to my omnichannel strategy?
- How do I adapt my message to my audiences and their new digital habits?
- How do I digitalise my usual communication materials without losing what makes my brand identity?
- How do I make my messages stand out and stay legible amid a flood of information and communication?
- How do I measure the ROI of actions rolled out in a 360° approach?
- Should I evolve my messaging in the light of this new “era”?
- Etc.
Need help finding a strategic AND operational answer to these questions? Don't hesitate to book a meeting with Paul Ricateau, account director.
Reinventing the relationship with your audiences to create connection
Gone are the days when products (or services) spoke for themselves in the construction industry. In the age of (almost) everything digital, brands can no longer overlook one essential point: creating a genuine bond with their audiences. “Creating connection” is no longer just a communicator's cliché — it is a genuine matter of survival for brands. Your audiences today can choose between several brands offering them quality at a fair price and services that make their lives easier. The battle is therefore no longer only about the traditional product/service pitch and the price response. That leaves just one variable in the equation that allows you to stand out: creating and nurturing a bond that generates brand preference. This is all the more true in an ecosystem that has digitalised at breakneck speed, where messages can sometimes easily get lost.
It may sound simple put like that, but the subject poses a major challenge: a bond cannot be decreed — it has to be built, and demonstrated over the long term. So you cannot simply claim to have a bond with your audiences; you have to take the actions that will allow you to build it.
At the agency, we champion a clear, pragmatic strategy on this point: to create a bond with your audiences, your communication must become a tool at their service.
As a manufacturer in the construction or housing sector, how can I become something more than a “product supplier”? How can I become a partner in the success of the project, or the job site? How can I make myself genuinely useful — making my audiences' daily lives easier, saving them time or money, showcasing their expertise? This shift in posture is deeply strategic: it is about sharing knowledge and solving our audiences' day-to-day problems in order to earn — legitimately — brand preference. To get there, ask yourself what your audiences really need and activate the right tools to deliver it:
- A fresh editorial approach to how you speak, moving from “manufacturing company” to “partner brand”
- A coherent, long-term content strategy, tailored to your audiences and their real needs, with relationship-driven rather than sales-driven approaches
- Communication materials (catalogue, website, brochures, etc.) that put the audience at the heart of the message, showing them that you have understood their challenges and have the solutions to meet them.
Let's stop thinking “product” and start delivering “solutions”!
To build a lasting bond with your audiences, you need a clear vision of your communication strategy. Good news! Helping you choose the right angle of attack and then putting it into practice in a pragmatic, impactful way is what Agence Convergence has been doing for over 30 years. To talk through your needs together, it all happens here!