Digital is essential for reaching building professionals! But, swamped with information from morning to night, your audiences are paying less and less attention to the digital content they receive… Faced with “information overload”, here are 4 good reasons to create a magazine (print + digital) aimed at construction specifiers.
A print magazine gives you the chance to nurture the bond with your audiences by creating high value-added content.
The customer magazine is THE indispensable tool for any brand looking to develop a content and/or specification strategy aimed at architects, engineering consultancies or construction quantity surveyors. As a communication agency specialising in the construction industry, Convergence includes this type of medium in a number of its proposals, since it fits perfectly into a broader influence and “nurturing” strategy (newsletters, content, social media, webinars, etc.).
For example, the agency supports the manufacturers Atlantic, Isover, Terreal and Comap in producing this type of tool for their audiences. So what drove these leading brands to take the plunge?
Reason no. 1: build bonds and position yourself as an expert brand
As a recurring medium, a magazine allows you to enrich the relationship you maintain with your audiences. It showcases your expertise by offering a distinctive point of view on your market through features, profiles and interviews, articles and project references. Delivered at regular intervals, it is an ultra-high-quality tool that keeps your brand present in your audiences' minds, sustains the bond and feeds your communications.
But beware — no navel-gazing, ego-centred discourse: you will need to bring your audiences genuine added value through an expert perspective on the market's big topics (innovation, trends, regulation, viewpoints, services, etc.). For that, we hardly need remind you that a communication agency specialising in the construction world could be a precious ally!
Reason no. 2: stand out from the crowd
At a time when we are swamped with information from morning to night (the famous “information overload”), the magazine enjoys a high rate of readership, repeat pick-up and attention from your audiences.
At last, a quality medium that “takes the time” to dig deeper and offer a genuinely constructive point of view on the subjects it covers. A tool that is actually read, that stands out, gets kept, gets shared, gets passed around! It allows you to rise above the mass of information your audiences receive and, logically, lends credibility to your approach.
Let me take this opportunity to show you, on video, the “Construire demain” magazine produced for Isover (Saint-Gobain Group). A compact medium (4 pages!) that is simple to set up, yet takes the time to address strategic themes in the insulation markets. It is sent 3 to 4 times a year to housebuilders, social landlords, developers and architects to nurture the bond with the brand and strengthen the credibility of its expertise.
Reason no. 3: support the sales force
Yes indeed, a magazine is an excellent “business” tool for the sales force! It helps build relationships, provides a pretext for a meeting, leaves a quality document behind after an encounter, and makes tangible the added value your brand delivers.
Send it by email to a customer list and there is no guarantee it will be read! Handed over at the end of a meeting or at events (trade shows, lunches, site visits, etc.), it is the “icing on the cake” that builds credibility and reinforces the brand's expertise.
Reason no. 4: a tool that complements digital
Please, let's not get drawn into the sterile “print vs digital” debate — it is now beyond dispute that both channels are essential, simply coming into play at different moments in the customer relationship! Less print, but of higher quality, to create added value for your brand: that is exactly what such a medium is for!
A magazine can be perfectly digitalised and enriched for online reading: the reading experience can only be enhanced! Beyond that, it fits fully into your 360° communication strategy, since its content fuels your digital activity: newsletters, social media, blog, webinars and more.
So, ready to add a customer magazine to your communication strategy? The backing of a communication agency specialising in the construction world could help you take the plunge with complete peace of mind! To discuss the subject with one of our experts, simply click here or there: it is the same link anyway! ;-)