There are periods when everything seems to accelerate. And others when everything becomes uncertain.
Since 2020, the construction sector has known both, sometimes at the same time: a lightning-fast post-Covid recovery, an abrupt halt, soaring costs, a slowdown in property development, commercial property in decline. Volatility has become almost structural.
In an unstable market, is specification more strategic than ever? What are the new balances in specification communication ?
It is against this backdrop that we spoke with Céline Montfaucon, Customer Marketing and Communication Manager dedicated to specification at Groupe Atlantic. Fifteen years of B2B marketing experience, a lucid view of the sector's transformations, and above all one conviction: specification communication has never been so strategic.
"Our role is to make the decision easier"
Within her team, Céline steers all the marketing activities dedicated to specifiers: housebuilders, public and private developers, architects, contractors, engineering consultancies.
But deep down, she prefers to talk about support rather than communication: "Our mission is to provide tools that make specification easier. Specifiers must be able to understand, integrate and recommend the solutions on their own."
Behind that sentence lies a reality: marketing is no longer a mere information relay - it is becoming a decision accelerator.
A market that demands agility
When asked what has changed most in recent years, Céline does not talk about digital first. She talks about instability, about uncertainty.
"The real difficulty today is forward planning. Building a long-term marketing strategy in such a volatile market takes a great deal of agility."
Detached housing is showing some signs of recovery. Property development remains fragile. Commercial property is still posting declines of 2 to 4%. In this uncertain climate, specifiers are looking less for promises than for reference points.
From product to solution. Then from solution to service.
If the major transformation of recent years had to be summed up, it comes down to a gradual shift. We no longer talk only about products, we talk about solutions. And now, above all, we talk about services!
Specifiers no longer expect just technical datasheets, but understanding and comprehensive support in their projects and their practices: "The manufacturer is no longer perceived as a mere supplier. It is an advisory partner: not a substitute for expertise, but a reliable support."
This nuance is essential: the engineering consultancy remains the expert, the manufacturer becomes the facilitator.
Digitalisation: a natural but not exclusive evolution
Digitalisation has, of course, played its part.
The Group's specification documentation is going digital: printed stocks for this audience have been divided by ten in around a decade. Communications are now more digital and segmented via CRM (Salesforce), with newsletters personalised to each specification audience sent throughout the year.
Mass communication has thus given way to personalisation.
"Today, we deliver the right message to the right person. It is a major change in the quality of the relationship."
But Céline insists: digital does not replace the field, it complements it. In a deeply human, embodied sector, proximity remains a pillar. The sales teams, the local after-sales network and technical availability remain differentiating assets.
Regulation: speak accurately, speak clearly
RE2020, thresholds, decarbonisation, the tertiary decree, F-Gas: regulation now structures a good part of housing manufacturers' communication.
Marketing must therefore master the technical detail to remain credible with expert audiences: it works hand in hand with in-house specialists to guarantee the reliability of the messages. But pedagogy must never become professorial: "You have to be technical, but accessible. Demonstrative, without lecturing."
Standard thermal studies, concrete cases by climate zone, quantified demonstrations: proof now takes precedence over rhetoric.
AI: an opportunity under control
Impossible to avoid the subject. Artificial intelligence is finding its way into processes, into visual creation, into the optimisation of sales channels. A dedicated department has even been created to structure these projects within Groupe Atlantic, internally and externally.
But here again, caution: "AI is a support tool, not a substitute. The risk is the homogenisation of messaging."
In a world where credibility rests on singularity and expertise, standardisation would be a strategic mistake.
2026-2027: reassure, structure, personalise
Looking towards 2026, three major challenges emerge.
1. Highlighting differentiating services
A warranty extension to 5 years on many parts, commissioning assistance, responsive after-sales service: service is becoming a central argument in an uncertain market with little differentiation.
2. Using data intelligently
Customer knowledge is a lever for precision and relevance: personalisation is no longer a luxury, it is a requirement.
3. Holding a strategic course
Even when the market forces you to navigate by sight, solid foundations must be maintained: clear positioning, a coherent narrative, consistent messaging.
What will never change…
Despite digitalisation, despite AI, despite ever more sophisticated tools, some things remain immutable: reliability, expertise, closeness to the field, transparency.
"Communication must be backed by real proof. Not just rhetoric." In construction, trust cannot be decreed. It is built.
Running through it all, one conviction: tackling 2026 in specification is not about chasing trends. It is about understanding that in a complex environment, a brand's value is measured by its ability to support, reassure and simplify.
Yes, technology is accelerating. Yes, regulation is getting more complex. Yes, the market is hesitating. But at the centre, there is always a human relationship: and perhaps that, in the end, is where everything begins.