My Courses

Specifier Engagement Webinar Every building product manufacturer needs to make a simple choice. Are they going to approach the market with a lowest price offering, or a value approach? A value approach requires that they make specifiers – architect, engineer, contractor and sometimes client – aware of the benefits of their products and hence justify…

A guide to entering the UK Market Webinar The UK construction market offers many opportunities for overseas product manufacturers who currently have limited or no presence there. Although the forecast for 2023 UK construction activity shows a decline, this is primarily in new housebuilding, with most other sectors continuing to show some growth thanks to…

For manufacturers of building products, the specifier sector is extremely influential and important. With over 18,000 architects’ offices in the UK, employing around 57,000 specifiers it represents a large group of decision makers who you need to understand and engage with. It is also a market which is changing how it works and gathers information…

Adopting a Key Account Management Approach Professor Malcolm McDonald described Key account management as “a natural development of customer focus and relationship marketing in business-to-business markets”. This was more than 20 years ago. Today it is just as relevant, but with the range of marketing software available to the construction marketer there is the opportunity…

Measuring Customer Satisfaction In the last few years, as product manufacturers have coped with the challenges of material shortages against a background of rising prices, the focus on customer satisfaction may have slipped as they strive to make sure product is available to their key customers. Unfortunately, balancing supply against demand can involve deciding which…

The Principal Roles in the Construction Decision Making Unit In construction there is rarely one decision maker for a project, rather there are a group of people influencing product selection of whom one has the ultimate authority. The key to successfully specifying building products and ultimately supplying them to the project is to know who…

Benchmarking for Communications Strategies As construction product marketers plan their marketing strategies for the next budget year it is worth dwelling on the importance of benchmarking. There are a vast array of metrics available for websites and social media today, which can show which channels are being used, how frequently and by whom. But this…

Introduction to the Construction Industry – Webinar This webinar is a summary of our online course Construction Industry Overview. It is ideal for the person new to the construction industry whether they work for a contractor, architect, builders merchant or building product manufacturer. It will be of particular benefit to a marketer into the construction…

The New Elizabethan Age With the sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth it is opportune to consider how the UK construction industry developed during her reign from 1952 to 2022. Here are some highlights. In 1952, with only 7 years passed since the end of the Second World War, a key priority throughout the…

As the second half of the year gets underway many marketing managers will be looking at their to-do list and wondering how they will get it all done. One solution is to consider outsourcing some elements or projects to a third party like Competitive Advantage, who can help overcome many of the common challenges being…