By Kevin Mayer, CEO, BLD Marketing

In many ways, the advice is simple and straightforward, the kind of guidance that can set a young person on the path to success.

“Don’t try to be something you aren’t.”

Across the building and construction industry, building materials manufacturers (BMMs) excel at the manufacturing part of the job. They know how to align manufacturing operations and how to introduce and utilize the right ERP systems, accounting practices, and reporting and measurement tools. They calculate margins. They manage inventory and supply chains. They lock down all the logistics to move product and people.

The goal line: To maximize the overall performance of their business.

When the conversation shifts to marketing, a disconnect can quickly evolve. The inherent challenge for the marketing function is to get senior leadership to buy in on any investment of marketing dollars. Historically, marketing spend was not always measurable and instead felt more like a leap of faith or an educated guess on return.

For starters, those at the top want to know sales and marketing are working in tandem with each other, a synergy not always in place with BMMs. They want to know their investment is delivering an acceptable return.

Then come the bigger questions, which can cause additional anxiety.

How is the company going to measure marketing results? Are the campaigns engineered to drive the right kind of awareness? What about converting the passive observer into an active customer? What mechanism is in place to accomplish this?

Better yet, what are the right tools and metrics needed to demonstrate success, tools similar to the ones used on the manufacturing side of the business?

Some BMMs have skipped crucial steps before they ask and answer these questions.

They may not have completed the kind of research that will reveal key insights, driving smarter decisions across the board. They may not have a full grasp of the tools that can align metrics, measurement, and reporting, critical to making informed decisions on marketing. Moreover, they may not fully understand the complete journey their product will take when it comes to specification. They may not have a full grasp of the pain points their customers are experiencing.

Add to this the rapid changes in media consumption habits, and you have a recipe for uncertainty and lack of confidence in a go-forward strategy.

This is where the value of partnering with an experienced marketing consultant comes into clear focus.

Today’s agency/client relationships have evolved, stretching far beyond the production of sales literature or brochures. It is much more about building a true partnership, tapping an outside perspective, leveraging industry expertise, and quantifying, measuring, interpreting, and optimizing your efforts and your spend.

Consider some of the benefits:

• Your agency has a succinct understanding of the building materials manufacturers’ space and possesses industry expertise.
• Your marketing partner can execute ongoing research involving internal and external audiences that can deliver significantly greater insight.
• Your agency can develop and implement rigorous planning, KPIs, and reports to track progress and adjust the marketing program’s trajectory.
• With your agency, you can collaborate to create and deploy a fully integrated digital ecosystem that uses content as the fuel for the engine and aligns your paid, earned, and owned media strategies. The program can analyze prospect behavior and adjust in real time, driving people further down the sales funnel to the point of conversion.

In the end, you have pivoted to an expert who can create a roadmap for success so you can focus on your business.

You have also likely created a scenario where your marketing partner is compelled to offer you the best strategic advice and counsel in every situation based on best practices, even if it means you don’t always agree.

It’s the optimal formula to drive results and support ongoing profitability.

Find out how you can leverage the expertise and experience of BLD Marketing.

About the Author
Kevin Mayer is CEO of BLD Marketing and serves on the board of directors of its sister company, CNVRT. As one of the most knowledgeable and recognized leaders in the building materials industry, Kevin has spent his entire professional career working both for and with building product manufacturers. Kevin began his career as a regional manager for a mid-sized building product manufacturer, then escalated to the C-suite level, where he led building product companies domestically and globally. As an industry veteran, his areas of expertise include P&L management, return on investment modeling, business development, and sales and marketing initiatives. He now leverages that expertise on behalf of BLD’s clients to deliver integrated marketing programs that are engineered for success.