Guidance for AEC Industry Technical Professionals
Technical professionals, we’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Your knowledge is the backbone and essence of what your architecture, engineering, or construction firm represents, and without consistent collaboration between technical professionals and the marketing department, all marketing will miss the mark. Marketing must be honest, precise, and authentic for clients to find any worth in the content provided, and the marketing department needs access to any and all information and materials that will help them create professional collateral. In other words, successful marketing necessitates constant communication and organization from technical professionals. How is this done?
So long as the firm has a working database where information is easily gathered and updated, the biggest focus for technical professionals should be providing information from every project. The most helpful information is fairly simple and constrains itself to one project at a time: list the challenges, address their solutions, describe the benefits.
At Marketing’s request—or, even better, at set milestones throughout a project—meet with the project team to create a writeup of those most basic components of the project.
Challenges
While not every project is challenging, there are always obstacles or complications. These can be technical (slope, materials), collaborative (change orders, ownership), or even external (weather, supply chain). Challenges are one of the best ways to show your expertise, so be open about difficulties, unforeseen circumstances, and complexities.
Solutions
How did the project team tackle the challenges? Were there innovative solutions or creative problem-solving? Did more communication or initiative do the trick? Most, if not all, solutions will reflect well on the firm, so be thorough, and do not shy away from explaining technical solutions.
Benefits
What benefit did the solutions provided give to the client? Or, overall, what benefits will the client enjoy by the end of the project? What amenities, design choices, and characteristics especially highlight the value of the project? Why? As with the other two sections, be thorough—this is where the meat of the marketing lies, and it pays to be descriptive and articulate. Pictures only go so far!
The expertise and proficiency of technical professionals with the firm's projects give precision and authenticity to collateral and proposals, and even to hiring a photographer. Maintain consistent and organized communication with the marketing team to keep these processes running smoothly.
