Architecture Firm Finds 90% of Leads Online

By Sean McVey

My recent conversation with Derek Leavitt, founder of Modative Architects, yielded some interesting stats on the firm’s lead generation:

• Approximately 90% of the firm’s leads come through its website
• They receive around 4 warm leads per week online
• The firm’s web traffic increased from 10 visits a week to 400 per day in a short period of time

 
My two reactions to these shocking numbers were:

1. Wow!
2. How?

 
Find the Right Keyword Opportunity

Derek and his team were able to use search engine data to find some great keyword opportunities. They were careful to select terms that receive heavy search traffic but which don’t appear on many websites. Often these are highly specific keyword phrases, such as:

“small lot subdivisions”

This is a niche keyword that they felt they could own.  It accurately describes one of their core services so it was ripe for the taking. Ok, now what?

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Use Your Strategic Marketing Process to Shake Up Your A/E/C Firm

By Sylvia Montgomery

With less than 10 weeks left in the year, business planning is well underway for many firms. The strategic marketing process can look slightly different for each firm in the A/E/C marketplace. However, at the end of the day the goal is to:

• Reflect on what’s worked and not worked in the past
• Determine how to generate new business
• Grow the firm

 
Recently, I attended the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference for the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). One of the many benefits of participating in an SMPS conference is that you get to mingle with both industry novices and seasoned marketers. There’s a great deal of discussion about what is and isn’t working for A/E/C firms and how to best encourage an organization to change and adopt new marketing approaches.

The keynote address was presented by Mark Zweig, Founder and CEO of ZweigWhite and a leading management expert for the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental industries. Mark spoke about the need to shake things up in a business and how a leadership team can determine if it’s time to approach things differently. His candid and colorful discussion included a list of the Top 10 Signs You Need to Shake Up Your A/E/C Firm:

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Changes in Construction Marketing: 3 Trends You Can’t Ignore

By Sylvia Montgomery

I recently heard from an experienced construction company executive on the topic of referrals. The executive was concerned because the new generation of leaders in his company was spending less time building personal relationships with strategic partners. Word of mouth referrals had always been the foundation of his business success — but he was beginning to understand that the marketing approaches of the past would not be enough to sustain future growth.

Construction marketing has changed — repeat business and referrals are no longer enough. Construction firms must now see marketing through a different lens. To help you see, let’s look at three important ways construction marketing has changed:

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3 Key Takeaways for Professional Services Proposal Writing and Oral Presentations

By Sylvia Montgomery

A few days ago I attended a presentation by a representative of one of the largest public school districts in Northern Virginia. It was no surprise that a standing-room-only crowd of architects, engineers, and various other consultants gathered to hear the discussion on upcoming procurements. While those in the room were looking for the elusive “inside” to the next project, I couldn’t help but focus on the presenter’s basic yet practical advice:

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Cultivating a Powerful Differentiator

By Sylvia Montgomery

Last week I hosted a lunch program for the DC chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). The panel explored trends and interesting perspectives facing professionals in the A/E/C industry, as related to design-build, alternative energy and SITES (Sustainable Sites Initiative). The panelists also discussed how service providers were leveraging these techniques as part of their value proposition and differentiation efforts.

Peter Rigby, PE and Principal at Paciulli, Simmons & Associates, focused on design-build, post marketplace adoption. He explained how teaming partnerships in the industry had dramatically shifted from architect led to contractor led. His perspectives really brought home the importance of considering unanticipated strategic partners as a normal course of business.

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Should You Just Tell Clients What They Need?

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

I recently attended a think tank put on by the Society for Marketing of Professional Services Educational Foundation. (If you are not familiar with SMPS, it’s a professional association focused on the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industries.)  There was a panel discussion of CEOs from progressive firms across the country.  One of the topics of spirited discussion was how much you should listen to what clients say they want.  The moderator quoted from our new book Spiraling Up, “Buyers want what buyers want, not what is easiest for you.”

This position was in contrast to “telling the client what they need,” which was advocated by a couple of panelists.  So which is it?  Do what the client tells you to do, or insist on a solution that you think, in your professional opinion, is better.

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