Basics II: Technical marketing for the construction industry – Understand the fundamentals!

Technical marketing in the construction industry is more than just advertising – it is a comprehensive process that ranges from market research to analysis and is tailored to the specific needs of the construction industry. This article provides a clear introduction to the basics and shows how you, as a marketing manager or engineer, can develop effective marketing plans that create real added value.

This blog post – part of our series on technical marketing in the construction industry – offers practical insights and a clear structure for successfully implementing technical marketing strategies.

📚 Ready for the next step? At the end, you will find cool case studies to test your knowledge and help you scale the marketing Olympus of the construction industry! 🚀.

What does technical marketing mean for the construction industry?

There are countless clever books that answer the question ‘What is marketing?’ – one example is the book by McDonald and Wilson (2011). Here, we will focus on the basics and, in the next few posts, we will take a step-by-step look at the specific challenges of technical marketing in the construction industry. This will give you, as a marketing manager or engineer, a solid foundation for implementing targeted and successful marketing plans.

Back to the question: What does technical marketing mean for the construction industry?

Here is a definition that we want to take as a basis – it may sound dry at first, but stick with it, it gets exciting:

‘Marketing is the activity of creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offers that represent value for customers, clients, partners, and society as a whole.’ (AMA 2013

That sounds like a comprehensive process – and it is! Figure 3 illustrates how all the steps – from development to communication to exchange of offers – are interlinked. In a construction company, an architecture or engineering firm, or a construction supplier, this means bringing together teams of marketing managers, product managers and other experts to design and implement these processes effectively.

Fig. 3 Visualisation of the definition of marketing

But how exactly does it work?

• Gathering market information: This is where it all begins. Whether it's the construction industry, manufacturing, engineering firms or IT service providers – each area has its target groups, and these need to be understood. Marketing objectives and communication strategies must be aligned with them. Only with a clear understanding of the market and the needs of the construction industry can technical marketing be targeted.

  
  

• Develop and implement measures: The actual marketing measures are then developed on the basis of these strategies. For technical offers such as specialised software, innovative products or comprehensive services, this means: how do you make your target groups aware of the offer? How do you communicate the added value of your product or service?

  
  

• Measuring and analysing success: Which measures have been effective and what could be improved? To do this, key performance indicators (KPIs) are set and the results analysed to evaluate marketing success. This feedback helps the construction industry not only in marketing, but also in developing better technical offers.

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Ideally, it's as simple as this:

1. You understand the needs of your technically oriented target group in the construction industry.

2. You have developed the right product or service and know how and where to place it.

3. Your target group recognises the added value, knows where and how to get the offer – and the offer practically sells itself!

4. The end result is a long-term, profitable customer relationship – because you have not only met the needs of your target group, but exceeded them.

   
   

The well-known marketing expert Kotler (2012) explains that the core of marketing is to offer customer satisfaction and added value. McDonald and Wilson (2011) add: marketing means meeting the needs of customers.

For the construction industry, this specifically means that marketing planning that fulfils these goals is the key to success – and that is precisely what we will be discussing in the upcoming articles.

It's going to be ‘marketing-tastic’ – we promise!

Questions that will take your marketing know-how in the construction industry to the next level!

Case study 1

Mr Smith, marketing manager at a construction company, is starting to develop a new marketing strategy for a technical product. To ensure that the strategy is based on the right data, he considers which activity is the first step in the technical marketing process.

Question: Which of the following activities should Mr Smith do as the first step in the technical marketing process for the construction industry?

A) Success analysis and evaluation of KPIs

B) Develop and implement measures

C) Gathering market information

D) Communicating offers

Answer: C) Gathering market information

Explanation:

The first step in the technical marketing process is to gather market information in order to understand the needs of the target groups. Only with well-founded information about the market can Mr Smith adapt his marketing strategy accordingly and develop the right measures.

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Case Study 2

Ms Wagner, a marketing manager at a construction company, has attended a seminar on marketing strategy and now wants to better define the core objectives of her company. She remembers a concept presented in the seminar that describes the main objective of marketing.

Question: Which of the following describes the main objective of marketing according to McDonald and Wilson (2011)?

A) Maximise the company's sales

B) Meet the needs of customers

C) Increase market share

D) Develop new technologies

Answer: B) Meeting customer needs

Explanation:

McDonald and Wilson (2011) emphasise that the main goal of marketing is to meet the needs of customers. This concept is also very important for technical marketing in the construction industry, because the main focus is on addressing the specific needs of the target groups.

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Case Study 3

Mr Farmer, an experienced marketing expert in the construction industry, is in the process of developing a long-term marketing strategy for a construction company. He knows that it is not just about achieving short-term sales targets, but also about building sustainable relationships with customers.

Question: Based on the text, what is particularly important for successful marketing in the construction industry?

A) Offering a high number of products

B) Quickly implement measures without analysing

C) Build long-term, profitable customer relationships

D) Copy competitive strategies

Answer: C) Build long-term, profitable customer relationships

Explanation:

A successful marketing approach in the construction industry focuses on building long-term, profitable customer relationships rather than just pursuing short-term sales targets. By exceeding the needs of the target group, sustainable and successful partnerships can be fostered.