Smarter Building Materials Marketing

The sales process in building materials can involve a few hurdles. Product certifications, though, might get your product in front of architects you’ve only dreamed of and prevent value engineering your product out of the project later on. But is a certification worth it? Let’s find out.

This week, we’re learning from sustainability expert Walter Lourie on how to use building materials certifications to stay ahead of the sales game and in the project. Walter gives us a couple of really smart strategies that he’s using to get in front of today’s top architecture firms.

A crucial key to making your brand an industry leader is by differentiating it from competitors. Identifying your audiences’ wants and needs is a great start, but understanding how to reach them should be first and foremost. The moment your brand becomes top-of-mind for customers, you’re on your way to big success.

This week, Zach and Beth talk with Gerry Messina, a building products marketing executive, who brings industry experience, along with a marketing and sales perspective to the discussion about selling to architects and contractors.

There are experts in the building materials industry who are certain that we're about to see a huge growth trend in offsite and modular construction — the kind of growth that can truly disrupt the industry and how we build its future.

This week, Zach talks to Tim Seims, from John Burns Real Estate Consulting, about modular and offsite construction and the impact that we expect it to have on the building materials market.

From lumber prices to eCommerce to TikTok trends, Beth and Zach talked about what matters most to the building materials industry. Here are our five most popular podcast episodes — and a couple of bonuses for you to check out.

We had the honor of talking to a number of industry experts this year, and packed a ton of great content into the last twelve months. Beth and Zach revisit our most listened-to episodes, with a few of our favorite clips included. 

By offering free education, insights and community, manufacturers can build trust with their customers and prospects. That kind of trust gives businesses a serious competitive advantage, but not everyone does it right.

Marcy Tyler is Director of Building Science for Tremco Commercial Sealants & Waterproofing, and she’s positioned the company as a recognized expert in the building materials industry. Marcy shares how manufacturers can use the same strategies to get their product in front of their ideal audience.

The manufacturer and dealer relationship has been strained in the last couple of years. But if you listen to this week’s episode, you’ll wind up with a checklist for tackling this issue head-on: how to improve relationships with dealers, build a digital presence that supports those relationships and sell more effectively.

This week’s podcast features two special guests: Joshua Rich, the president and CEO of Bullseye Locations, and Brian Baker, a digital strategist and founder of DoDecaHedron. The pair help Zach and Beth answer the biggest questions in building materials, around dealer relationships and how a strong digital strategy can support them. There’s plenty of opportunity for good partnerships if you have the right resources.

One of the most talked about social media platforms today is TikTok. It’s where a ton of online trends start, and in this episode, we bring back Venveo’s own Ashley Stevenson to help us understand which building materials brands should be on the platform and how they can be successful.

In a recent episode of the show, we talked about the ROI of social media in building materials, and it quickly became the most commented-on podcast we've done to date. So this time, we’re taking a deep dive into the wildly popular platform of TikTok.

If you didn’t already know, the Smarter Building Materials Marketing podcast is produced by Venveo, the digital marketing agency that our host Zach Williams founded almost 15 years ago. This week’s episode is about changes at Venveo and in the industry, and our excitement about what’s ahead.

Venveo has worked with building materials manufacturers and suppliers for more than a decade, and during this time, the industry has undergone huge changes. Beth and Zach talk about how Venveo is preparing for the growth ahead, with a few exciting updates.

The new year is a great time to start looking at your company’s brand and the story you’re telling online. Does your building materials brand stand out from the competition? In this episode, we look at how not one, but two, great building materials brands are setting up their own long-term legacy. 

This week’s guest, Heather Bowman, is the Director of Marketing at Key-Link Fencing & Railing and Superior Plastic Products. Both are fencing and railing brands built for long-term success, and we got the full story from Heather on how brands can set themselves up in the same way.

Manufacturers depend on their marketing departments for everything from sell sheets to social media. For a lot of manufacturers, all of that weight falls on just one set of shoulders. Are you a marketing department of one? Here are three of the absolute essentials you’ll need if you’re riding solo.

Small departments can get things done when they’re resourced well and have support from the rest of the team. Beth talked with Tracy Dacko, the Marketing Manager for Schöck North America, about delivering results and staying ahead when you’re running things on your own.

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