Persuasive Marketing Tactics: The Best Methods to Persuade in the A/E/C Industry

Persuasion is at the core of everything we do as marketers – our intention with marketing is to persuade our target audiences to buy what we are selling. But what tactics do we use to persuade others and how can we successfully implement them? Depending on what product or service we are marketing, different methods of persuasion can be used and have varying levels of effectiveness. There are various persuasion techniques individuals employ on a regular basis, however to be successful in persuading our clients in the A/E/C industry, we need to narrow those techniques down to just a few.

Persuasion through Authority

Perhaps the most important and frequently used method of persuasion in A/E/C is authority. We need to demonstrate to our clients that we know what we are talking about and how we have proven that in the past. In this industry, the best method to win new work is to demonstrate our past performance on similar projects. We need to show our clients how experienced and knowledgeable our team is, backed up by licenses and certifications, years of experience, education background, and project experience. We need our clients to see us as trusted advisors – and the best way we can do this is by consistently demonstrating our authority on a given subject.

Persuasion through Reciprocity

It is a fundamental principle in business and marketing specifically – we want to know, “What’s in It For Me?” We need to demonstrate to our customers what we haveto offer them, otherwise they have no justification for purchasing from us. On the other hand, we also need to strategically evaluate which clients we want to pursue work with and how it will benefit us in the long run. We want our client relationships to be mutually beneficial – by performing high-quality work and helping our clients successfully implement their important projects, we benefit by securing future work and building our portfolio of relevant experience for future use.

Persuasion through Consistency

If we aren’t consistent in our quality or customer experience, how can we expect to earn repeat customers or generate good buzz via word-of-mouth? Consistency is key in marketing in any industry, and the A/E/C industry is no exception. On a local level, we only have a finite number of clients we can work with on a regular basis and our relationships and past experience with them is key to continuing to grow our business. We are evaluated on an ongoing basis with every client, from the proposal phase through project completion. Any missteps or dip in quality can negatively impact our clients’ perception of us and make them less likely to award us work in the future. This is a persuasion method that continues far beyond marketing’s participation in any project and is the responsibility of all within the organization to uphold the same quality with every project, for every client, every time.

Though by no means is this an exhaustive list, these tactics can help A/E/C marketers strategically position ourselves toward our target clients and help make sure that we are securing future work for years to come.