Innovative A/E/C companies make strategic marketing decisions based on objective data and evaluations. They employ these proven strategies to accelerate their growth and success and separate themselves from the competition by focusing on the markets, clients, and opportunities that align with their competitive advantages and differentiators. Today’s economic climate requires a fundamental shift away from project based revenue pools and a more strategic approach to creating long-term rivers of revenue. Whether you are trying to grow your local firm, expand into new geographies, or acquire a competitor, Market Segmentation will guide you to the next level of growth. In this session, you gain valuable insight and action-oriented ideas to objectively evaluate your current position as well as set the stage for future planning. We dive into market knowledge, market and competitive intell, segmentation methods, A/E/C customer buying criteria, and successful approaches to lead generation. Since one-size doesn’t fit all in the A/E/C community, you benefit froma multi-prong approach to market and customer segmentation, with real-world examples like Design-Build, D-B-B, Vertical Integration as well as Horizontal Integration. Plus you get best practices for building your marketing culture, defining the purpose, developing a process, identifying the resources, and metrics to watch.

• Understand the concept and strategy of Market and Customer Segmentation
• Learn techniques to quantify, slice, dice, and focus on your best fit markets.
• Identify methods of segmenting by market, geography, services, pricing, contract values, and customer types.
• How to build a process into your Strategic Planning efforts that creates measurable outcomes.
• Action-oriented ideas and accelerators to win more profitable projects from existing, previous, and new customers.

Building lead funnels is a crucial strategy for generating consistent leads that match your ideal customer profile (ICP). In this presentation, we propose a framework for building lead funnels in three channels: inbound, paid media, and outbound. We outline the steps and tools needed to implement the process, and provide examples and best practices for each channel. We also discuss how to measure and optimize the performance of your lead funnels, and how to align them with your sales and marketing goals. Our framework can help you attract, engage, and convert more qualified leads for your business, and increase your return on investment (ROI) across all channels.

In this session, you learn:

• The benefits of building lead funnels for your A/E/C business
• How to make the three channels for building lead funnels work together: inbound, paid media, and outbound.
• Best practices and examples for optimizing your lead funnels and increasing conversions.
• Tools and processes to implement sustainable business development activities.
• Why so much A/E/C marketing spend is wasted, and how to shift resources to sales-driven marketing.

As A/E/C leaders, you understand the importance of winning bids and the vital role a compelling proposal plays in it. Yet, crafting a proposal that rises above competitors is no ordinary task. It requires more than just technical knowledge and business acumen; it demands a deep understanding of your clients, a mastery of emotional resonance, and the ability to tactfully leverage social proof. In this dynamic session, we’ll explore how you can strategically use a persuasive proposal to swing the decision-making pendulum in your favor. We'll dissect the psychology of persuasion to forge a meaningful connection between your firm's solutions and the client's needs. Discover how to craft narratives that go beyond transactional appeal and strike an emotional chord. Learn how to utilize social proof to bolster credibility, leveraging testimonials, case studies, and endorsements. Additionally, we'll delve into the power of compelling language to shape perceptions and drive decision-making. Designed exclusively for firm leaders, this session will arm you with a strategy focused on proposal substance and its persuasive power. This session helps you:

• Understand the psychological principles behind effective persuasion and their application in creating strategic proposals.
• Discover how to craft emotionally resonant proposals that connect your firm's technical solutions to the client's needs.
• Learn practical methods to integrate social proof into proposals to increase credibility
• Gain insights on how to use compelling language to shape client perceptions and drive decision-making in your favor.
• Learn to set strategic directions that ensure your firm's proposal process effectively incorporates persuasive elements for a competitive edge in the A/E/C industry.

Amanda Haven is the founder of Illuminate Marketing Collective, a full-service marketing consulting firm, and chief content officer of Illuminate Learning Lab, an educational resource for A/E/C professionals. She is an experienced professional services marketer who is passionate about sharing marketing and business development best practices.

Gone are the days of buying an ad in a trade magazine to go alongside a project feature story or an ad in a tradeshow directory and hoping to see leads trickle in and brand awareness grow. For the most successful firms, the smart money is on digital media and attributing project revenue to media channels. Digital media also allows A/E/C marketers to align audiences and messaging - a big step above old-school advertising. With the proper channels, strategic goals, and precise analytics, your firm can craft digital buying strategies tailored to your preferred audience and track results. But it’s not a one tactic fits all scenario. Join us and discover how strategic media allocation can transform your marketing efforts.

• How to develop your effective media buying plan to control spend and maximize ROI
• Keys to mapping your audiences
• Success stories from AEC firms using paid media to grow their brand and reach their marketing goals

Katie is the Sr. Vice President at Smartegies, the A/E/C growth consultancy that has been developing smart business strategies for design and construction firms since 2008. Katie is a seasoned marketer with more than 20 years of experience serving public, private and nonprofit industries. Katie is known for her ability to implement effective campaigns, combining traditional and digital platforms, with a focus on getting messages to market quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively.