Hinge’s annual research study on the fastest growing AEC firms showed that while many firms adapted to the chaos caused by the Covid pandemic, many were hesitant to celebrate, and even successes could add strain: pointing to ongoing labor and supply chain constraints and continued uncertainty surrounding U.S. legislation.

In the newly released High Growth Study 2023: AEC Edition, we dig deeper into how one exceptional group of AEC firms is continuing to find growth and profitability in the face of heightened uncertainty and risk. (You can use the discount code, GROW50, to save 50% on your research report purchase.)

About the Study

This year’s study examined 120 Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) firms, representing a combined revenue of over $8 billion and more than 22,000 employees. Firms of all sizes, global regions and key executive positions were represented in the study, with the vast majority of firms doing business in the United States.

While marketing spend declined among AEC firms this year, the study showed their median growth rate increased by almost 50% over the previous year. While the AEC industry has always shown a low investment in marketing relative to overall revenue, the data suggests some firms are finding ways to fight through the fog of uncertainty.

Technology

Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of High Growth AEC firms is when it comes to technology. Simply put, the fastest growing AEC firms are more digitally mature with more than 50% of the firms surveyed automating or managing their main processes with technology.

Furthermore, High Growth AEC firms are utilizing marketing and business development technologies more than their no growth peers—and especially when it comes to customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and business intelligence (BI). High Growth AEC firms are more frequent users of technology to track and attribute their marketing and business development activities than their No Growth counterparts. In fact, they are almost twice as likely to use metrics to evaluate the success of their events and thought leadership content.

And while they might be more frequent users of technology, this year’s full study showed that AEC firms are actually less focused on automation and artificial intelligence than other professional service industries surveyed by Hinge.

It will be interesting to observe the impact of “tipping point” applications like ChatGPT have across professional services. While these systems are unlikely to replace actual expertise or quality thought leadership content, they may very well democratize qualitative elements and provide opportunities for efficiency at scale. Many less publicized, but similarly powerful tools are already integrated into BI, communications and data platforms. This will be an important technology to monitor and potentially harness for a competitive edge as others adapt and adopt at a slower pace. These technologies have already been transformational in B2C, B2B and media – professional services will not be too far behind.

Strategy

So how do high growth AEC firms and no growth firms differ as they look toward the future? While mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and succession planning will likely still play a part in AEC firms’ future growth strategies, this year’s study found that High Growth AEC firms are looking to learn more about technology-driven topics and trends such as automation, artificial intelligence, the internet of things (IoT), and smart buildings. Their no growth counterparts are still focused on established tech, like BIM.

In addition to technology, high growth AEC firms are planning to focus more efforts on far-reaching market trends like ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and green infrastructure.

Marketing and Business Development

It comes as no surprise that high growth AEC firms are investing more in marketing than their no growth peers in order to drive their growth and profitability, but where do they see the most bang for their buck? Let’s compare and contrast marketing priorities and application of techniques to begin our assessment.

Perhaps one of the greatest learnings from this year’s study is where high growth AEC firms are prioritizing their time next, because after all, they must be doing something right! Social media marketing, a low-cost, low-effort digital technique, was identified as their top priority for 2023 while three times as many high growth AEC firms than no growth firms are utilizing social media advertising. (See Utilization of Marketing Techniques) This focus comes as the industry continues to adapt to the after-effects of a global pandemic and its impact on in-person event strategies. The fastest growing AEC firms are also prioritizing creating content and SEO. And firms are conducting more keyword research, using a programmatic, intentional approach along with publishing written blog posts.

The AEC study also found that most No Growth AEC firms had low SEO maturity while High Growth AEC firms had implemented a high performing SEO program. This is not just the reporting of “traffic increases”, but the understanding of engagement and positive impact to business KPIs (including recruiting). Over 68% of the High Growth AEC firms surveyed rated their SEO maturity at a mid or high level. The SEO programs at No Growth firms, however, are largely undeveloped, unstructured, and ad-hoc.

High Growth AEC firms are increasing the marketing team’s involvement in developing opportunities, researching target audiences, and developing the firm’s employer branding because marketers have the skill sets to do so.

Talent

This brings us to recruiting. As the war for top talent has cooled slightly in other professional service industries, the challenge maintains its #1 status for AEC firms. But High Growth AEC firms are increasingly more focused on specific elements of the talent challenge such as: general changes in the workforce/succession planning, managing a remote workforce, and the expansion of new competitors. Identifying generational changes and the cultural, operational and skillset shifts they bring is an especially astute (and practical) insight.

This year’s study also found that high growth AEC firms are still more likely to consult with outside agencies and freelancers to ensure their marketing needs are met and they can cover any critical skills gaps (e.g., design,strategy, SEO, copywriting.)

In Closing

While some AEC firms have introduced new tools and techniques to address an increasingly digital marketplace, others continue to struggle, searching for the perfect recipe to sustain growth.

But one thing has become clear: when it comes to digital engagement, business intelligence and opportunities for automation, having maturity, quality and measurable performance in each of these areas is key. Those AEC firms that use more digital marketing platforms and use them more proficiently, are experiencing more growth and at a faster pace.

(You can use the discount code, GROW50, to save 50% on your research report purchase.)

The post Top Insights from 2023 AEC High Growth Study appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

How do you make sense of it all?

To help you understand and navigate the new landscape, the Hinge Research Institute has released its 4^th edition of Inside the Buyer’s Brain: AEC Industry.

About the Research

Inside the Buyer’s Brain, was first published in 2013, in 2018, and again in 2020, providing the first comprehensive look at the differing perspectives of buyers and sellers of professional services.

Our just-released 4th edition details the perspectives of almost 300 buyers and more than 1,400 sellers of AEC services. In this article, I’ll highlight some of the most pertinent findings from this year’s study.

Finding 1: Recruiting and retention and dealing with a difficult economy are top challenges facing the AEC industry

The war for top talent rages on. “Finding/keeping good people” was identified as the top business challenge in 2022, followed by “budget pressures and financial issues.” Buyers of AEC services are struggling to find and hire the talent they need. Keeping that in mind, AEC firms should consider providing the skills their prospects need—to fill any gaps where their services line up with their clients’ needs.

And as economic uncertainty continues, it’s no surprise that “dealing with a difficult economy” has risen dramatically—by 82%—in the last two years.

In fact, AEC buyers and their service providers identified many of the same top challenges, likely because they are dealing with the same ones. However, buyers’ fifth greatest challenge—“strategy/planning issues”—was barely on sellers’ radars, a signal that today’s buyers could be looking for more high-value, strategic services to address recruiting, budget and supply chain issues.

Finding 2: AEC buyers are much more likely to listen to an expert speak on a topic or attend a webinar.

This year, the AEC industry saw an important shift in the way buyers search for information on business-related topics. While “asking your peers for a recommendation” or “doing a web search” will always be primary search methods, AEC buyers are now much more likely to “listen to an expert speak on a topic” compared to two years ago, when the method ranked in last place. Buyers are also more likely to attend a webinar.

To address these new behaviors, AEC firms should consider reallocating some resources to developing their thought leadership. This could include public speaking, writing educational blog posts, conducting webinars and improving their search engine optimization.

This year’s study also saw a sharp decline in the use of social media to search for a business-related topic. But take that insight with a grain of salt. At the same time, AEC buyers are using LinkedIn for business more than ever.

Finding 3: Relevancy ratings are at an all-time high.

The extent to which AEC firms are addressing their buyers’ top challenges has been steadily increasing since 2018. If you’ve been following this data over the years, you might recall that historically the AEC industry has lagged other professional services industries in this critical area. The steady increase indicates that AEC firms may be doing a better job of understanding their buyers’ needs.

And while relevancy is going to fluctuate depending on buyers’ needs and market conditions, now is a great time to step back and assess the challenges your buyers are facing and determine which ones your firm can address.

Finding 4: AEC buyers’ willingness to recommend their service providers has reached an all-time high, too.

Buyers appear to be more comfortable than ever sharing their client satisfaction with their peers. Not convinced? This year, “client service” joined the top 5 scale tippers for buyers when selecting a services provider. As a result, you may want to put more of your business development resources into expanding existing relationships.

Sellers clearly have the opportunity to provide a better client experience, which can lead to more work, more referrals, and better reputation ratings. If you keep abreast of your buyers’ changing challenges and expectations—and make the appropriate adjustments—you can position your firm to deliver long-term value.

Conclusion

It’s clear AEC buyer behavior has changed, with relevance and willingness to recommend at all-time highs. One way to better understand the nuances of your marketplace is to research your target audiences.

To dive deeper into this data and get more practical advice on applying it to your business, purchase Inside the Buyer’s Brain, 4th Edition: AEC .

Research Report

Inside the Buyer’s Brain, Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Edition

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The post New AEC Industry Research Released: How Buyer Expectations Have Changed in the AEC Industry appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

The Hinge Research Institute has found that 9 out of 10 professional services buyers will rule out a firm before ever speaking with them and more than 8 out of 10 will check out a firm’s website to evaluate them as a potential provider.

If you’re an architecture firm, your website needs to accomplish three things: present your body of work, demonstrate your expertise and clearly communicate your ability to address a buyer’s challenges. While architects understand good design, their websites need to deliver more than aesthetics.

In this article, we’ll explore eight essential components of good architecture firm websites. Let’s dive in!

1. Strategic design

The best architecture firm websites use their brand strategy to inform their design choices. Strategic design means using imagery, typography, color and layout to tell your story and engage your audience in a way that builds credibility and trust. Strategic design also allows you to communicate important brand attributes visually and reinforce your positioning, differentiators and key messages.

Ultimately, design strategy forces you to take your brand in a more innovative direction and deliver a user experience that is sophisticated and rich in meaning. At the end of the day, prospects will be more likely to remember your website and firm. And in a competitive talent marketplace, it helps attract top prospective employees, too.

2. Breathtaking imagery

Beautiful, vibrant photography plays a critical role on an architecture firm’s website. We are visual beings, and gorgeous, compelling images convey credibility and stimulate desire for your services. While many of the images on your website will illustrate your portfolio and showcase your body of work, others may serve a purely aesthetic function. Because of the visual nature of your industry, your website imagery should be of the highest quality.

You should invest in a professional photographer with extensive experience shooting architecture in daylight and at night. This is one of the best investments you can make. If you simply have no budget for custom photography (it’s not cheap!), try reaching out to partners you worked with on key projects to see if you can use or license their photos. This can be an affordable way to get top-drawer imagery.

3. A project portfolio/case studies

Project photos are important, but don’t forget the descriptions of the projects themselves. Be sure to explain the client’s challenge and how you solved it. Try to tell a compelling story. You may even want to connect your case stories to the appropriate team bios, putting faces and specific expertise to your best work.

Powerful case stories or project descriptions can help establish the credibility of your firm and highlight your team’s expertise. When a client is trying to choose a firm to work with, the perceived strength of your past performance can make a tremendous difference.

Don’t skimp on the details. Photos, testimonials, videos, key accomplishments and specific results and metrics will all help bring your stories to life and persuade those who might be on the fence.

4. User experience

From site architecture and content organization to broken links and slow-loading pages, a great user experience is one of the most critical elements of any architecture firm’s website. Simply put, a website that isn’t user-friendly can frustrate and deter potential clients and job candidates. Architecture firms often focus far too much on the dazzle of the design, leaving their website visitors to puzzle out hard-to-find navigation and make their way through a confusing and poorly marked labyrinth of pages.

And as more and more users access websites from their phones, architecture firms need to build sites that are just as beautiful and functional on mobile as they are on desktop computer screens. Responsive design—building your site to adapt organically to a wide range of screens—is more important than ever.

5. A blog for educational content

Your blog is not the place to feature recent hires, project awards or press releases. Instead, your blog should be the distribution channel for free, frequently produced educational content. Posts should address the design issues that are most important to your firm’s target audiences, trends that are facing the industry and other design insights that your clients and prospects will find relevant to their business challenges. By producing educational content, your team can demonstrate their expertise and build a reputation as a resource for smart, timely advice.

Once you’ve mastered blogging, you can develop other valuable educational content for your audiences, including executive guides, whitepapers, webinars, research studies and more. You can put some or all of these “high-value” assets behind a registration form to capture leads and grow your email list.

6. An SEO strategy

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through search engines like Google. By optimizing pages for specific keyword opportunities and applying a variety of strategies to build your website’s domain authority, you can develop greater reach and credibility over time.

Now, the competition for the best industry keywords among architecture firms can be tough, but according to Hinge’s 2022 High Growth Study, only 39.2% of professional services firms reported that they use SEO activity as part of their marketing strategy. Having an SEO strategy is a great way to increase your visibility and set you apart from your competitors.

Applying an SEO strategy will help the blog posts you write and the services pages on your website become more findable in search engines. And by optimizing your thought leadership content with keywords that your audiences are searching for, you can make your expertise more visible to prospects seeking that information.

7. Team member bios with headshots

Architecture firms sell expertise. You should want to do everything in your power to highlight that expertise and showcase the very capable people on your team. And yes, that means headshots all around! Putting a face to a name is incredibly important in an industry where a firm’s most valuable asset is the knowledge of its people.

On average, after the About Us page, a firm’s team page is the second most visited page on their website. Prospects want to know who they will be working with. And you want to establish trust with an audience who probably hasn’t reached out to you yet. Your people’s expertise is the key to building that credibility. If a visitor can’t find any bios of the people that work at a firm, particularly those of the leadership team, they are less likely to include your firm in the bid.

Furthermore, from an employer brand perspective, the development of an professional’s personal brand has gained importance over the past few years—particularly to that ambitious mid-career employee who is looking to carve out his or her place at an up-and-coming architecture practice. Prove to your employees you are invested in their success by giving your top experts the opportunity to build their reputation.

8. Call-to-actions/Offers for more engagement

What good is your architecture firm’s website without a mechanism that will excite the user to take a next step or action? While a “Contact Us” button is a call-to-action (CTA) of sorts, you can do better.

The most effective architectural websites from a marketing perspective feature various offers for further engagement. Maybe it’s a free consultation or an offer to download a premium piece of content, such as an in-depth guide. Whatever you offer, require the interested party to provide contact information—their name and email address at the very minimum—so that you have a means to contact them in the future with additional content and offers. But don’t hound them with sales pitches. Instead, nurture them over time with more free, valuable content. That way, when they need to hire an architect, your firm will be top of mind.

Many architecture firm websites are visually stunning but do little to build their business. They are wonderful brochures but utterly fail to meet the needs of today’s buyers, who increasingly rely on the internet to find and evaluate firms. What’s more, traditional referrals are in a slow but steady decline, so architects that want to build the thriving business of tomorrow need to start developing their online reputations today.

And there’s no better place to begin than by building a website that not only meets your high aesthetic standards, but addresses the needs of the modern buyer of architectural services.

The post 8 Essential Features of an Architecture Firm’s Website appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

Amid the turbulence, one thing has become clear: Change happens quickly and those AEC firms that are slow to adapt will be left behind. The Hinge Research Institute’s newly released High Growth Study 2022: AEC Edition paints this picture.

About the Study

The analysis covers 141 AEC firms, representing a combined revenue of nearly $40 billion and more than 60,000 employees. Firms of all sizes, global regions and key executive roles were represented in the study, with the vast majority of firms doing business in the United States. 

This year’s study showed that while marketing budgets have stabilized after a rapid ascent last year, high growth AEC firms are introducing new digital techniques into their repertoire to help stimulate growth. Furthermore, AEC firms are becoming increasingly more interested in popular topics such as workflow/process automation, customer experience and digital transformation.

In this article, I’ll explain how these fast-growing firms have built their competitive edge with their pursuits, project delivery, recruiting and retention in mind, through four key areas: technology, talent, strategy, and marketing.

Technology

Simply put, high growth AEC firms are utilizing marketing and business development technologies more than their no growth peers—20 percent more, to be exact—and especially when it comes to customer relationship management (CRM), marketing automation and artificial intelligence (AI). They also use technology to track their marketing and business development activities more frequently than their counterparts. 

Almost half the high growth AEC firms surveyed used data from their website or other digital sources to score leads and were 30 percent more profitable than the no growth firms. Forty percent use metrics and ROI to report on and analyze the impact of their marketing efforts. These are the AEC firms to watch because they have the data and analytics with which to make more informed business decisions.

Talent

As the war for top talent, fueled by the pandemic and “The Great Resignation,” rages on across all professional services industries, AEC firms have been looking for ways to attract the highly skilled professionals they need. This year’s study found that high growth AEC firms are more likely to consult with outside agencies and freelancers to ensure their marketing needs are met and they can cover any critical skills gaps (e.g., graphic design, copywriting.)

Interestingly, despite outsourcing the work, the study showed that high growth AEC firms have the greatest skills advantage in some of these exact marketing activities, such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Strategy

How do high growth AEC firms and no growth firms differ as they look toward the future? While mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will likely still play a part in high growth AEC firms’ future growth strategies, their focus is turning elsewhere. While AI is top of mind for most AEC firms, the high growth firms are more interested in learning about VR/AR, innovation topics and cyber security trends than their no growth counterparts. 

The Hinge Research Institute also looked at what challenges high growth AEC firms were anticipating down the road which proved to differ from their no growth peers. While most AEC firms have become accustomed to a remote work environment, managing that remote workforce is still top of mind for many high growth firms. And as digital transformation takes hold, the fastest growing AEC firms are more concerned with changes in how their buyers are buying their services in the coming years. 

Marketing

It comes as no surprise that high growth AEC firms are investing more in marketing than their no growth peers in order to drive their growth and profitability, but where do they see the most bang for their buck? The HGS report provides a full list of the most impactful marketing techniques but what is particularly noteworthy is that seven out of the 10 are digital techniques such as podcasts (#1), webinars (#2), video blogging (#4) and keyword research/SEO (#10).

And when we take a closer look, we can see that high growth AEC firms are receiving much greater impact from presenting in educational webinars and keyword research/SEO, two critical, digital techniques that have been overlooked by the no growth firms. The study also found that higher SEO maturity (the more you invest in SEO for your firm) translates to more digital leads.

Perhaps one of the greatest learnings from this year’s study is where high growth AEC firms are prioritizing their time next, because after all, they must be doing something right! Social media marketing, a low-cost, low-effort digital technique, was identified as their top priority for 2022 by almost three times as many high growth AEC firms as no growth firms. This focus comes as the industry continues to deal with the effects from the pandemic and limits networking at in-person events. 

The fastest growing AEC firms are also prioritizing creating content, SEO and analyzing the performance of their marketing efforts, among others that you can find in the full report. Maybe the time is now to compare your priorities for the coming year to those of the high growth AEC firms.

A final thought

While uncertainty about labor shortages, supply chain and legislation linger on, the past year saw many AEC firms finding ways to manage the constraints. Joining the bandwagon that is the digital transformation has never been more important.  

Those AEC firms that use more digital marketing platforms and techniques, and that also use them more proficiently, are experiencing more growth and at a faster pace. The greater sophistication of a firm’s marketing efforts, the greater their competitive advantage will be.

The post High Growth Study 2022: AEC Firms Go Digital appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

I’ve been talking to marketers and executives in engineering firms about the revolution that has been underway in AEC marketing. It’s a real shift away from traditional marketing techniques and toward online marketing.

Firms who still aren’t embracing this fundamental shift stand to fall further and further behind the competition.

Generally speaking, engineering firms aren’t natural marketing innovators. Marketing for engineering firms usually consists of event sponsorships and face-to-face networking. While the marketing spend on print advertising continues to decline (see Hinge’s own research on marketing for professional services), some firms insist on wasting their hard-earned dollars.

Pick up the latest issue of any trade publication and you’ll still see ad after ad for AEC firms. Some engineering firms continue to look at print advertising as a primary vehicle for promoting their business. Maybe someday the right person will see their ad, and principals feel comfortable with visibility that they and hold in their hands.

Why is it that some executives often think nothing of spending big money on print ads, yet they object to the financial investment associated with a new website?

The Trajectory of a Print Ad

In an advertisement, a headline, some body copy, and a visual come together. You submit it to a publication. It runs once or just a couple of times. It’s seen by a limited number of people (and you’ll never know how many actually read it).

Firms lack the ability to directly tie new business to the ad — the ROI is largely unknowable.

The Trajectory of a Website

A well-designed, high-performance website, on the other hand, offers far greater opportunity and flexibility. Once a site goes live, it is available 24/7/365 and can be seen by an unlimited number viewers across diverse geographic areas.

You can use various proven techniques to attract visitors to your site, generate leads, and nurture prospects. And all of this activity is trackable. That means you can calculate real ROI.

Is it possible that some executives think nothing of spending money on print ads because it’s the evil they know? If they embraced the revolution currently underway in professional services marketing, would they be better off? Well, that would be devil they don’t know.

If you are on the fence, there are a number of good reasons to embrace the revolution. We document the online revolution in our free book, Online Marketing for Professional Services.

In the meantime, here are three reasons why a website continues to be the best investment for marketing for engineering firms:

1. Show Off Your Brand– A website has the ability to demonstrate a firm’s culture in a way that can profoundly impact how you attract top talent.
2. Demonstrate Your Expertise– You don’t have to luck into meeting the right prospect (as you do at a networking event). A good website can demonstrate your expertise and generate leads in a steady, reliable fashion.
3. Be Genuine, be Consistent  – A good website has the ability to attract leads, nurture them, and convert them into opportunities. What you say online should be consistent with the message your people are delivering in the real world. No website, no matter how well done, will help you grow your business if it does not project a genuine and consistent value proposition.

You can bet that any magazine you advertise in will end up in the trash. Your website, however, is always on and always working. That’s a powerful advantage. Isn’t it time you embraced the online revolution to reengineer your firm’s marketing?

Free Resource

The Lead Generating Website Guide

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The post Marketing for Engineering Firms: 3 Reasons to Embrace the Revolution appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

With such widespread change, so comes a wide variety of opportunities and challenges.

As part of the Hinge Research Institute’s ongoing High Growth Study, over 281 business leaders and marketers from AEC firms, representing $75 billion in combined revenue, were surveyed about their top anticipated business challenges for the next 3-5 years.

While there are many opportunities in the marketplace, this article will focus on the top five anticipated business challenges of AEC firms. Making the future a bit more manageable, the results are intended to offer insight into the best approaches for driving success in the coming year.

Top Anticipated Business Challenges of AEC Firms

For AEC firms aiming to grow and retain a competitive advantage over their competitors, obtaining a research-based understanding of how your peers and competitors view the marketplace is essential. So what are these top anticipated business challenges? In Figure 1, we see that the top challenges are quite different this year than in 2020.

Figure 1: Top Anticipated Challenges of AEC Firms

The top four challenges each saw a dramatic increase in 2021 while the fifth challenge dropped slightly from its fourth place position in 2020.

Let’s dig into each of these top anticipated business challenges from the 2021 High Growth Study: AEC Edition one-by-one.

1. Unpredictability in the marketplace

No matter the industry, there is one challenge that dominates the conversation—unpredictability in the marketplace. Yet the result here for AEC firms is still remarkable. Of all the other professional services industries surveyed, AEC had nearly the highest consensus on their number one issue at 61%. This is an indication that while many business leaders across industries are navigating through a dense fog of uncertainty, those in the AEC space have the most to consider.

While there was a notable 34% increase in this year’s study, unpredictability in the marketplace is not a new phenomenon for the AEC industry. In fact, it was the third highest response in last year’s study which was conducted well before the pandemic. Regulatory changes, election results, and the changes in buyer behavior are at the center of what makes the AEC business so unpredictable right now.

So what is to be done to combat this uncertainty? 

It’s more important than ever that AEC firms conduct research on their clients and prospects. Differentiating yourself as a business partner or an employee can only happen when a firm adequately understands their audience. Confidently uncovering top differentiators takes research into how your firm stands out from your competitors. Firms must talk to their clients, employees, and partners in order to find out what has set them apart in their collaborators’ eyes, and what hasn’t.

2. A shortage of top talent

For those who have followed the High Growth Study through the years, it won’t be a surprise to see that the war for top talent continues to be a major concern for AEC leaders. A shortage of top talent was last year’s number one anticipated business challenge and falls only slightly in 2021.

Because of the often highly specialized training, certification, and project management experience needed within the AEC industry, talent concerns are greater in this field than in other professional services industries. Not only do AEC firms need tenured project managers but those with the skills to keep projects on schedule and on budget while dealing with a lack of labor and resources. 

With success equating not only to bottom lines and customer satisfaction, but also adhering to safety standards and maintaining quality and efficiency, staffing will continue to be a concern moving forward for AEC firms. This means firms must make their organizational culture attractive to potential hires and make employee growth and satisfaction a priority.

3. Changes in how buyers buy your services

The largest change in sentiment between 2020 and 2021 was in how much more AEC marketers and leaders perceive changes in how buyers buy your services to be an emerging business challenge. Not even cracking the top five in last year’s study, this selection’s 61% increase should give us pause.

With the exception of some laggards, most AEC marketers and executives understand that buyers are turning to digital channels more than ever to search for solutions to work-related problems. The Hinge Research Institute has the data to back this up too. In our study Inside the Buyer’s Brain, we uncovered that turning to search engines was the top search method used by AEC buyers behind asking their peers and colleagues for a referral. Yet despite this rise in digital search, how many AEC firms have still neglected SEO, improvements to their corporate website and the rollout of basic content marketing strategies? More than you might expect. 

In Figure 2, we see the top methods AEC buyers use to evaluate possible service providers. Of course relevant experience and past performance remains at the top of the list… but notice the 58% rise in the importance that industry knowledge and subject matter expertise plays. This begs the question: When AEC buyers turn to search engines for issues that your firm could help solve, will your firm be found? Does your website include a resource hub that demonstrates your specific expertise? And finally, are your firm’s experts active in showcasing their knowledge at industry specific conferences, virtual events, or podcasts? Are they actively using social media?

Figure 2: Top Evaluation Methods of AEC Buyers

Buyers are changing… And to keep up with the increasingly competitive marketplace, your firm needs to make the necessary investments to be found where your buyers are searching. Targeted research on your clients and competitors can guide you on how buyers are changing today. Then it’s up to you to implement the right strategies.

4. Managing a remote workforce

In last year’s study, only 22.3% of survey participants anticipated that managing a remote workforce would be a top challenge in the next 3-5 years. Of course no one could have predicted the coming COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid pivot businesses would have to make to keep projects moving forward from a remote environment. Among all professional services firms, this challenge was the second highest anticipated challenge just behind unpredictability in the marketplace.

High Growth and No Growth firms may have different plans regarding their utilization of physical office spaces. In Figure 3, we see that High Growth firms are nearly twice as likely to say goodbye to office life by either downsizing or going fully remote. No Growth firms are more likely to keep their office configuration as is (35%) while the same proportion reported a shift to part-time remote work.

Figure 3: AEC Future Utilization of Office Space

Each AEC business will have to tackle their own unique challenges when it comes to managing a remote workforce. New employee policies might need to be implemented. Or perhaps new technology needs to be embraced to support more remote workers.

Nevertheless, it should be highlighted that just like digital marketing and business development has changed the way we attract new clients, a similar effect is happening in the way firm’s recruit and manage professionals in the future. With a shortage of top talent being such a big issue for the AEC space, one possible way to appeal to new recruits might be in yielding to the increased demand employees and possible recruits have for a flexible, remote (or part remote) work environment.

5. Increased competition from new firms/competitors

Moving down a position from last year, but still in the top five, was the challenge of increased competition from new competitors. Respondents from AEC firms also hold concerns about the positioning of larger competitors (39%), but the emphasis this year was on new competitors. This was true for every professional services market we studied.

As we discussed, market unpredictability is a major concern, prompted by a wide range of geopolitical, economic, and natural factors… and of course the pandemic. Larger firms who likely hold a greater diversity of markets and services may have a resiliency advantage over some smaller firms. So it’s interesting to see that the AEC firms studied had more of a concern about new competitors.

The strategy of using your proprietary technology or your niche area of focus as a key differentiator is opening the door wider and wider for AEC firms to make an impact. So in a crowded marketplace, it makes sense that firms are worried about new, more specialized firms that they’ve never heard of stepping up their game. In fact, Hinge’s research backs this up. In the AEC industry, there’s only about 30 percent overlap between who a firm identifies as its competitor and who their clients identify.

Conclusion

Times of uncertainty generate tremendous change, and this is the reality inside many AEC firms today. Many of the challenges AEC firms face are not new, but perhaps felt more acutely than ever before. The war for top talent, changing buyer behavior, and an evermore crowded marketplace were not challenges quelled by the pandemic, but rather exacerbated. 

But in adversity lies opportunity — to build resilient and robust brands. In order to thrive in this age of uncertainty, AEC firms must leverage powerful market research techniques and marketing tools to understand the marketplace and keep pace with the competition. If there were ever a moment to make necessary changes, that time would be now.

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In this post, I’ll share key insights from Hinge’s 2021 High Growth Study: Architecture, Engineering, & Construction Edition, which describes, among other things, what the industry’s fastest growing firms do differently from their average-growing peers.

At a time when all our routine, everyday lives have been disrupted by COVID-19, it is fitting that one of the key themes in this study is digital disruption.

This is not a new concept. At Hinge, we’ve been studying a select group of professional services firms that got ahead of the curve and jumped on the digital train years ago. These firms generate 66% or more of their new business through digital channels.

Hinge defines “high-growth firms” as those that reported 20% or more annual growth over a period of at least 3 consecutive years. Hinge’s high-growth study takes a look at what AEC firms are doing to achieve this growth year after year.

High-growth AEC firms expended nearly twice the effort on techniques such as email marketing campaigns, publishing blog posts, promoting thought leadership content in social media, and marketing video. In fact, we found that high-growth AEC firms demonstrated a higher rate of adoption than their no-growth peers on nearly every one of the digital techniques cited by participating firms (see Figure 1).

High-growth firms have adopted more digital techniques because they understand their buyers—almost 70 percent of whom say they use digital channels to research their business problems. We call these firms that prefer digital marketing techniques “digital disruptors.”

Overall, high-growth AEC firms experienced 50% more impact from digital and content marketing tactics compared to the no-growth firms. Let’s take a closer look at what techniques our digital disruptors prefer.

Most Impactful Digital Marketing Techniques of High-Growth AEC Firms

1. 1. Marketing Video: Online video, as a communication tool or to showcase a firm’s people and/or services, has also been increasing in popularity among all AEC firm segments. Since professional services is all about people, it’s an excellent way to achieve face-to-face interactions and demonstrate expertise. Video allows you to create a more personal connection with your audience. Video also equips you to easily share detailed, highly visual tutorials or demonstrations.
   2. Networking on social media: In 2020 the usual venues to network were put on pause. This of course accelerated professionals turning to channels like LinkedIn as a primary medium to connect and network with peers. On LinkedIn, you can connect with prospects, engage with the content they post and share your own thought leadership.
   3. Podcasts, radio, and other audio: It’s no secret that the popularity of podcasts in people’s personal and professional lives has grown considerably. This is a great opportunity for thought leaders accustomed to presenting at conferences. Speaking on podcasts or webinars hosted by other thought leaders is an excellent way to build visibility among a niche audiences.
   4. Digital Ads: Since the onset of COVID-19, nearly one third of High Growth firms intentionally invested more in digital ad spend. And they saw impact from them too! But beware… One fourth of No Growth firms also invested in digital ads in 2020. Spending doesn’t guarantee results. Each campaign must be optimized and have a clear end goal.
   5. Keyword research and SEO. You can create all the content you want, but if no one can find it, your effort will go to waste. From top to bottom professional services firms need to ensure that their websites meet modern requirements that align with Google’s preferences. Keyword research specifically when combined with your thought leadership efforts will help improve the probability that your content will be discovered on search engines.
   6. Webinars. Webinars help drive engagement with your target audience, as well as leads for your marketing and business development teams. Experts share their expertise with an interested audience and attendees can engage with presenters through chat by participating in polls or by responding to offers. Webinars should be strategically positioned in your buyer’s journey to target buyers who are researching issues or evaluating solutions.
   7. Email Marketing Campaigns: Another staple of modern marketing plans come by way of email marketing. It is an important role! Sending emails with helpful resources and special offers to engage with your firm’s experts can be a powerful tool to engage your prospects. However, effective email marketing campaigns begin before the email is ever sent. Be sure that your list of prospects is being cultivated in a way that brings your target audience onto your list.
   8. Publishing blogs on your website. Blogging is an effective way to educate your audience, demonstrate your expertise and generate a loyal following over time. Recent research shows that more than 50% of buyers read blog posts to learn more about a business topic. Blogs also help increase the authority of your website in the eyes of Google and other search engines. And as you produce more and more fresh content, Google will reward you with a steady flow of high-quality visitors to your blog. And by adding an actionable next step, like the ones you’ll find below, blogs can lead to conversions, too.
      

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The Hinge Research Institute’s newly released 2021 High Growth Study: AEC Edition tells their story. The study opens with data that reviews the industry as a whole, comparing AEC firm performance and trends to other professional services industries. Then it takes a closer look at the fastest growing AEC firms. The report compares high growth AEC firms (those having a compound annual growth rate of 20% or greater over a three-year assessment period) against their slower, no growth peers.

About the Study

Firms of all sizes were represented in the study, and it included companies from across the globe, with the vast majority of firms doing business in the United States. The analysis covers 281 AEC firms, representing a combined revenue of $75 billion and more than 90,000 employees.

Purchase the 2021 High Growth Study: AEC Edition

Doing Business in Challenging Times

Now, it should come as no surprise that given the challenges of 2020 “unpredictability in the marketplace” is the top concern among most professional services firms, including the AEC industry. But for AEC firms in particular, a shortage of top talent continues to be a leading business challenge—one exacerbated by rising compensation costs and the added stress of managing an even more remote workforce. Firms were also worried about changes in buyer behavior.

In this article, I’ll highlight a few things that high growth AEC firms are doing differently in the face of today’s unprecedented market uncertainty.

AEC Firms That Conduct Research Are Growing Faster

The most successful AEC firms are finding answers by asking the right questions. High growth AEC firms are more likely to conduct research on their target audiences compared to no growth firms. Additionally, they are likely to conduct research more frequently, with more than 80% of high growth firms doing so at least quarterly. In fact, AEC firms conduct far more research, more often, than their peers in other professional services industries.

High Growth AEC Firms Are Increasing Their Marketing Budgets

Until recently, high growth AEC firms’ marketing budgets were comparable to slower growing firms. But today, high growth AEC firms are investing significantly more in marketing, dedicating almost 27% of their revenues to this function. Over 40% of high growth AEC firms increased their marketing budgets during the COVID-19 pandemic, while a similar proportion of No Growth firms decreased their marketing spend. For all AEC firms sampled, median reported budgets jumped an unprecedented 200%.

High Growth AEC firms also spent their investment differently, focusing on digital strategies to a much greater degree than their No Growth peers.

For a detailed breakdown of what strategies, techniques and tools they invested in, check out the full report here.

High Growth AEC Firms Generate Half Their Leads from Online Sources

How do they do it? We know that professional services firms are more likely to ground their marketing strategies in ongoing research. Simply put, high growth AEC firms understand their target audiences, and they select their digital marketing techniques based on that understanding. Looking across the AEC industry, new business leads generated from digital sources (e.g., website, email, social media, digital advertising) have soared by 64% in the last year. And high growth firms are thriving because of it.

Furthermore, over a third of high growth AEC firms report having mature marketing and sales software automation strategies in place, which makes their digital lead generation more efficient.

While AEC firms’ have been gradually adopting digital marketing techniques for several years, the pandemic has dramatically increased digital engagement across the industry—driven, no doubt, by the sudden demise of traditional face-to-face networking.

How else has COVID-19 affected the industry?

High Growth AEC Firms Are Saying Goodbye to the Office

High growth AEC firms are more than twice as likely to say goodbye to office life in the era of COVID-19. Most of these firms are either downsizing or going fully remote. Only 26.6% of high growth firms reported plans to keep their office as-is. No growth firms, on the other hand, were more likely to keep their office configuration (35%), although a similar proportion reported a shift to part time remote work.

Overall, high growth AEC firms have experienced much less negative impact from COVID-19 than their no growth peers. As it turns out, they were more likely to have experienced a positive impact or no impact. And of the 50% who reported a negative impact, over half were still able to grow.

Perhaps Their Focus Was in the Right Place?

We get it. Increasing your marketing spend or investing in more digital techniques to generate online leads take time may be too much for you to bite off right now. To address this challenge, we identified a select group of marketing techniques that provide exceptionally strong impact for the level of time and effort they take to implement. To identify them, we subtracted the effort required from the impact realized and developed a prioritized list of the seven tactics that deliver the most bang for your buck. Here are the top three:

The Bottom Line

With the mounting pressures of today’s marketplace, there’s no one better to learn from than the firms that thrived in the face of the pandemic. We would be wise to follow their lead, especially their emphasis on conducting research and digital marketing. What can you learn from these high-performers? And how far will it take your firm?

The post 2021 High Growth Study on AEC Firms Released appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

The good news is, you are a highly valued, technical professional whose expertise is the reason prospects seek out your firm. The bad news is, your days are a constant balancing act. For many AEC firms, the seller-doer role is well established —after all, most potential clients want to get to know the professionals they will be working with. In fact, the seller-doer mentality keeps many firms from hiring a full-time sales force.

So how, then, does a seller-doer find the time for business development and project delivery? How can AEC firms take advantage of a seller-doer strategy?

By making their expertise visible.

Enter the Visible Expert^®

A Visible Expert^® is a knowledgeable professional who has attained high visibility and a reputation for his or her area of expertise. These individuals create a personal brand that is recognizable industry-wide.

In this post, I’ll discuss how almost any seller-doers can achieve Visible Expertise by sharing their knowledge widely using a mix of digital and traditional marketing strategies. And I’ll point to research findings from Hinge’s new Visible Expert Study to support this strategy.

The study, believed to be the largest and most comprehensive of its kind, investigates 220 Visible Experts and 275 of their clients. It updates our groundbreaking 2014 study on the topic.

The Path to Visibility

So how does an AEC seller-doer become a Visible Expert? As I tell my clients, it takes a specific set of skills which we at Hinge call the Three Pillars of Visible Expertise:

• Writing
• Speaking
• Networking

In fact, the Visible Expert Study found that all three of these skills appeared in the top five marketing techniques reported by Visible Experts.

But don’t be intimidated by this list. As I advise many of my AEC clients, you don’t have to be the best at all three. You should adopt a mix of techniques that suits your strengths and skillset. You can always work on developing new skills later.

Where Do You Start?

All Visible Experts are teachers. If you want to raise your professional profile, you will need to become one, too.

One thing these skills have in common is that each is a way to deliver content marketing. Content marketing is the process of producing valuable, informative content that educates your audiences on topics they care about.

Educational content can come in a wide variety of forms: blog posts, videos, eBooks, webinars and white papers, to name just a few. The key is to teach without directly promoting your firm. The more you are perceived as unbiased and generous with your knowledge, the more your readers and listeners will trust and rely on you. And the more they trust you, the more likely they are to seek out you or your firm when they need help solving the complex problems you write and speak about. Producing this content also helps increase your firm’s visibility (for instance, in online searches) and makes you more visible to prospective clients.

Getting the Bang for Your Buck

What are the techniques that Visible Experts found to be most impactful? Once again, we turn to the study for answers. You may notice in the chart below that most of these techniques are components of content marketing.

Three Facts About Content

Seller-doers who set out to create content should keep the following best practices in mind:

1. Content comes in two flavors—technical and non-technical. In the AEC edition of Hinge’s most recent study of professional services and buyers, Inside the Buyer’s Brain, we found that after asking their peers for a recommendation AEC buyers were most likely to do a general web search when they wanted to learn more about a business-related topic. But these searchers vary in levels of expertise and technical comprehension. Some are decision makers while others are influencers.
2. Your content should address the different stages of the buying process. Early stage buyers, for example, gather information and seek to understand challenges and trends (think blogs and speaking engagements), whereas later stage buyers are willing to consume longer, more technical content (think guides or webinars).
3. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, marketing content is not content marketing. This is the mistake we see aspiring thought leaders make the most. Good content marketing is selfless—it focuses on issues your target audience cares about. In contrast, marketing content is about your firm and its capabilities. It is by necessity self-serving and salesy. Marketing materials have their place, but they should never take center stage in your content marketing.

Reaching Your Destination

Using a content marketing-based strategy, you can shorten your path to Visible Expertise. But it does require a commitment of time, as it won’t happen overnight. And you have to be willing to “give away” some of your knowledge. With the right mindset, AEC seller-doers can build their expertise and their personal brands—and in turn, help increase the visibility of their firms.

The post The Making of Visible Experts: A Path for Seller-Doers in AEC appeared first on Hinge Marketing.

Why This Study Matters to You

AEC firms have been facing a fairly consistent set of challenges in recent years: fighting for top talent, differentiating in a competitive market and adapting to swift changes in the evaluation and selection process. 

Leading marketers and business developers have strained to compete at scale with digital techniques like content marketing, email and social media—but where are the results? How have things shifted (or accelerated) in the midst of a global pandemic? 

Read on to preview practical insights that will shed light on the most relevant trends shaping AEC buying behavior today, what challenges lie ahead and key points to consider.

About the Study

The original Inside the Buyer’s Brain study, published in 2013, provided the first comprehensive look at the differing perspectives of buyers and sellers throughout the professional services buyers’ journey.

An updated version of the study was published in 2018. Since then, the marketplace has changed considerably, so we released this follow-up study in 2020. During our analysis, we noticed significant differences between industry audiences, prompting us to develop industry-specific reports for the first time.

Purchase the Inside the Buyer’s Brain, Third Edition: Architecture, Engineering, & Construction Edition

Focused on AEC

In the AEC edition of the study, we  focus on Architecture, Engineering & Construction services firms. We explore the challenges their clients are facing and the role AEC firms play in addressing them. We also explore the new client journey from the time a buyer first identifies a business challenge to their final selection of an AEC firm.

We then look at the client experience and how it does or doesn’t translate into an ongoing relationship and referrals. To put the findings in perspective, we compare key AEC insights to other professional services.

Buyers and Sellers Are Represented

Using phone interviews and online surveys, we researched more than 396 buyers and 812 sellers of AEC services. Because the buyers bought services from these sellers, we were able to study both sides of the relationship—how they see each other and what disconnects can derail a professional relationship.

Industry Comparisons Included

In addition to reporting on the industry data, we also looked at the findings from other angles. This report examines the responses from Architecture, Engineering & Construction Services firms and puts them in the context of three other major professional services groups:

The results of the study are organized around four questions that capture the most impactful steps in an AEC buyers’ journey.

AEC Buyers’ Business Challenges

AEC firms generally understand their buyers’ priorities when it comes to financial issues, the need for good people and competitive pressures.

AEC buyers have faced budget pressures for many years, and clearly AEC firms have been listening (after all, they have shared some of those challenges themselves). 

But there have been meaningful shifts in the other top challenges. In 2020, “maintaining quality/efficiency” and “finding/retaining good people” are almost 50% more likely to be identified as top challenges than only two years earlier. For the most part, AEC firms recognize the relative importance of these client challenges.

Although it ranks fourth in the list, “strategy/planning issues” has shot up over 70% since 2018. And AEC firms have not realized how important this emerging issue is for their clients. This specific challenge is a key to improving overall relevance—which is a powerful remedy for commoditization.

Purchase the Inside the Buyer’s Brain, Third Edition: Architecture, Engineering, & Construction Edition

How Do Clients Feel About Their AEC Firms?

Most AEC buyers (65%) would recommend their current partner to a friend or colleague. But fewer and fewer friends and colleagues are bothering to ask. It’s quicker and easier to do a web search or check on social media. 

Despite a negligible 3% improvement, AEC firms are still seen as one of the least relevant to buyers’ most important challenges of all the professional services studied. This is significant, as relevance impacts both willingness to recommend and client loyalty.

High-level relevance to prospects’ key issues not only wins new clients, it also helps you keep them. Firms that are viewed as highly relevant to clients’ current issues are 75% more likely to be highly recommended by their existing clients. High relevance ratings are also associated with a 46% higher likelihood of having highly loyal clients.

How Do Buyers Search for AEC Services?

When buyers of AEC services need to find a solution to a problem they’re trying to solve, they still value the recommendations of peers and colleagues first. This underscores the importance of relevance and its connection to referrals and loyalty. Social media is the third most common way AEC firms look for business-related information. And the restrictions imposed by COVID-19 likely made social media—especially LinkedIn—even more attractive. We believe that it’s likely much of this behavior will continue post-pandemic.

Conducting a general web search is nearly tied with peers and colleagues as a trusted resource for information. In fact, use of the web has increased faster than any other channel over the last five years. This trend underscores the critical role of both your website (where referral recommendations can be validated) and SEO (an important way your website gets found) in the selection process.

To snap the importance of these buyer search channels into perspective, consider that AEC is the lowest ranked industry for both visibility and reputation. There is significant work to be done if AEC firms are to rise out of obscurity and be acknowledged as the highly relevant experts they are.

How Do Buyers Evaluate AEC Firms?

While nurturing existing relationships has long been a core tenet of AEC marketing, we are seeing the limits of this strategy. The importance of an existing relationship in the final selection has declined by 26% since 2018. Today, final decisions are often collaborative decisions, so great professional relationships (while still important) no longer necessarily carry the day.

Though cultural fit rounds out the top 5 deciding factors, it has dramatically increased by 32% over the last two years. Today’s AEC firms are not only being evaluated for relevant past performance, experience and industry expertise, their culture and values are often being considered, as well.

Purchase the Inside the Buyer’s Brain, Third Edition: Architecture, Engineering, & Construction Edition

What Does This Mean for You and Your AEC Firm?

The AEC industry is undergoing a period of significant and rapid change. While no one can know for sure how this change will play out, some conclusions seem clear.

Focus on the relevance of your services.

Making your expertise visible is important, but don’t forget to make it relevant to the buyer’s challenges as well. Don’t assume that your potential client understands what they need or how you can help them, even if it seems obvious to you.

Understanding the most relevant issues facing your clients and how they connect or relate to your services and teams will help your firm stand out in a highly competitive market.

It’s time to get serious about digital. Consumers and clients have been migrating to digital communications channels for many years. We have seen digital approach then overtake traditional marketing and delivery channels. And with the widespread emergence of a remote-work experience, the time has come to act. Buyers today are free to search for the specific expertise they need, regardless of a service provider’s geographic location. Don’t get left behind waiting for things to “get back to normal.”

Remember that activity does not equal impact. Without a clear understanding of relevance, and a consistent branding, marketing and business development strategy, your team will expend effort without realizing proportionate results.

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