Ever heard of a brown bag party? I know a woman who hosts brown bag parties (BBPs for short) often. The premise is simple. Everyone brings a bottle of wine in a brown bag. They conduct a blind taste-test contest. The winners are solely based on each individuals’ experience in tasting the wine in that moment. There are no preconceived notions based on fancy labels, name recognition, or associations with the individuals that brought each bottle.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an interesting story if I didn’t also share that apparently, the winners of this brown bag contest are consistently some of the least expensive (dare I say, THE least expensive?!) bottles.
Switching gears to our industry…
In the design and construction industry, wouldn’t it be cool if clients would select their service providers based upon just your work alone? Nothing else. Not your brand. Not your relationships. Not your price. Just the amazing quality of your work. Fair and square. Period. The end.
But wait a minute. If you’re like me, you might now be saying: ‘Wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute. Sure, it would be fantastic if they would base their decision on quality, not price. But when it comes to overlooking our existing relationships and our brand….well, no, that wouldn’t really be so great.’
Why not?
Well for one thing, perhaps you’ve worked hard over the years to develop solid, lasting relationships with clients and prospects. Maybe you have invested a good deal in your brand, and are proud of the name recognition and respect that your firm garners. In those cases, wouldn’t you want your extra efforts and tender-loving-care to be part of the decision-making criteria? And in fact, isn’t it highly likely that it’s those extra things that actually do make your firm stand out–not just your design on its own?
Back to the wine. Presumably, many of the wines brought to the BBP represented vineyards that likely worked very hard to build their brands, and likely had a great sense of pride in their product. Because that example is business-to-consumer, then of course we get a kick out of finding out that the cheaper product actually DOES taste better. We may even feel resentful that a firm was able to build up a reputation from its brand and fool us. Shame on us, for letting ourselves be fooled. But it’s human nature. We are influenced by branding—and even moreso—by relationships.
As primarily a business-to-business industry (with the exception of residential projects), we know that the buying patterns of the AEC industry clients clients maybe have some differences compared to how they would buy in the B-to-C scenarios. Yet, it doesn’t change that fact that brands and relationships remain strong influencers, regardless of the buying scenario.
Keep this in mind, every single step of the way. Technical staff: keep this in mind when you question the validity and purpose of your firm’s marketing and business development team. Marketing and business development: keep this in mind when you are coaching your colleagues on specific ways to underscore the firm’s brand and further solidify the relationships before, during, and after projects are completed.
