According to the American Institute of Architects, 87 percent of architectural firms with over 50 employees have at least one marketing person on staff and 71 percent have two or more. With most architectural firms, the marketing department acts as a rotating door: a new director is hired followed by the coordinator resigning and the director leaves after six months.
Then two coordinators later, a new director is appointed who does not work well in this industry and asked to leave.
Glance at the “People on the Move” section of your local business newspaper and you will be greeted with a smiling face from the newest Marketing Director at a local architecture firm. Does this sound familiar? If so, why is there such a low retention rate with marketing departments in the architecture industry? The marketing department is not able to adapt their successful models of working to this industry. New strategies and ideas must be implemented to be effective and these Directors do not have that vision to do so. Here's what's wrong in many architecture marketing efforts.
| Image by Flickr user jo.sau |
Architects view themselves as artists whose projects meet specific creative, functional and technical goals. Marketers use their skill across many industries to achieve many different goals. This creates a culture-clash in which many architects do not feel marketers share the architectural vision. In a complicated marketplace driven by appearance and quick response, marketing is critical to all organizations. From a marketing standpoint, this industry is not one-size-fits-all and needs a fresh approach. Architectural marketers from other industries often struggle with effectively positioning the service, effectively price the work, sell in the correct place or implement any new promotions.
Unfortunately, many architectural firms view marketing as an appendage. This indicates that they do not understand the role and importance of marketing. This perspective begins with upper management and trickles down to each department within the firm. Instead, the organization must see marketing as an extension of its identity rather than an obscurity of its talents. If the company does not integrate marketing into its business goals, it is unlikely the department will be successful.
| Image by Flickr user Sebastiaan ter Burg |
Architectural firms want their marketing department to identify new projects, win awards, create publicity, prepare proposals, monitor the satisfaction of their clients, create new approaches to conquering already saturated markets, assemble consultant teams and acquire speaking engagements. All of these tasks are expected while knowing exactly what the organization required and how to win every project. Unfortunately, the defining line between marketing and sales, which are completely different activities with different competencies, has been made unclear.
As a result, the marketing department is so overwhelmed with performing all of these and many more tasks that the actual process of communicating the value of the architectural service, studying new markets and branding a firm is completely overlooked. With a distinct line between marketing and sales, each department can focus on their own areas of specialty.
Many architectural marketing employees feel financially unsupported because they are expected to fulfill specific goals without the accompanying budget. When compared to outside industries, these marketers know that their colleagues work with larger budgets to accomplish their goals. An underfunded marketing department will not be able to promote and acquire as many new customers when compared to a well-funded department. In large companies, there is no excuse for the under funding of a marketing department as it creates a view of the lack of support while not giving the department what it needs to be successful.
Marketing is a department that helps companies look to the future by considering what needs to be accomplished, for whom, where, the type of fee to do so and the standards that need to be adhered to. Marketing is not just an activity but a specific orientation consisting of architecture, business, communication, education and service. All of these equal to survival in an industry that needs differentiation.