The American Institute of Architects’ advice to building-product manufacturers and material suppliers: Improve your websites, provide free, product-related continuing education to design firms and hone your expertise on your offerings to strengthen your rapport with your customers. Those are some of the recommendations made to BPMs in a recently released report that surveyed architects about their specification process.
According to “The Architect’s Journey to Specification,” 85% of specifying architects use manufacturer websites to seek out products and materials. That makes websites the most-used source—ahead of manufacturer-developed continuing education, manufacturer representatives, products from previous projects, and events, conferences and trade shows.