As I have described in the past, the marketing cycle is comprised of four phases, as shown in the graphic at right. The "Plan," "Position," and "Propose" phases are generally shared, in varying degree, between marketing and technical staff. In most A/E/C companies, however, the "Produce" phase is the bailiwick solely of the technical staff.
Because of this division, the thing that most amazes me about A/E/C marketers—even after almost 40 years in the A/E/C industry and 35 years as a marketer—is the fact that so few marketers seem to know anything about how their companies actually work. And neither their firms' marketing leaders nor their technical staff sees this as a lack. If they did, I assume they would fix it.
After working on a specific pursuit—a Statement of Qualifications, a proposal, and/or a short-list interview—the average marketer simply moves on to the next pursuit. With an occasional break to attend a trade show or a conference, or to prepare an award submittal, an A/E/C marketer's life is lived from one pursuit to the next. His or her interaction with technical staff is limited to acquiring information for the pursuit.
In the end, most marketers know as little about how their firms actually DO the work they help to win, as the technical folks know about what it took to win that work in the first place.
Many years ago, when I was Education Chair in the Dallas chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), I instituted an annual program lasting all morning and half of the afternoon. The morning session, "Marketing 301," was aimed at marketing coordinators from beginners to those with 3-5 years of experience. The afternoon session, "Marketing 302," was aimed at marketing managers and other leaders. Each session consisted of multiple presentations.There was little overlap—except for senior coordinators who might be on the verge of manager positions—but the two groups shared a luncheon with a speaker.
One of the morning presentations involved an engineer, an architect, and a general contractor talking about how their firms actually did the work won by their marketers and business developers. Eyes opened wide and jaws dropped throughout the room. This was all new information. Many faces wore expressions that were the equivalent of a "Wow!" headslap. Every marketer left the morning session with a new appreciation for—and the beginning of an understanding of—the processes and challenges to which the technical folks had to respond.
The three speakers challenged marketers to attend project and department meetings when their schedules allowed. There were always ways in which marketers could support project staff if they (and their managers) were willing. And building strong relationships with people in the technical departments would always work to their advantage as the firm grew and responsibilities changed over time.
In addition to learning about the operations aspects of their firms, the three speaskers also encouraged marketers to learn about financials (understanding balance sheets and profit-and-loss statements, etc.) and a variety of contract vehicles. This information would be very valuable as marketers moved up into more responsible marketing positions, like manager, director, or Chief Marketing Officer.
By the way, some years later, I came at the challenge from the opposite direction, preparing and presenting a half-day workshop called "Who's Afraid of Marketing?" This was aimed at technical staff, and was designed to debunk the myths that made them fear getting involved in marketing activities. But that's another post for another time.