Marketing building materials manufacturers that intend to do business in the United States can be a complex process. Although there are many similarities between marketing strategies in the US and other parts of the world, there are also some key differences that should be taken into account. One of the most important factors to consider is how much trust prospective clients will place in your company – and how that impacts your marketing strategy and tactics. In this guide, we’ll discuss some of the best ways to market your international building materials firm in the United States.
Make sure that the language on your website is written in US English.
International building materials firms that want to succeed need to be mindful of the language they use on their websites. While differences like “colour” vs. “color” may seem minor, they can cause a prospect to question how much you know about the American market and the building challenges architects and owners face here that might be different from those in other countries.
Making sure your website uses US (or American) English is actually a surprisingly effective way to garner trust with potential customers. After all, American audiences will be subconsciously drawn in by web content that is written using the same language they communicate in on a daily basis. This can help visitors come away with a positive impression about your brand. Let’s take a look at why it’s important and how you can make sure you’re meeting this standard.
The language used on your website can have a profound impact on how visitors perceive your company or organization. When someone visits your site and sees that it has been tailored for their specific country, they’ll feel more engaged with the content. When site visitors encounter words or phrases that they don’t
expect, they experience a brief “hiccup” in their reading flow. This reduces their level of engagement. If the content is written as if it originated in the US, American readers are more likely to stay on the page longer and explore further what your business has to offer. This leads to increased engagement and conversions, which ultimately translates into higher profits for you over time.
Another key, and critical, factor here is trustworthiness. If you tailor the language used on your site for the country you are targeting then it conveys an image of professionalism and commitment to quality service. This goes a long way in helping potential customers feel like they can trust your business when making decisions about purchasing from you.
Using US English also helps improve SEO performance since search engines rank web pages according to relevance within geographic regions. For example, if your site offers product specifications only in metric measurements, search engines may conclude that your business isn’t in the United States or that you don’t sell to American buyers. By tailoring content specifically for US audiences, you’ll be able to increase organic traffic while improving overall visibility online at the same time.
Having an effective US search engine strategy is essential.
Launching a new building product in the US market can be incredibly exciting but it can also be incredibly daunting. Businesses need to consider various marketing strategies and channels in order to make sure that their product stands out from the crowd. One of the most effective strategies for boosting visibility is a solid US search engine strategy. This focuses on helping potential customers find their solution faster and can increase brand recognition, resulting in greater success for your new product launch.
What Is a Search Engine Strategy?
A search engine strategy is essentially a method of optimizing your website so that it appears higher up in the rankings when people search for terms related to your product or service. It also helps people find your product based on unique attributes that differentiate it from other materials. This involves researching relevant keywords, optimizing content, and making sure that backlinks to your
website are high-quality and reliable sources. All this helps to increase traffic to your website and boost brand recognition. It also takes into account which platforms are more popular with potential customers – such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc. – so that you can maximize visibility across all platforms. It also allows you to target specific demographics or regions within the US so you can focus your efforts on the most important markets for your business.
Why Is an Effective Search Engine Strategy Crucial?
An effective search engine strategy ensures that potential customers don’t have to work hard to find what they are looking for. By helping them find the solution (your product) faster, companies can grow leads and sales. Moreover, by targeting specific keywords and phrases related to the problem your product solves, companies can draw attention to their unique offering and differentiate themselves from competitors in the market. A successful search engine strategy will also empower companies to better analyze user data and make informed decisions about how best to reach their target audience and promote their products effectively.
Market Systems Rather Than Components
The design process of buildings for architects is a complex one, and it’s important to make sure that they are able to easily specify the products they need without having to spend a lot of time on paperwork. To that end, firms should be striving to provide complete building solutions that combine components into effective building systems. By replacing singular materials with these systems, architects will not only be able to easily specify their products, but also implement them quickly into the building design.
What Makes an Effective Building System?
An effective building system must meet certain criteria in order to be worth investing in by an architect or construction company. The system needs to be flexible enough so that the architect can tailor it to fit the specific needs of any given project. Additionally, it’s important that the system be cost-effective; this means that not only should any components used be affordable, but also that they should last long enough so that they don’t have to be replaced too often.
Finally, the system should have excellent customer service and tech support for when things do go wrong
Advantages of using building systems
Using a complete building system can help architects save both time and money by simplifying their design process and reducing paperwork. In addition, many of these systems come with warranties which can give architects peace of mind in knowing that something will always be there if something goes wrong down the line. Architects aren’t just looking for materials anymore; they’re looking for solutions tailored for the US building market.
For the construction industry, building systems can help reduce costs and eliminate headaches by streamlining the construction process. The fewer the number of bespoke pieces that have to be integrated, the happier contractors will be.
Use a Website with a Unique URL for Your US audience
If you want to sell to a US market, you need a website with a unique and separate URL from your international building products firm. This means a dot-com TLD (top-level domain) – and if your international website uses a dot-com TLD, a different domain name for the US.
As a hypothetical example, let’s take a firm based in Switzerland with a website site tailored for a European audience.
- Current URL: buildingproducts.ch
- What needs to change: The .ch TLD tells visitors that your site is in Switzerland. They may conclude that you don’t have a US presence or that buying from you would be too complicated. Search engines may also conclude that your site is not relevant to people outside of Europe, so they won’t display it in search results for Americans.
- Current URL: buildingproducts.com
- What needs to change: If this URL sends people to an internationally focused website, you’ll want to have a different URL for the US market. Consider changing the domain name to something like “buildingproductsusa.com” or using a .us TLD.
It can be tempting to use a subdomain (for example, buildingproducts.usa.com or usa.buildingproducts.com), but these are difficult for people to remember and to dictate in a sales meeting or phone call. Subdomains can also cause keyword confusion and make it more difficult for search engines to correctly index your site.
Understand the implications of different climates to your marketing.
In selling building materials, it’s important to convey to your American buyers that you understand the differences in climate across the United States. Each region experiences different weather conditions and potential climate hazards, and your prospects want to know how your firm will fare in their particular environments. By explaining any relevant climate features or variations in your products to account for different climates, you demonstrate your expertise and build trust.
The climate variations throughout America
The US is an incredibly vast and diverse country with a wide range of climates from coast to coast. Depending on region and state, architects and owners may be need to contend with high humidity, hurricanes, tornadoes, extremely high or extremely low temperatures, or heavy snow loads.
For example, if you are trying to market in Texas, which experiences hot summers and cold winters as well as frequent wind storms throughout the year, you should be aware of how your products will handle these conditions and convey the benefit they offer. Do they need extra reinforcement against strong winds? Are they designed to withstand extreme temperatures? What kind of insulation do they offer?
Similarly, if you’re looking to market in Florida or other coastal regions prone to hurricanes or tropical storms, then understanding how your products will perform during these events is key to successful marketing efforts. Do they offer extra protection against high winds? Can they withstand flooding? Are there any special coatings or finishes that make them especially durable during tropical storms? Are they Miami-Dade certified? Knowing answers to these questions can help you market your products effectively in hurricane-prone areas by highlighting specific features relevant for what customers may encounter during a storm event.
Become familiar with regulations that may apply to your US customers, because these can be marketing opportunities.
You don’t need to know the details of every state and city building code, but knowing the types of laws your customers may be concerned about will increase the trust they place in you. The specific regulations will depend on location and sector (residential housing will have different standards than public buildings, for example). Even a general knowledge of what your customers might be facing, though, is important – because it could be very different from what applies to projects in your home country.
The best way to learn about these issues is to ask your current customers or even your prospects. They will be happy to tell you, and likely also appreciate an outlet for venting about the difficulties of compliance. You can inquire about general building codes that concern them, or you can ask more specific questions about things like occupancy limitations, methods of egress, fire resistance, etc.
The answers you receive can help you identify marketing opportunities for connecting with new clients in the United States. For example, say a fire safety code restricts the type of glass that can be used in a school. If your product meets this requirement, that’s a feature to promote in your marketing. Maybe your building material provides an alternative to glass that delivers a higher fire-resistant rating. This may not be the purpose of your product or what you would consider to be the primary feature, but if it solves a problem American architects, owners or contractors face, make sure you marketing and sales materials talk about it.
Don’t forget the photography.
Photographs are an important way to convey the benefits your materials offer. Highlighting a range of successful projects from different regions across the US allows firms to demonstrate that they have a sound grasp of regional variances. Presenting actual finished projects also serves as social proof and testament to the firm’s track record with constructing quality buildings, further engendering customer trust. If the only projects you promote are ones done in other countries, buyers may wonder if your project will actually work in the United States. Striking the right balance between product shots and a portfolio of finished US projects is key.
If your building materials firm is based in another country, there are ways to introduce your company to the United States and get started with a marketing strategy that will be effective. Making this investment in your building material’s company will give you an advantage over other similar businesses. It will also will help create a foundation for future success. Remember to focus on using US English on your website, consider how you can optimize your site for US search engines, market systems rather than components, understand climate implications, and share photos of projects completed in the US.
