This document discusses 11 tactics and media channels that can be used to increase market awareness and ensure potential customers know about a company, such as word-of-mouth referrals, press releases, content marketing, trade shows, social media, and paid advertising. It emphasizes that increasing name recognition and getting "invited to the dance" is crucial for generating sales leads and winning business against competitors. The final pages promote Steelyard as an online marketplace that introduces manufacturers to professional designers and architects.

1. Revenue Acceleration Series
 Finding and
engaging
designers and
architects where
they work and
learn - in their
natural working
environments.
Part Two
By Richard Hoffmann
Chief Operating Officer
Steelyard
© Steelyard www.steelyardaccess.com
11 Tactics/Media
Channels You
Can Leverage to
Gain Awareness

2. The Three Themes, A Reminder
Saving Time
Driving Profitability
Facilitating Commerce
In this presentation as well
as those to follow, there
will be three consistent
themes:

3. Revenue Acceleration Series: Part Two
Have you ever heard your VP of Sales say something to the
effect of:
“When we get invited to the dance, we
can beat our competitors, but too often,
we just don’t get invited because our
prospects don’t know who we are.”

4. Market Awareness Trumps Sales Skills
It can be frustrating when other manufacturers get the business
not because they have better products, but because they were
only better in another respect: name recognition. The marketplace
leaders get invited because potential prospects know who they
are, but they did not know your company, let alone the quality or
suitability of your products.

5. Here are 11 Tactics/Media Channels You Can
Leverage to Ensure That Your Prospects
Know About You
Even if your sales force is just as talented, you can only win if you
have the opportunity to compete. So the first order of business
when it comes to building a strong sales channel is to create
enough market awareness to get your products onto the
consideration list – to get invited to the dance!

6. 1. Word of Mouth
Referrals are the best source of brand awareness, not just
because they are usually free, but also due to the high quality of
referral leads.

7. 2. Press Releases
A steady stream of news demonstrates to buyers that your
company is a factor in the industry. Potential topics include
major sales, partnerships, personnel changes (such as
promotions or executive appointments) and community
outreach.

8. 3. Content Marketing
Encourage your owners and executive staff to write articles,
blogs and papers of interest to the design community. If
possible, get this content placed in well-known industry
publications. Always feature this content on your own website,
after the initial publication date.

9. 4. Product Listing and Review Sites
This category can also include designer forums and other
online communities.
Featured
Banner Ad
Featured
Product Ad

10. 5. Online Mentions
Anything you can do to get your brand better known in
cyberspace will be instrumental in building awareness. Many of
the other tactics on this list will help with this objective.

11. 6. Organic Web Search
This category is also called search engine optimization (SEO),
which is the art and science of structuring your web presence
around solid content that is of interest to professional designers.
Google and all other search engines rate your website on the
quantity and quality of content appropriate for specific market
niches.
Every CEO and marketing VP gets excited when their website
shows up as one of the first few choices when a prospect enters
a relevant search term.
Pay attention to Google Image Search since designers can use
this tool for inspiration.

12. 7. Pay Per Click (PPC)
Unlike organic search mentioned in the previous item, paid
search allows you to pay for search traffic.
You pick the keywords of interest, place a bid for these
words/phrases, and create ads with landing pages to drive
viewers to convert (e.g. contact you or download something
from your website).

13. 8. Trade Shows and Industry Outreach
There are many options in this
category. For example, you
can showcase your products
at designer-focused events
such as the High Point Market,
Las Vegas Market or
Hospitality Design Expo. You
can also work with industry
groups such as the American
Society of Interior Designers
(ASID) or the International
Interior Design Association
(IIDA) on sponsorship
opportunities related to events
or publications.
PROJECT-ORIENTED
SPECIFIERS & BUYERS
Professional Commerce
 Designers
 Architects
 Builders & Contractors
 Facility Managers
 Residential
 Assisted Livings Facilities
 Government
 Cruise Ships
 Hospitals
 Hotels
 Medical Facilities
 Offices
 Resorts
 Restaurants
 Institutions
$68.5 Billion*
(Purchased or Specified Annually)
(Commercial Markets - B2B)
(Consumer Markets - B2B2C)
Market Reach:

14. 9. Email, Ads and Other Forms of Paid
Promotion
You can use several different types of paid media to drive
awareness. One example is renting (or buying) lists of designers
and sending email promotions. You can also buy web “banner
ads” that put your offer in front of potential prospects when they
visit third-party websites.
Brand/Product Showcase
(Standard Placement)
Brand/Product Showcase
(Premium Placement)

15. 10. Social Media
The professional design community is highly creative and very
social. They want to know what is going on and who is doing
what. You can assist them by providing short doses of relevant
content through social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook,
Tumblr, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram

16. 11. Steelyard’s Professional Commerce
Marketplace
Since Steelyard puts you in front of a deep community of
professional designers who are researching, specifying and
buying for commercial projects - this is perhaps the fastest way
to achieve the most impact.
Learn more at http://steelyardaccess.com/brands.html.

17. The Power of Unpaid Leverage
Don’t overlook the power of the unpaid sources on this list. For
example, the talent and experience of your staff (especially
executives) can be leveraged to create content and drive
business. Similarly, a strong social media initiative can get your
name and brand position disseminated to a wide audience.
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Articles
FeaturesPublications
SEO

18. Choices to be Made
Yes, sales skills are important, as is lead generation and many
other attributes of a finely-tuned marketing and sales operation.
But market awareness is often the factor that decides whether
you get a chance at the business.
Get yourself known. Get invited to more dances. Close more
business.
Research, Specification,
Projects and
Procurement
Designer
Marketplace
Commerce Analytics and
Presence Management
Brand Sales
Portal

19. We’ll be covering the final step in this series soon, be sure to check back
and stay in touch. View the whole whitepaper on this series >>Here
Coming Soon…

20. About Steelyard
Visit Us
© Steelyard www.steelyardaccess.com
For more information about the Steelyard Professional Commerce
Marketplace, please visit www.steelyardaccess.com/brands.html or
contact us at info@Steelyard.com or 800-631-3111.
Steelyard is the premier online marketplace for professional commerce
in the design industry. For our architecture and design professional
members, we provide a secure and vetted community of manufacturers
who know how to service the unique needs of designers, architects,
builders, and facility managers. For our manufacturer brands, we
provide access to a diverse and lucrative B2B market that specifies over
$68 billion of products in North America annually (according to the
American Society of Interior Designers 2015 Outlook report).