Smarter Building Materials Marketing: Recent Episodes

Venveo

The building materials marketing landscape is changing faster than ever. Creating an engaging online presence is crucial to the success of any building materials manufacturer. But can your Facebook profile actually grow sales? Will you earn more market share if you change your website? How can you outperform your competition online? Zach and Beth tackle your most burning questions about digital marketing for building material manufacturers, share proven strategies to grow leads and sales, and bring in other industry experts to share what’s working in the building product space.

Manufacturer reps often play a vital role in expanding market reach and ensuring customer satisfaction. This week's guest reveals why effective reps are the lifeblood of design firms and how they are instrumental in preventing building products from being value-engineered. In this episode of the Smarter Building Materials Marketing podcast, hosts Zach Williams and Beth PopNikolov sit down with Mary Cook, President of Mary Cook Associates, a prominent commercial interior design firm based in Chicago, to talk about the importance of manufacturer rep relationships and how the right rep can play a vital role in increasing specifications. Throughout the episode, Mary shares her valuable insights and experiences, shedding light on the crucial role manufacturer reps play in safeguarding design intent, ensuring quality execution and staying within budget — with the collective goal of avoiding the value-engineering of products.

Digital platforms and consumer behavior are constantly rewriting the rules of marketing, so how can businesses in the building materials industry adapt and thrive? This week, we are talking about the power of trust, personalized experiences and the crucial role of the customer journey in driving sales and revenue. Todd Miller is President of Isaiah Industries, a metal roofing company. He talks with Zach about why manufacturers need to take the effort to create a personal connection with customers.

Can you articulate the difference between a feature and a benefit? If not, you’re probably using them wrong in your sales copy. This week we talk about the difference between features and benefits and how to use them for the most impact. Deanna Murphy, Venveo’s Director of Strategy, is back this week to talk with Zach about features and benefits messaging, market fit, how to win your customer and more.

Grant Farnsworth is back to talk about the 2024 and 2025 outlook for new single-family residential construction. We also share insights for manufacturers who aren’t hitting sales numbers. Grant Farnsworth is the President of The Farnsworth Group. He talks with Beth and Zach about the 2024 to 2025 outlook on new single-family residential construction, as well as the upcoming Building Products Customer Workshop being held on October 11 and 12.

Building a social media presence is essential for everyone in the building materials industry. But with so many platforms, where do you start? This week’s guest explains why YouTube is the best platform to grow your audience and bring them value. Sean Collinsgru is Chief Vision Officer at Premier Outdoor Living and host of the Hardworking Happy Hour podcast. He talks with Zach about the importance of creating content to build a large and invested audience.

Have you ever thought that you don’t need marketing to be successful? If so, then this episode is for you. Beth and Zach talk about the importance of marketing, even for manufacturers who are “too big to fail” — because the truth is, you’re not. This week, Beth and Zach discuss the most common answer Beth gets from manufacturers when she asks them about marketing.

It can be hard to find high-quality employees in today’s job environment. However, it’s not impossible. This week's guest talks about how they’ve managed to grow their team by 20 percent year over year while decreasing turnover through their culture of leadership. Josh Hendrickson is vice president of sales and marketing at Wilson Lumber, a third-generation owned lumber dealer operating outside of Huntsville, Alabama. He talks with Deanna Murphy, director of strategy at Venveo, and Zach about Wilson Lumber’s unique leadership structure.

How confident are you that your headlines or CTAs are truly the best choices? This week, Zach and Beth are diving into the significance of A/B testing for manufacturers and reveal the five essential elements you should be testing to boost your conversion rates.

Innovative, high-performance building materials can be difficult to market and sell. This week’s guest not only has a brand new, innovative product, but one that’s high-performance and sustainable. He talks to Zach about how he’s been able to market and sell this innovation to builders. Josh Dorfman is the CEO and co-founder of Plantd, a company dedicated to making carbon-negative building materials.

When you compete on millimeters and price, it becomes a race to the bottom. This week’s guest shares how emphasizing value and building strategic partnerships with customers can help you move beyond price and cultivate lasting relationships. Cassie Milam, the Co-Owner and Director of Marketing for The Detering Company, talks with Beth about how to focus on value services in a commodity category.

We break down the three best ways marketing and sales teams can converge to see the greatest ROI, plus key insights from AIA 2023. This week, Steve Coffey, Venveo’s Director of Growth, is co-hosting with Zach.

Contractors are one of the most popularly targeted audiences by building material manufacturers. This week’s guest talks about how you can build better relationships with contractors in order to boost business. Kevin Forestell is the CEO and Co-Founder of DOZR. He talks with Beth and Zach about how to build better relationships with contractors.

It’s that time of the year! In this week’s episode, Zach and Beth take a trip down memory lane to recap their key takeaways from five of the most popular episodes of 2022.

Converting contractors—or any audience segment—doesn’t have to be as hard as you think. Or so says today’s guest. In this jam-packed episode, they explain the importance of imagery, how to convert contractors to customers, how to market to multiple audiences and more.

Luke Hansen is the Founder & CEO of CompanyCam, an app that helps contractors build trust with their crews and customers through photo documentation. He talks to Beth about how he has converted contractors—a notoriously difficult audience to convince—to a new technology. As a bonus, he also provides several other critical pieces of marketing advice.

How can manufacturers sell more successfully to their customers and gain new ones? There are all kinds of ways to find customers, but today’s guest talks with us about the best ways to connect with customers, online and in person, in new markets.

Alex Cook is the Director of Operations of Lifetime Windows and Siding. He’s been in building materials marketing and sales for more than nine years now, and we were thrilled to hear about his experience with launching and selling a successful brand.

Google announced (another) update to how they’ll handle tracking website traffic, and the changes will have a significant effect on how anyone with a website gets information on their site visitors. Today’s episode covers what every manufacturer and building materials brand needs to know about the update and how to prepare for it.

For the last few years, Google has offered Universal Analytics as a means of tracking data on your website. All of that is changing in 2023, and Zach and Beth break down what that will look like for manufacturers and building materials brands who want to understand how users are finding them online.

The way we are building homes has changed—and the way that today’s homeowner wants to buy is also changing. Today’s guest breaks down the changes that are happening in the marketplace, building technology and what this means for builders and manufacturers in today’s real estate environment.

On this episode, we're talking with Craig Foy from ALY VR about builders and building brands, and the expectation that their customers have when it comes to winning their business. Listen to learn how virtual reality and technology are getting builders closer to their customers and the sale.

Our podcast guest this week has a front-row seat to the future of building product sales. Beth talked with Josh Ruff from Roomvo about how manufacturers can make the online and in-store sales experience more seamless for customers — but check out the full episode for some predictions about the future of building materials and product samples.

Josh is the VP of revenue for Roomvo, a product visualization tool that’s delivering data and sales insights to the building materials brands that use it. We talked with him about how today’s manufacturers can take full advantage of visualization for their business.

Influencer marketing can help brands reach more of an audience online with the help and partnership of the right person. Today’s guest brings their experience and insight to the show to talk about the intersection of influencer marketing and building materials and how brands can benefit.

Jennifer Flores is a blogger and influencer in the building material space, and she’s worked with brands and content creators around the world to connect with customers. She talked with us about how brands can partner with influencers to reach more customers and stay in the game.

This week’s episode was a global affair — not just because our guest lives halfway across the world, but because of the issue of climate change and the risks we all face today. We dig deep into the topic of sustainability and how manufacturers can guarantee a future for our planet: a topic that’s heavy on everyone’s mind.

Zach talks with Mahesh Ramanujam, the President and CEO at Global Network for Zero. Mahesh Ramanjam brings expertise and experience to the building industry, and we were thrilled to bring his voice to our discussion.

Understanding what is happening across the building materials market is crucial for standing out as a manufacturer in 2023. Join top sales and marketing leaders from some of the world’s top building product brands at the Building Products Customer Insights Workshop in Denver, CO on October 12th and 13th for two days of intense learning, insights and collaboration in the industry.

Here’s a sneak peek at the type of insightful, data-driven information that you’ll gain from this workshop — it’s definitely an event that you won’t want to miss!

This week, Zach’s co-host is Grant Farnsworth, the President of The Farnsworth Group, a market research company in the building product space. We discuss the questions manufacturers are asking to help them make strategic decisions for long-term growth.

Winning over the designer on a project is crucial for building products brands, especially in the early stages of their project. This week, Zach and Beth talk with a special guest about how to guarantee architects and designers will spec your product when it’s time to start shopping.

Tom Conley is the president and CEO of High Point Market, one of the design industry’s premier trade show events. The ways a designer finds and chooses products have changed, so we asked Tom how building materials brands can connect with them and sell more effectively.

It’s a new world of work out there, and finding skilled labor in the workforce has been a challenge for everyone in the building materials industry. This episode is a must-listen for brands, builders and anybody who wants to recruit talent in today’s gig economy.

We talk often about labor (and the labor shortage), and today’s guest brings a ton of expertise and strategy to the conversation. Andrew Spurvey is the Chief Marketing Officer for QuickContractors.com, a SaaS platform that some people are calling “Uber for contractors.”

It’s time to talk numbers again: about the housing economy and building materials, and what the housing recession means for manufacturers. (Note: It’s not all bad news.)

We’re bringing John Burns on to the show again this week for a temperature check. With words like “recession” and “risk” on everyone’s mind, we wanted to explore what’s happening in the market with an expert who sees the opportunities ahead.

We’ve always said your online presence should be your best salesperson, and our guest this week indulged us with a great discussion on the world of eCommerce. Building materials brands have a huge opportunity when it comes to online sales, and we think everyone will want to learn more.

The CEO of DecksDirect, Blair Budlong, joined us for an in-depth look at eCommerce and how brands can sell better (even faster) to their online audience. We got some great ideas and insight into the world of selling online and what the future holds for the building materials market.

After the pandemic, homeowners across the United States have discovered different ways of living, working and playing in their communities — and developers have taken note. This week, we talked with a mixed-use developer whose innovative, EPIC projects are getting noticed.

McKenzy Braaten is the Vice President of Communications for EPIC Companies. The Fargo-based firm is a commercial and multi-family developer with a big vision and bigger plans for mixed-use construction. We were thrilled to have her on the show to talk more about how manufacturers can improve how they sell to developers.

How can our industry be more effective in adding — and elevating — women to our organizations? This week’s show is all about how building materials companies can grow and succeed in ways that bring in more women to the industry.

This week, we welcome Amy Smiley, Vice President of Marketing for 84 Lumber. She talked about how manufacturers can help grow the industry by hiring and empowering more women in the workforce, and it’s a conversation we’re excited to have.

One of the biggest questions in building materials today is how shifts in the housing market will impact building products. There's a lot of uncertainty about what's going to happen with the economy, and that can dictate the way you market and sell your product.

Greg Brooks is the Moderator for the Executive Council on Construction Supply and a member of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. He’s got connections in the industry and tons of insight into what dealers need to know about today’s housing market and economy.

In building materials, one of our biggest audiences is architects. This episode is all about how to not only target one of our favorite communities but how to educate and engage the modern architect.

Stephen Martin is the Managing Director of Professional Development and Resources for the American Institute of Architects. His work with AIA gives him more perspective than most on the world of architects — and his background in education makes him a great guest for this week’s show.

What does it mean to build a brand with purpose? This week’s podcast is about creating building materials businesses for the greater good and leading people through conflict. Whether you’re managing a team of two or 200, this is an episode you’ll want to hear.

Toby Bostwick is the VP of Product and Brand at Fortress Building Products. He’s helping to grow the highly successful Texas-based brand and part of his strategy is leading and managing his team more effectively.

We’re diving into digital marketing, supply channel conflict and industry prediction with Mark Mitchell, one of our favorite experts in the building materials industry. You’ll want to take notes when you listen to this one!

Mark, who is also known as the “The Whizard,” brings decades of experience and a ton of perspective to product marketing, the labor shortage and the future of construction.

The future of the building industry rests on the technology we’re using today. This week’s episode looks at the growing landscape of 3D-printed homes and how building materials companies can help builders and pros to adapt to a new kind of construction.

Michael Woods, CEO and COO of Black Buffalo, is committed to making the building process more efficient with their 3D printing technology by helping to revolutionize the process of construction. Michael shares with Zach how they are introducing builders to the idea of 3D-printed homes and converting them to use their technology.

LinkedIn has over 800 million users in more than 200 countries today. It’s a powerful community where marketing and sales professionals in the building materials space can share content and support their business growth, all on one platform. And many of us could be using it more effectively.

There’s a way to reach out to potential customers on LinkedIn, and there’s a way not to. Venveo’s Ashley Stevenson and Zach Williams talk about the platform and strategies for outreach so that you can make authentic connections and build your building materials business.

He went from being fired for making TikTok videos to being the paint industry’s most viral story to date. This week, we welcome Tony Piloseno to the show to get the inside scoop on how he used social media to share his passion for paint — and find brand success.

Tony Piloseno is a huge name in the Venveo office and on TikTok. Now the full-time owner and CEO of Tonester Paints, we brought in Tony to hear the whole story and what he’s learned while creating the hottest #paint content online today.

Trade shows have started up again with gusto, and we’re looking forward to the AIA Conference on Architecture coming up at the end of June. This week, we talk about what building materials brands can prepare when it comes to a solid trade show strategy and came up with five ways sales and marketing teams can plan ahead.

Steve Coffey is Venveo’s Director of Growth, and he’s also our resident expert on trade shows. We brought him on again to talk about the best strategies for manufacturing brands that want to make a splash at their next industry event.

The content you create for your building materials brand can be leveraged in ways that might change our industry’s labor issues. This week’s episode reveals some incredible ways we might support solutions for the labor shortage — all through more compelling content.

Bob Baldocchi is a sales and marketing expert who retired from the world of building materials only to become the owner and investor in On3, a construction software startup that’s changing the landscape of our industry as we speak.

Creating an easy purchasing experience for your customers is a part of guaranteeing building product sales, but for eCommerce sites, that requires imagery. For manufacturers, getting images for your online presence is a challenge, so this week’s guest gave us a surprising strategy you might want to steal.

Paul Hostelley of Docking Drawer talked with us about launching a new product and how they met the challenge of attaining photos to help site visitors understand the product’s application.

Blockchain and NFTs are trending topics online, but what do those concepts mean for the building materials industry? Zach and Beth talk with this week’s guest, Tim Seims, about how manufacturers, builders and everyone else in the building products space might be impacted by cryptocurrency.

If you don't know what cryptocurrency is all about, don’t fret. We break down some of the basic ideas around blockchain, NFTs and other crypto concepts on the show and talk about why they should matter to manufacturers.

This week’s episode is an exciting ride in product innovation with Joe Altieri, a window industry professional who went from struggling with sales to winning Shark Tank.

Joe Altieri is the inventor and founder of FlexScreen, a product featured on Shark Tank. He’s one of the best in the business when it comes to disrupting a building product category, and we talked with him about the road to his success.

Introducing a new product to the market isn’t just about launch day and social media announcements. How can you help guarantee you’ll get traction when you reveal new product lines to customers? This week’s guest gave us a few insights and insider ideas. Amanda Sizemore is the Business Development and Marketing Director for AmeriCote, which launched a successful new product line — right before the pandemic. We talked about how her team navigated such a challenging project and how manufacturers can guarantee a successful launch when it’s their time to shine.

This week’s episode comes to you from the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry (AWCI) trade show floor. We wanted to hear from contractors and manufacturers who are dealing with the challenges of today’s industry — so we chatted with someone who’s both and has seen all of it. Dan Wies from Wies Drywall is an experienced contractor who talked with Zach about his family’s business and how they’ve pivoted to help more customers and grow their business. We met up with him at the AWCI trade show to talk shop.

The harsh reality of the labor shortage is that professionals are overwhelmed and overworked. Product manufacturers have a growing opportunity to help builders and installers, many of whom are learning to install products on the fly. It’s a challenge that all of us in the industry, especially manufacturers, have to overcome.

On this episode, we bring on Nate Henderson, Founder and CEO of BILT Incorporated, who shares insights into how manufacturers can better support and educate their customers, and how that can pay off big in today’s labor-strapped construction industry.

There are plenty of ways to get in touch with your customers and potential partners, but staying in front of them (and ahead of your competition) can be challenging. The guest on this week’s episode walks us through how manufacturers can map out a smart strategy to reach their customers.

This episode’s topic is a big one in building materials, and our guest Travis Hilldore was happy to tackle it with us head-on. Travis works in marketing and sales for an equipment and product manufacturer, and we learned how his team builds trust with their customers in some surprising ways.

We talk quite a bit about the online experience for your customers, but what if you want to ensure a pleasant in-store purchase of your product? This episode is all about creating a positive and frictionless customer journey, and you’ll want to take notes on each step.

Vinnie Circosta is the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Raskin Industries, and he shared a few tips on how this successful flooring brand makes its customers a part of the purchasing experience, from digital to physical.

Construction industry issues like labor and supply shortages have been a serious burden on today’s builders. This week’s episode features an experienced residential and commercial builder who fills us in on how manufacturers and the rest of the industry can offer support so everyone stays in business.

Caleb Williams is a North Carolina builder who’s worked in both residential and commercial construction. He talked with Zach and Beth about the biggest challenges builders are facing in the industry and a few possible solutions that support the future of construction.

Is it time to reevaluate your business strategy this year? The ever-changing construction industry has required today’s manufacturers to stay agile, and in this week’s episode, we talked with one manufacturer who revealed the big decisions they made to adapt, grow and stay ahead in building materials.

Jeremiah Hershberger is Product Manager for Key-Link Fencing & Railing, and he talked earnestly and openly with us about the value that building products need to deliver to customers today. We learned about the (difficult) decisions and strategies his own team at Key-Link undertook to ensure that kind of value.

Consumers everywhere feel the impact of inflation in their daily lives. So this episode is about how manufacturers can support growth in their business amidst a turbulent — but very exciting — time in today’s building industry.

We talk with building materials research expert Grant Farnsworth about the trends we’ve seen over the last two years, along with what manufacturers can do to sustain their business by planning ahead instead of just surviving in the now.

Our guests on this week’s episode are spearheading an important solution: the construction industry’s labor shortage problem. It's a fascinating episode about partnerships, skilled trades and the future of labor in the construction industry.

This week, Spencer Brown, Director of Sales for Pfister Faucets, and Kevin Johnson, President of CHS Plumbing, talked with Zach and Beth about what manufacturers and their customers (the contractors they work with) can do to support each other in today’s building industry. The strategies we discussed help ensure the future of construction and labor in the industry.

One of the most common questions Venveo gets from manufacturers is “Should we translate our website into Spanish?" The answer is always a resounding, “Yes!” But for some manufacturers that might feel like a daunting task, so we break down this process more with an expert in this week’s episode.

It’s important to do the work to make your building materials website more accessible to Spanish-speaking audiences. Kevin Kilpatrick is the Chief Marketing Officer of Blue Lake Lumber, and he walked us through the most effective ways to truly connect with this ever-growing audience in the construction industry.

We haven’t covered one of the construction industry’s biggest events in a couple of years, so we were thrilled to report live from this year’s NAHB International Builders’ Show. Beth and Steve attended IBS 2022 in Orlando, and we checked in with them on what’s buzzworthy at this year’s event. Part of our passion at Venveo is to report on trends and concerns in the building industry, and we’re so excited to share what happened at IBS 2022 in Orlando. It gives us an opportunity to connect with others in the industry and get the latest updates on products and trends in building today.

Educating your customers and giving them more opportunities to learn is such a valuable resource and service in the building materials industry today. Some manufacturers do this well — but some don’t. We talk with an education expert about how more BPMs in the industry can get it right.

To stay ahead of competition, today’s building materials manufacturers need a way to make themselves valuable and trustworthy to customers: CEUs might just be the secret ingredient to that kind of success.

Every year, Venveo partners with The Farnsworth Group to survey pros, builders, architects and DIYers on how they research, specify and purchase building materials products. This week, we’re sharing insights from the pro panel we held during the 2022 Building Products Customer Guide event. Anytime we get to talk with other building materials industry pros and experts, it’s a fun time. Here are a few key clips, along with some of the best insights straight from the pros.

The sales process in building materials can involve a few hurdles. Product certifications, though, might get your product in front of architects you’ve only dreamed of and prevent value engineering your product out of the project later on. But is a certification worth it? Let’s find out.

This week, we’re learning from sustainability expert Walter Lourie on how to use building materials certifications to stay ahead of the sales game and in the project. Walter gives us a couple of really smart strategies that he’s using to get in front of today’s top architecture firms.

A crucial key to making your brand an industry leader is by differentiating it from competitors. Identifying your audiences’ wants and needs is a great start, but understanding how to reach them should be first and foremost. The moment your brand becomes top-of-mind for customers, you’re on your way to big success.

This week, Zach and Beth talk with Gerry Messina, a building products marketing executive, who brings industry experience, along with a marketing and sales perspective to the discussion about selling to architects and contractors.

There are experts in the building materials industry who are certain that we're about to see a huge growth trend in offsite and modular construction — the kind of growth that can truly disrupt the industry and how we build its future.

This week, Zach talks to Tim Seims, from John Burns Real Estate Consulting, about modular and offsite construction and the impact that we expect it to have on the building materials market.

From lumber prices to eCommerce to TikTok trends, Beth and Zach talked about what matters most to the building materials industry. Here are our five most popular podcast episodes — and a couple of bonuses for you to check out.

We had the honor of talking to a number of industry experts this year, and packed a ton of great content into the last twelve months. Beth and Zach revisit our most listened-to episodes, with a few of our favorite clips included.

By offering free education, insights and community, manufacturers can build trust with their customers and prospects. That kind of trust gives businesses a serious competitive advantage, but not everyone does it right.

Marcy Tyler is Director of Building Science for Tremco Commercial Sealants & Waterproofing, and she’s positioned the company as a recognized expert in the building materials industry. Marcy shares how manufacturers can use the same strategies to get their product in front of their ideal audience.

The manufacturer and dealer relationship has been strained in the last couple of years. But if you listen to this week’s episode, you’ll wind up with a checklist for tackling this issue head-on: how to improve relationships with dealers, build a digital presence that supports those relationships and sell more effectively.

This week’s podcast features two special guests: Joshua Rich, the president and CEO of Bullseye Locations, and Brian Baker, a digital strategist and founder of DoDecaHedron. The pair help Zach and Beth answer the biggest questions in building materials, around dealer relationships and how a strong digital strategy can support them. There’s plenty of opportunity for good partnerships if you have the right resources.

One of the most talked about social media platforms today is TikTok. It’s where a ton of online trends start, and in this episode, we bring back Venveo’s own Ashley Stevenson to help us understand which building materials brands should be on the platform and how they can be successful.

In a recent episode of the show, we talked about the ROI of social media in building materials, and it quickly became the most commented-on podcast we've done to date. So this time, we’re taking a deep dive into the wildly popular platform of TikTok.

If you didn’t already know, the Smarter Building Materials Marketing podcast is produced by Venveo, the digital marketing agency that our host Zach Williams founded almost 15 years ago. This week’s episode is about changes at Venveo and in the industry, and our excitement about what’s ahead.

Venveo has worked with building materials manufacturers and suppliers for more than a decade, and during this time, the industry has undergone huge changes. Beth and Zach talk about how Venveo is preparing for the growth ahead, with a few exciting updates.

The new year is a great time to start looking at your company’s brand and the story you’re telling online. Does your building materials brand stand out from the competition? In this episode, we look at how not one, but two, great building materials brands are setting up their own long-term legacy.

This week’s guest, Heather Bowman, is the Director of Marketing at Key-Link Fencing & Railing and Superior Plastic Products. Both are fencing and railing brands built for long-term success, and we got the full story from Heather on how brands can set themselves up in the same way.

Manufacturers depend on their marketing departments for everything from sell sheets to social media. For a lot of manufacturers, all of that weight falls on just one set of shoulders. Are you a marketing department of one? Here are three of the absolute essentials you’ll need if you’re riding solo.

Small departments can get things done when they’re resourced well and have support from the rest of the team. Beth talked with Tracy Dacko, the Marketing Manager for Schöck North America, about delivering results and staying ahead when you’re running things on your own.

Content is a hot topic here at Venveo, but this week’s show gets specific about five types of content you need to put on the calendar next year. If you stick around until the end you’ll get a bonus tip from Beth. The content building materials manufacturers create can make a big impact on their brand in 2022. Are you ready to level up your marketing?

Did you know that we spend more time checking our email on our phones than we do our desktops? And any time Apple — who has the lion’s share of mobile users — makes a change to how they collect data or handle privacy around email, it's going to have an impact on those of us who are marketers. And Apple's done it again.

What do the iOS 15 changes mean if you’re a building materials marketer? To make sure you're getting the most out of these changes, Beth and Zach break down the technical aspects of the update, what to worry about, what to look forward to and what your next steps look like.

Data is one of the first things that gets neglected in a busy business. Not everything is a numbers game, but if you’re a manufacturer and aren’t capturing data on your sales and marketing efforts, you’re missing out.

Data is an important component of your marketing strategy as a manufacturer, so we talked Dan Donohue, Director of Sales and Marketing at Craftmaster Hardware, about how manufacturers and distributors can work together to get more out of marketing efforts.

Is it possible to be a sustainable manufacturer and stay ahead in today’s construction industry? Here’s how one lumber company’s zero waste business practices are helping them drive more profit.

Ted Dergousoff is the CEO of NewLife Forest Restoration, an Arizona lumber company committed to protecting our national forests. He shares how NewLife is revitalizing the construction industry with better building practices and high-quality wood products.

Video content will be a must-add to your marketing plans after listening to this episode, so get out your notebook. We talked about video marketing strategies with a manufacturer who recently won several awards for their content … and there’s one surprising tip we can’t wait to share with you.

Ben Roberts is the North American Marketing Director for Kebony, a manufacturer of wood cladding that recently won several 2020 Telly Awards for their Design vs. Build series. Ben shares everything from how they produce the stunning videos that have become part of what makes Kebony such a successful building materials brand to how they use the videos to drive leads and sales.

Data helps us connect the dots between the different parts of an organization, whether that's product development, marketing, sales or customer service. Data plays a bigger role in a lot of the decisions that today’s manufacturers make — are you using it to your advantage?

Bob Sanders, Director of Sales at Shouldice Designer Stone, works for a manufacturer that spends a considerable amount of time deep in their business data. They’ve used insights from that data to improve everything from their customers’ experience to their manufacturing processes — all helpful information if you’re planning out your own marketing strategy for 2022.

One of the most overlooked parts of the sales process for manufacturers is the visual component to the purchasing decision. If you’re planning out your marketing content for next year, it’s time to prioritize — and imagery is a great place to start when it comes to boosting your sales.

Greg Weyman is the founder and managing partner for Market Thrive, and he has a ton of insights (and great statistics) around how manufacturers can use imagery to boost their site traffic and sales — a topic we’re always thrilled to discuss.

Want a pipeline that fills itself? This week, we talked with an expert in business development on how manufacturers create a pipeline that's constantly full with commercial architects, without actually having to generate a lot of outbound activity.

Caitlin Mulligan is the Director of Business Development at SCI Lighting Solutions and works with high-end architects and designers in the commercial space. We picked her brain about how to keep architects and designers interested in your product and engaged with your brand.

The question we get asked most often is about social media and its ROI. So this week’s episode is all about the strategies and tactics we use to help building materials manufacturers succeed in the digital world. If you’re trying to level up your social media presence, stay tuned.

Zach and Beth talk with Venveo’s own social media expert Ashley Stevenson to get into the nitty-gritty of the ROI of social media.

What’s getting builders to switch the products they typically build with? While builders and other construction professionals aren’t known to adopt new products or materials readily, we’re finding that behavior has started to shift. This week’s episode explores why.

Zach and Beth talk with Jimmy Cotty, Executive Director of the Georgia Ready Mixed Concrete Association, about how manufacturers can be at the forefront of solutions in today’s construction industry.

Growing a building materials brand is about the story you’re telling. The better the story, the greater the sale. But what if you’ve got a few different audiences? What should your brand’s story sound like then? Let’s find out from a company that began their story from the ground up.

Greg Rohl is principal of The Rohl Model and the family-founded Rohl Faucets brand. The company has an established reputation for innovation and luxury brand quality, so we talked with Greg about what it takes to build a winning brand in the building materials industry.

This episode is an exploration of the professional installer and trade industry and what they want from building materials manufacturers. Plus, what does the future of the trades look like? And how can manufacturers ensure that their future is a little brighter?

Chad Lingafelt is the managing partner of Loc-Doc Security, a door and security firm in North Carolina. Chad is also the host of a great podcast, The Coffee Break. He’s a man of several passions, and we talked with him about how building product companies can stay relevant in the ever-evolving construction and manufacturing industry.

What issues are ahead in land development and how will that affect the future of the construction industry? This week’s episode features an in-depth interview with a land developer who helps us understand the market from the inside out.

We talk with Eric Tune, a general-contractor-turned-developer, who is now Vice President of Land Development at Brookfield in Phoenix, about how construction and building materials impact the way cities grow today.

Is housing overvalued today? On this episode, we bring in an expert on investing, who gives us some much-needed perspective on housing today and how manufacturers and building materials companies can expect it to impact their business. Wondering when the bubble will burst? Let’s explore that question a little more.

We talked with Jason Hartman, Founder and CEO of The Hartman Media Company, to better understand the real estate market and how it impacts the building materials industry today.

If you’re a building materials manufacturer with a website, then pay attention to this week’s episode. Google is rolling out an algorithm update that's going to impact everybody's digital presence, and we dive into how you can improve your SEO and Google rankings, and stay ahead of these major changes.

A lot of manufacturers target their buyer audience in marketing, and cater their message just to them, whether that’s homeowners, suppliers or contractors. But that strategy can fall short, and there’s a potential to miss out on sales.

Zach and Beth talk with Angela Ballisty, the Global Director of Marketing for Lonza Wood Protection, about how manufacturers can effectively engage with wider audiences by using pull-through marketing and upstream strategies.

Before the rest of 2021 escapes us, we wanted to bring our audience some perspective on what our industry can look forward to in the months ahead. This episode features some important insights on the construction market this year and what we’ve all been through. Listen until the end, because you’ll hear some great suggestions around how manufacturers can navigate upcoming shifts in the pro and homeowner markets.

Todd Tomalak, principal at John Burns Real Estate Consulting Group, joins us again for a great episode. He’s got tons of data and a positive outlook on today’s construction industry, along with ideas around what manufacturers and building professionals can expect for this year and the years ahead.

Architects have to wear a lot of hats when it comes to running just one single project. This week, we talked to an architect who helped us better understand what manufacturers can do to get in front of these professionals to get specified on their projects.

Zach and Beth talk with Eric Zuziak, President of JZMK Partners, about how manufacturers can be more effective in their marketing and sales strategies so that they connect with architects more successfully.

Have you been trying out selling strategies on custom home builders with less success than you’d like? If you want to better understand this niche audience, this week’s show is for you: It’s full of tactics and ideas for manufacturers who need their marketing plans to go further.

Zach and Beth talk with Steve Yates, president of Buildxact, a software that’s used by small residential and commercial building teams to produce quotes and run their construction projects.

The rise of eCommerce has found its way into the construction industry, leaving manufacturers with questions about how digital selling might disrupt their business. Learn how one building materials dealer has embraced eCommerce as a part of their daily business — it even resulted in a million-dollar day for their product sales.

Zach and Beth talked with one of the nation's largest building materials dealers about the launch of their new eCommerce website and how going digital has helped them succeed in sales. Katie Schilling is Director of Digital Marketing at Cameron Ashley Building Products, and she’s helped the company navigate the new world of eCommerce.

The future of architecture and construction feels a little unpredictable right now, so this week we talked with someone on the inside of the industry. John Crosby is with the AIA, and he joined us to discuss building better partnerships with architects and how manufacturers can stay ahead of more industry shifts.

It’s no secret that demand is high in the building materials industry today, so why are so many manufacturers losing sales? We talked with one of the construction industry’s biggest names, Matt Risinger, about how manufacturers can stay successful in such a fast-paced environment. You’ll want to check this one out.

Our celebrity guest this week shares his insights on how today’s manufacturers can address the supply shortages and project delays plaguing the industry.

We’re going deep into the way your audience — architects, designers, builders, contractors and DIYers — researches, finds and buys building products.

This week, Zach and Beth talk with Grant Farnsworth, president of The Farnsworth Group, about some of the key takeaways and surprises from the recent pair of 2021 Building Products Customer Guide: Audience Breakdown webinars. Plus, the trio discusses the following hot topics: the future of the DIYer, channel conflict and which brands are winning customers.

Lumber prices have been skyrocketing over the last year, and this week we’re talking to someone who has a unique perspective on how the construction industry got here. For an inside look at what's happening to lumber prices and how it's impacting all of us in the industry, this episode is worth it. Let’s nerd out about lumber, shall we?

We’re thrilled to have had Stinson Dean on the show this week. He’s kind of a big deal on Twitter, and also the CEO of Deacon Lumber Company. Stinson was recently interviewed by Bloomberg about the high cost of lumber right now, and he took some time to chat with Zach and Beth about the ins and outs of lumber and why it’s such a hot commodity.

You might have a marketing plan in place for your building materials brand, but are your products capable of exciting your audience? We talk with a designer, who also works for a manufacturer, about an effective yet overlooked strategy that can keep your audience truly engaged and excited about your products.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talked with Richard Anuszkiewicz, Lead Designer at Design Galleria and Creative Director at Monogram Appliances, about product marketing, plus how manufacturers can capture their audience and build longevity into their brand. He also shares which two manufacturers are experts at romancing their audiences that you can take inspiration from.

One developer has improved their customer experience and increased sales after implementing digital tools to virtually sell new homes during the pandemic. Now that restrictions are being lifted, we discuss if virtual selling will last and why it should.

This week, Zach talks with Kris Maher, an architect who is also Vice President of Design at Rancho Mission Viejo, about how transitioning to selling virtually drove home sales. They also discuss how building materials manufacturers can reach more developers and builders, plus why you should consider B2C and not just B2B marketing.

For building product manufacturers, being innovative in your business is the only way to stay relevant and ahead of your competition. But “innovative” can be a little vague, right? We were excited to break that down on the podcast, so manufacturers can approach innovation in the construction industry with confidence.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk with Peter Jacobson, a Business Designer at Panasonic, about how to stay competitive in building materials and making sure your products are both innovative and successful.

One question we hear from manufacturers all the time is, "Should I be on Houzz?” If you’re wondering about having a presence on the incredibly popular global platform (and if you’ll see results), this episode is for you.

This week, Zach and Beth chat with Liza Hausman, Vice President of Industry Marketing at Houzz, at length about how manufacturers can make the most out of being on Houzz. Whether you’re launching a new product or want to reach more homeowners and professionals, Liza has some strategies for manufacturers who want to grow their business this year

Manufacturers today have a lot of competition. They have to market themselves strategically so that architects and designers will specify them on a project. But with the right tactics, you can stand out from other building materials brands and keep your products in the spec.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk with Brooke Collins, the Regional Manager for the Florida division of Builders Design, about housing trends and product specifications in the building process, and how manufacturers can play a bigger role in the design decisions she makes.

The construction labor shortage is one of the biggest problems we’re facing in the building materials industry today. But there’s one manufacturer who has tackled that issue head-on, and their sales have grown exponentially because of the solutions they’ve come up with.

This week, Zach and Beth talk with Jay Small, President of Precision Building Systems (PBS), a manufacturer/installer hybrid with locations in Colorado and Utah. PBS provides turn-key construction solutions for the builders and contractors they partner with, and Jay gave us some insight into how they make it all work — and how they’re so successful.

Are you wondering what all the recent shifts in the building materials industry mean for the next era of construction? Whether it’s broader adoption of technology or more vertical integration in businesses, we explore what’s going to happen to the lumber dealer and ConTech companies like Katerra.

In this episode, Zach talks with Greg Brooks, the moderator of the Executive Council on Construction Supply, about what opportunities are available to lumber dealers and how they can stay ahead of more industry changes in upcoming years.

How often do those of us in the building industry really consider how humans behave in their built environments? For architects like Dan Swift, it’s always top of mind. He gave us some awesome insights on how building materials brands will need to navigate the very near future of home construction.

Zach also talked with Dan about how people use the spaces they’re in, and how home design needs to change to accommodate those behaviors.

How effective is your multifamily builder/developer marketing and sales strategy? One size doesn’t fit all. This week, we explore what's happening in the multifamily space, as well as what building materials manufacturers can be doing to better serve and support the needs of developers.

Zach talks with Michael Padavic, the chief design officer at StoryBuilt, a firm that builds and develops in several of the largest cities in the United States. Since Michael is a developer/builder/architect, he has a unique vantage point and offers key insights and advice that building product manufacturers can leverage.

The housing market has shifted dramatically, becoming increasingly more expensive. If you’re wondering how to effectively sell to builders and take advantage of the recent changes in new construction, including the need for entry-level housing, we’ve got a few great ideas for you.

This week, Zach connected with someone who knows the ins and outs of the home-building market. Carla Sevilla, owner of Chanticleer Properties and principal of Glenwood Homes, shares how building materials manufacturers can navigate (and sell to) builders in the entry-level housing market.

More brands have realized that their traditional ways of selling building materials to customers just isn’t working. Let’s take a look at three manufacturers whose selling strategies are working, along with some tips to help you sell better.

This week, Zach and Beth talk with Brett Thorne, operations officer at Thorne Lumber and host of the new podcast Building the Future. Brett has seen the building materials industry from the inside and offers his insights into the issues lumber dealers and their customers are facing.

Let’s untangle any confusion there might be around Apple’s iOS 14 update. There’s a war between Apple and Facebook right now, and it’s affecting how brands connect with their customers. We’ll uncover how you need to shift your strategy to continue to reach your audience effectively, in light of these changes.

In this week’s episode, Zach and Beth discuss how the iOS 14 update will change how businesses reach their customers, and how it will impact anyone selling building materials products online.

Understanding economics in the building materials industry can be like chasing a moving target. But our most recent guest takes the complexity out of that analysis with a non-nonsense, street-level approach. Simon Caron, the Uneducated Economist, joined us to talk about the economy plus key issues the building materials industry faces today.

Selling to architects isn’t the easiest job, but attracting architects is achievable if you have the right strategy. David Weber, CEO of Architizer, shares key insights on the recent changes to architects’ specifying and buying behaviors to help you become their trusted partner

Standing out from the competition is getting harder for brands. So our first guest of 2021 was someone who finds creative, impactful ways for building materials manufacturers to promote their products. Linda Weinstein, creator of the popular One Room Challenge, talked with us about how you can tap into influencer marketing to establish your brand, grow your audience and build authority.

Our first episode of 2021 is a little different. Zach has hand-picked three of the most significant statistics from the mountains of 2020 data that he believes will help you — building materials manufacturers — think strategically about your online presence in 2021.

Over the last several months, we’ve conducted research about the dramatic shifts currently occurring in the building materials market. After surveying over 2,000 DIYers and professionals, we’ve gained essential insights on how your products are being found and why they’re being purchased — and how to fix it if they aren’t.

In this episode, we talked with Grant Farnsworth of The Farnsworth Group about what the collected data from our research says: about the building materials industry, your customers, and how your business can stay ahead of it all.

People are spending more time than ever online, and key players in the building materials industry are no expectation. Let’s look at some common mistakes and quick fixes that you can make to your website today to continue to drive awareness, leads and sales.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Mitch Harris, Venveo’s Design Team Architect, about the most important changes building material manufacturers should be making to their websites in 2021.

Residential construction is hotter than ever thanks to COVID-19 and people’s desire to gain more space to be quarantine in. How can manufacturers reach builders to gain share in this wave of current demand, as well as future market conditions?

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Jennifer Castenson, VP at Zonda, about residential builders, what they want and need, and how to reach them right now and in the future.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk with Ben Glunz, the CEO of Anguleris Technologies, and directly answer questions about how not only the industry has been impacted by the pandemic, but specifically how architects have been affected.

In this episode, Zach and Beth discuss with Casey Grey, founder of Conscious Builder, about how sustainable and green products are in higher demand with COVID, and Casey gives insight on how he deals with meeting customer needs and finding the demanded products.

This week, Zach and Beth talk with Bradley Hartmann from Behind Your Back Sales to discuss strategies on communicating with channel partners during the pandemic and how to build those relationships.

Zach and Beth are back! This week, they talk with lumber dealers, Ed Metzger and Ryan Scaife, to discuss how the industry has had to adjust with the ongoing pandemic.

The podcast has been hijacked — again — by Steve and Deanna! This week, Steve and Deanna talk with podcast hosts Zach and Beth on how the company got started and their best advice for manufacturers.

It’s finally here …
Our 100th episode!

We started this podcast in April of 2018, and two years later, we are still going strong.

We’ve learned a lot about podcasting, our industry and marketing in those two years, and we’re so proud to have shared those learnings with all of you.

On this week’s episode, SBMM has been taken over. Steve and Deanna, two Venveo team members, are hosting this week to talk about their favorite episodes, their biggest takeaways and the best strategies that they’ve learned over the last two years.

In building products, the best promise wins, not the best product. Most manufacturers are incredibly focused on having the best product in the industry. And while your product should perform, at the end of the day, if your promise to your customer does not resonate, it doesn't matter.

In this episode, Zach talks to Andrew Legge, Founder and Managing Partner at Havelock Wool, about the unique promise he makes with his commodity product, and how that is turning into incredible sales and brand loyalty.

In this episode, Zach talks to Gus Houghtaling, Director of Sales at Renin, whose e-commerce strategy is largely tied to learning what new products perform well that they can then bring to actual brick and mortar stores

E-commerce is typically seen as a way to grow sales and get closer to the customer. But there's actually a key benefit to selling online that most people don't think about and it applies to in-store sales as well.

In this episode, Zach talks to Nicole Panko, Director of Marketing & Design at Vetter Stone Company, who has undergone a massive digital revamp to help improve their presence so they can be front and center with interior designers to help them grow their sales.

Interior designers are constantly changing in their design techniques and methods. As a building material manufacturer, you've got to stay ahead and stay alongside of those shifts to make sure that you can help and be a part of the specification when it comes time to the sale.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to guest TJ Shaheen, Executive Vice President at Builders’ General Supply, who shares some hard truths about the frustrations and pain points he and his customers are feeling as we all struggle to deal with COVID, and how manufacturers can make business run more easily.

We’ve talked a lot about how manufacturers and dealers have successfully pivoted their business during COVID, but the truth is that not everyone is achieving success. If your business is feeling the pinch, there’s one key strategy you may be missing.

COVID has changed everything, from the way we live, socialize, and shop, the way building materials manufacturers and distributors are reaching their customers. Whereas e-commerce used to be a “nice to have” feature, now it’s expected. But does it work for every part of the building materials sector?

On this week’s episode, Zach talks to Carson Combs, Founder at Zenbuild, about how, if he can incorporate e-commerce into selling some of the heaviest building products out there, you can work it into your sales strategy too.

On this week’s episode, Zach talks to Jennifer Williams, Director National Strategic Accounts at Royal Manufacturing about how they’re growing direct sales while remaining a trusted partner in the channel.

For building materials manufacturers, growth often means getting closer to the customer. But selling direct can create conflict with your channel partners. Today we’re talking to one manufacturer about how they’re managing their channel and growing customer relationships at the same time.

In this episode, Zach talks to Amy Post, who is the National Marketing Manager for the Pro Division at ODL about digital transformation and how to make that leap to build an incredible online experience.

Undertaking a digital transformation can be a daunting task. Maybe you've been in print, with a lot of traditional marketing materials in place, but you want to make that shift to online and bring the business into the 21st century. It can feel overwhelming, but it’s the way more and more companies do business.

In uncertain economic conditions, it’s hard to know how to make a big business move. Many companies are navigating new ways to sell during, since tried and true face-to-face approaches aren’t available. Now imagine the challenge of launching a new product during a pandemic.

In this episode, Zach and Beth to Ryan Galick, Marketing Director at Fuzion Flooring, who is doing exactly that. They’re charting new territory, finding new ways to get in front of clients, and launch products in the COVID era.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Sebastian DeGregorio, Business Strategy Manager at Allura, about what they're doing to market and sell during and post-COVID and how they're supporting the channel.

Even during COVID, manufacturers want to know how to get closer to their customers and learn the real problems that they need help solving. The opportunities to meet face-to-face are less frequent, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be present as a trusted partner.

In this episode, Zach talks to Rich Pond, Chief Marketing Officer at Prescient, about how they’re driving business by focusing on the value proposition and how they communicate it in a way that actually moves the needle for sales.

Your brand is becoming more and more important in today's marketplace. There are so many different ways to find products, so creating a brand that's not only memorable, but speaks to your audience's pain points is critical.

One of the ways that you can get closer to your customer, is by using technology that helps them do their job more effectively. A lot of manufacturers find that to be a daunting process and don't know where to get started.

In this episode, Zach talks to Jay Shilstone, product owner for COMMANDqc at Command Alkon, about how they’re not only educating and helping their audience, but how their technology helps drive demand for their customer’s products.

In this episode, Zach talks to Steve Booz, VP of Marketing at Royal Building Products about how to get started with your digital journey, what does it take to get off the ground, and what does success look like.

Digital transformation isn’t an overnight process, it’s a journey. Here’s one manufacturer who is ready to share insights on what's worked, what hasn't, things to think about and what to avoid when you're going down this path, as well as some of their success.

In this episode, Zach talks to Justin Dewey, Sales Center Manager at American Olean and Marazzi Tile about how to structure your social media accounts on a local standpoint, the content you should be creating and how to get your reps involved to actually close a loop and grow your sales.

Everyone talks about how we need to be “doing” social media as part of their marketing, but if your social media strategy isn’t integrated with the rest of your marketing tactics and your sales funnel, you're cutting the process short.

In this episode, Zach talks to TJ Norris, who is the Director of Sales and Marketing for PCI Construction Products about how they are white labeling their product and selling at mass quantities to dealers and helping them be more effective in the business that they're trying to grow.

The Amazon Effect is oftentimes thought about as a need to sell direct to the customer. How do we get as close to them as possible? When we say “end customer”, we think about the contractor, the builder, the owner, but many people miss out on thinking about how they sell direct more effectively to the dealer.

In this episode, Zach talks to Ryan Chandley, VP of Sales for Thomas Concrete, about how they’re using social media to not only drive brand awareness but also separate themselves from the competition.

Social media can be an incredible tool to build awareness. It drives business. It helps you reach out to new prospects, grow company culture or even can help you in recruiting. Here’s how one manufacturer’s organic social media efforts have done all three.

In this episode, Zach talks to Jim Edgeworth, Director of Sales and Marketing at Bilco about their tactics and strategies, as well as what messaging actually works to cut through the noise to reach the contractor.

To avoid racing to the bottom on price, you want to sell your brand, not your product. But what happens when your brand is so well-established that your company name becomes synonymous with similar products, even from the competition? We talk to one manufacturer on how they keep selling to contractors, even as the market around them evolves.

In this episode, Zach talks to Kristina Damschen Spina, VP of Marketing at Indow, about how her marketing team has been built around data and efficiency to create autonomy and achieve their KPIs.

In marketing, we want strategies that will bring results quickly. We care about the tools and techniques that are winning today, but we miss focusing on the best way to work with a team to drive results in an efficient and productive way.

In this episode, Zach talks to Josh Neuberger, Director of Marketing at Uzin Utz North America, about social media and how you can actually create one-to-one connections to help you drive sales and grow awareness.

Whether you’re a small business or an international manufacturer, you hear a lot about social media and how to get customers to follow you, like your content and engage with what you’re sharing. But greater value may come when we go after very specific, unique people that meet your ideal customer profile. Here’s how one manufacturer does just that.

In this episode, Zach talks to Mike Antonelli, business partner at Nickel City Hardwood, about how they pivoted their business to communicate with potential customers more effectively using technology, even during COVID-19, and how they're leveraging digital to keep their pipeline full.

In this episode, Zach and talk to Tim Sandlund, Digital Marketing Manager at Derby Building Products and Founder of StartBuildingSomething.com, about his experience launching AR and VR tools in building materials, where he thinks the best channels for success are and how to measure that success to determine what’s working.

With the rise of visualizers, configurators and other online tools, should building materials manufacturers be considering augmented reality and virtual reality apps as part of their sales and marketing strategy? We talk to one manufacturer who thinks they should and how to make them successful.

In this episode, Zach talks to John Burns, CEO at John Burns Real Estate Consulting, about how COVID has changed the outlook for homebuilders in America and what building materials manufacturers can do to pivot their sales and marketing strategies and thrive in uncertain times.

How do your message and sales strategy need to change right now to take advantage of the current market we're in? This is a critical question every company in the building product space is asking as we navigate how to do business during COVID-19.

In this episode, Zach talks about the winning pivot for building materials manufacturers in the midst of COVID. We’ll be sharing with you some things that we're seeing in the marketplace today, and how you can be using the data available now to continue to navigate today's situation and help your organization grow in the future.

This week, Zach speaks directly to the listeners about how we can get through the current economic and personal challenges together. It’s not business as usual, so we felt it was important to take a pause from our usual programming.

Whether you usually listen to us at work, in the car, or on the jobsite, your working conditions are probably very different this week. We felt it was important to acknowledge how suddenly times have changed, and what building materials companies can do to navigate the uncertain road ahead.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Nathan McCarley, Director of Pro Dealer Sales at Empire Molding and Millwork, about how to actually grow your brand and create demand without doing things the way that they've always been done.

Relationship building with dealers and distributors is critical in the building materials space, but digital marketing — and especially social media — has changed how manufacturers sell their products. Here’s how one manufacturer has used social media to create pull-through demand and generate huge growth.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Armen Alajian, partner at ARTO, about how building products brands can evolve, and why your brand’s biggest superpower may be hiding in plain sight.

Companies spend too much time thinking about their product when what they really need to be focusing on is their brand. Here’s how one entrepreneur stumbled onto his brand’s hidden superpower.

In this episode, Zach talks to Gregg Lewis, Executive Vice President of Promotion Strategy and Communications for the National Ready Mix Concrete Association, about the best way to sell to architects, and why it’s both easier and harder than you think.

What if you could get an inside look at how architects want to learn about your product? Today’s episode does exactly that. Hear about how one architect is working with building materials manufacturers to develop architect-focused education that ultimately drives sales and increases product adoption.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Michael Sather, Director of New Market Development at Solatube, about how manufacturers sales teams and distributors to create fervent demand for their product with architects.

How to get your foot in the door with architects is one of the questions we hear over and over again. To get architects to not only try your product, but to demand it for every specification, you need something they can not only see and try, but a product they truly believe will bring value to every design.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Lisa Prestifilippo, National Accounts Manager at Metal Sales Manufacturing Corporation, about the different types of people that buy on online platforms and what you can get from these sites to drive innovation and product development.

The audience that buys on Amazon is different than the audience that buys on HomeDepot.com and is different than the audience at Lowes.com. What most manufacturers don't know is that they need to have a strategy for each online distributor or retailer.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Josh Hendrickson, Director of Sales at Wilson Lumber Company, about how actually living the values your company espouses can be the very best sales pitch you’ll ever have.

“People over profits” is a phrase we hear more and more from many areas of business. But when you really put your money behind your team and your values, it can be a huge point of differentiation and a great way to drive long-last relationships.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Regis Verliefde, CEO at Warmup, about how his company’s mantra of “fail often and fast” has driven incredible growth and success.

As business owners, and even as human beings, we love to celebrate our successes, but today’s guest is here to talk about why failing is just as important — and maybe even more so — when it comes to driving growth.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Todd Tomalak, Senior Vice President at John Burns Real Estate Consulting, about why he’s optimistic for the future of home construction, the one thing he wishes home builders would do more of, and why the next big construction hot spot may not be where you think.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talk to Jim Perrault from Pella of Colorado, who shares great insight into understanding every player in the channel's problems, frustrations and friction points, and how you can help make your customer experience even better.

Making it easy to do business with you is crucial, but it’s often difficult to make happen. Find out how one company is working hard to make business easy.

In this episode, we talk to Hugh Hornsby, a self-described turnaround artist who brings a very personal touch to getting companies back on their feet and growing at incredible rates.

If your company values talk about your people, then this is an episode you don’t want to miss. We’re looking at why the key to turning any company around starts with people, as well as the number one way to get them to perform for you.

In this episode, we bring on a manufacturer who has built and scaled their business all by using content and creating valuable pieces of information that his audiences are looking for and finding online.

This is an excellent testimonial on how you can use content and digital marketing to drive more demand for your business. Listen to hear great insights, great data and great tips on how you can use content to grow your building materials business.

Creating exceptional experiences for your customers can turn first-time buyers into lifelong fans. Listen as we talk with one manufacturer who’s creating unique experiences both online and offline to win customers for life.

If you’ve ever considered both manufacturing and distributing your own products, this is the episode for you. Plus, if you’ve been trying to crack the code on how to target the end consumer without losing touch with your pro channel audience, we’re talking to a manufacturer who’s winning more business by being a great partner on multiple fronts: from manufacturing to distributing to customer service and incredible transparency.

You've put a ton of effort into developing the perfect marketing plan for 2020, but how will you measure its success? On this week's episode, we're talking about three of the most important metrics building materials companies should be monitoring to help you gauge customer relationships, fuel growth and measure your marketing plan's success.

This week, we’re talking about how even the biggest manufacturers need to stay nimble to keep on top of the changing market landscape, and how digital marketing does more than get your name out there.

In this episode, Zach and Beth talks to Daniel Gills, Vice President of Business Development at Yale Locks and Hardware, about how big manufacturers are using digital marketing not just as a way to reach new customers, but also as a driver for product innovation.

The key to growing your manufacturing business is helping your local dealers and pros grow their businesses. When your local partners are selling more successfully to their end customers, they’ll purchase more from you.

This week, we discuss 5 steps manufacturers can take to help their local partners drive more demand, increasing sales for both them and you.

Have you wondered how China, trade wars and tariffs all affect the building materials industry?

This week's guest specializes in manufacturing in China. We talk to him about what it all means for manufacturers, especially if you import or work with China in any capacity, and how it all translates to building products.

Do you know what the main motivator and value communicator is for building products?

It's the price of your product.

In this episode, we tackle this topic head-on and discuss mistakes manufacturers are making with their pricing strategies along with manufacturers who are doing it right.

We are less than 100 days from 2020, and in this episode Beth and Zach break down strategies and trends that will help you in preparing for upcoming planning.

Marketing is always changing so it's critical to use these changes to your advantage. These shifts present some great opportunities for building materials opportunities to grow sales and improve your online presence.

The building materials industry isn't known for rapid change or innovation, but that won't always be the case.

With the growing trend of sustainable materials, the industry is looking for ways to increase sustainability in a way that will also increase profitability.

This week, we bring on two guests to talk about the future of sustainability in building materials and how it may not be as expensive or difficult as you currently think.

How do you get architects to pay attention to what you’re saying? Or better yet, how do you educate them effectively on your products? This is the central topic of today’s podcast. We’ve all been a part of those presentations where you're about to fall asleep because the presenter has lost your attention. What’s even worse is if you’re the one presenting and your audience is zoning out, watching the clock, or on their phones, because your message isn't engaging them. On today’s episode, we bring on an expert in the Architectural Education space to share proven strategies he uses to get and keep an architect's attention. He also shares some horror stories of manufacturers going at this all wrong.

If you think your product isn't a fit for selling online or you've attempted to sell online in the past but didn't see the results you wanted, today's episode is for you. There are a lot of misconceptions around eCommerce in the building materials industry. Today, we bring on a guest to break down these myths and roadblocks and talk about the reality of making the move to selling direct.

We’re seeing incredible results from using LinkedIn in the right way to drive leads and sales, but the key is understanding how to make valuable connections, build trust and start the customer relationship from step one. In today’s episode. we’re breaking down how you can use LinkedIn to grow leads and sales, and why it’s set up to be the leading social media platform for building materials companies for the foreseeable future.

Do you know who is actually making the decision on whether or not your product is selected? There are shifts happening in the building materials industry regarding who is merely an influencer and who is a decision-maker.

This week's guest helps us break down who is the real decision-maker, whether your project is residential or commercial.

If you want to outpace your competition, you need to embrace the idea of changing at a faster pace than you do now. The combination of change and speed is critical to your ability to grow at a faster pace than your competition.

On this week’s episode, we bring on a manufacturer who is embracing speed and inviting change into their organization in order to outpace their competition.

Selling through dealers can be challenging, and the shifts that have happened with eCommerce are impacting how to effectively grow sales through these partners.

On today's episode we bring on two experts who work with dealers to help them continue to grow in this changing marketplace.

They share how the most successful manufacturers and dealers are continuing to adapt to stay competitive. You'll also learn what specific tacts are opening up opportunities for increased margin on sales.

Getting people in the channel to try a new product is one of the toughest sales to make. Today, we bring on the Founder and CEO of one of the few startups in the industry to share his strategies on effective product launches. He gives some great details on what to do, what not to do and how he has even been able to land partnerships with some of the most notable names in his category. If you’re looking to launch a product or just want to know how to win more business, this episode is for you.

We have Building Materials Manufacturers ask us all the time if we think trade shows are really worth it. It’s a complex question for sure, and sometimes, that answer is “no.” But today, we’re bringing on someone with an inside perspective on some of the top trade shows in the building materials space. She talks about strategies she’s seeing that continue to drive traffic and interest on the trade show floor.

For a lot of manufacturers, their CRM is not only a pain point, but can be a very expensive mistake. We at Venveo do a ton of work to drive leads and bring the right awareness to our clients, and oftentimes those leads get brought into a CRM and they get lost, and it becomes a very expensive unuseful tool. Which is why we're really excited to bring on a manufacturer today, who launched a CRM unsuccessfully and transitioned to make it a really critical part of their growth from a sales standpoint. They've got a ton of sales people on their team, and they're using their CRM to actually help them scale their sales efforts in multiple different regions and countries. He shares his story from failure to success, and how you can learn from the mistakes they've made in integrating and implementing their CRM into their sales efforts.

Most building materials manufacturers I talk to say they have the BEST PRODUCT in their category, but nobody tells me they have the BEST AWARENESS in their category.

Being found and known is critical to your growth. It will help you stay competitive regardless of your company size, and is arguably just as important as the quality of your product.

On this episode we break down the 3 content pieces that will help you be found more easily and drive awareness for your product.

If you’re in the building materials space, and you want to win, then you have to help your audience win.

In our industry helping the customer to win is an ever changing problem.

So we decided to bring on a guest who has interviewed over 150 pro's, contractors, and influencers in the building construction space to share how the smartest manufacturers are making their audience the hero.

If your landing pages, emails or website aren’t converting at the rate you want, a lot of time the copy and messaging is to blame. We know how hard it can be to troubleshoot your own copy or even to get started writing when the blank page is staring back at you.

To help jumpstart your copywriting efforts, we’re talking through 7 proven copywriting hacks, why they work and how you should incorporate them into your writing efforts.

Being specified is a top priority for many manufacturers. There are so many layers to what makes or breaks the decision to include materials in the spec, and then there’s the added complexity of value engineering which can put everything in question all over again. On this episode, we bring on a specification expert to talk about what he sees as the main reasons manufacturers are being left out of specs and some great insights on how to avoid the dreaded value engineering phase.

Over the past several months, Amazon has been strategically making moves to break into the multifamily construction industry, and there are three key reasons what they’re doing is working so well.

On today’s episode, Zach and Beth talk through the driving factors behind Amazon’s success and how manufacturers can take and apply those same methods to their products.

Finding your audience online is just the first step to a successful digital strategy.

Today, we’re joined by one of the leading customer-data researchers in the building materials industry to talk about their latest look at what the channel is doing online, where they’re spending their time and most importantly, what they want from manufacturers.

Listen to hear where you can make the biggest impact, reach the largest audience and deliver the most value.

No manufacturer wants to be seen as just a commodity.

Being lumped in with dozens of other products like yours is a race to the bottom, but building a brand that’s sought after and respected takes a strategic understanding of both your brand and your audience—not to mention perfect execution.

Today, we’re talking to a manufacturer who is in one of the most highly commoditized product categories in the industry but has managed to carve out a significant name and reputation for his company.

He shares what he’s done to move from a commodity to a prized product in the kitchen and bathroom industry and how he continues to stay on top of trends and in front of customers.

There are significant changes happening on some of the most used platforms online.

Listen to hear about the biggest changes to Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, how you can make those changes work to your advantage and what they mean for the building materials industry and the future of the building materials distribution channel.

In order to win in your industry, you need to be able to sell to builders and contractors effectively, in a way that resonates with them.

If you try to market to a professional audience the same way you market to distributors or homeowners, you won’t be able to connect with them in a way that drives leads and sales.

In this episode, we talk to a builder about how to get pros to switch to a new product or try a new one.

Having a “green” building product doesn’t mean what it once did, but there’s a wave of new demand in this building products category that most companies don’t know about.

In this episode, we interview an expert who shares how manufacturers can use the right language and positioning to grow sales with green products.

There is a lot of conversation being had about modular offsite prefab and what this means for building products.

Today we bring on a manufacturer who is spearheading this initiative for his business.

He shares some insights as to why this happening and how to stay ahead of the shifts in front of us.

Learn how you can begin to make this a bigger part of your business, and grow your sales in the process.

With digital marketing, it’s easy to get caught up in the metrics - the number of website visitors or number of leads generated.

Instead, building material manufacturers need to switch their focus from metrics to relationships.

In this week's episode we talk about conversation marketing, what it is, and why manufacturers should utilize this tactic to drive sales.

For most manufacturers, using external sales reps is necessary, but comes with a list of common frustrations.

Today, we’re talking to a manufacturer who has implemented some simple strategies to keep their external reps engaged and build their relationship and trust.

Having a sales team that’s bought-in to you, your product and your company’s success is crucial … but easier said than done.

Listen to hear how they’re winning their sales reps over, what they’ve learned from their sales reps about common mistakes manufacturers make, and how you can start building better relationships and growing sales through your external sales rep team.

What if you could showcase your product to your audience in the place they spend the most time online?

Facebook and Instagram ads allow you to do exactly that.

On this episode, we talk about the untapped potential of Facebook and Instagram ads for the Building Materials industry and give you examples of how to leverage the potential of the ad platform to grow awareness and drive leads.

Does content marketing really work? If you give too much away, won’t your customers just do it themselves instead of working with you?

Today, we’re talking with one manufacturer who’s doing content marketing so well he’s actually developed a fan base of customers so loyal, he can recommend competitor’s products and they still come back to buy from him.

Listen now to learn the incredible results you can bring in when you deliver truly valuable content to your audience.

Manufacturers are always fighting for sales, but the real battleground to win more market share for the longterm is in customer insights.

Walmart is investing heavily … and losing money… in order to gain customer insights because they know competing with massive online retailers like Amazon is the only way to win.

Listen to hear what Walmart is doing and how building materials manufacturers can take the same approach (without losing money) to gain insights into the channel.

In this episode Beth and Zach talk about how building materials companies can use podcasting to reach their audience—both internal and external.

We talk to one manufacturer who’s had such success with their employees, they’re launching a public podcast to connect with their audience as well.

Using marketing automation is one of the most effective ways to increase open rate, click through rate and convert leads to sales.

But getting something this labor-intensive up and running can be challenging.

Zach and Beth talk you through how to get started, what you need to know, how to avoid common mistakes and more on today’s episode.

PLUS, listen to find out about how to get an even deeper dive into marketing automation for building materials manufacturers including proven campaigns and strategies.

Home Depot is successfully targeting and winning some of the biggest pros in the space. Hear from their top sales man how they launched their pro-focused sector, what they see for the building materials industry this year and beyond, and how digital is changing the way they service pros.

Beth and Zach sit down with Chris Noone from SiteOne, and he shares how they have created an incredible customer experience that has helped them separate in themselves in the marketplace.

The growth of influencer marketing has skyrocketed over the last few years. Twitter actually released a stat saying that 40% of consumers have made a purchase because of an online influencer. The reason for this is trust ... Your audience buys from those they trust. Influencers are seen by many as more trustworthy than brands, because people believe they truly understanding who they really are. This presents some incredible opportunities for building materials companies, but how do work with influencers the right way and what are common pitfalls most manufacturers make? In this week's episode Beth and I interview Ben Uyeda who is a social media influencer in the building materials space, and he shares how influencer marketing can benefit your business and the right way to get started.

Getting builders to replace an existing product with yours can be one of the hardest sales to make. The problem is that most building materials companies don't know how and why builders choose what makes it into their homes.

Listen in as we interview Tom Benedict, the VP of Purchasing at Wayne Homes, a top builder in the US with more than 20 years of purchasing experience give insights on what manufacturers need to do to get more meetings and win more sales with top builders in the country.

Tradeshow season is here, and you’ve been planning for this for months. Get the most foot traffic and the best ROI on your trade show investment by using digital to support your efforts before during and after the show.

Listen as Zach and Beth talk about how to use email social and what you need to know about search to get the best results and see the most traffic in your booth.

If you haven't gone down the path of launching eCommerce yet, you've probably considered it.

Many building materials companies think that eCommerce won't work for their business because they focus on the commercial market. What they don't know is that there are over 200% more B2B eCommerce transactions than B2C.

Even though Amazon turns 25 this year, eCommerce is still continuing to grow and is just in its infancy.

Now is the time to launch and/or grow your eCommerce sales, because your competition is only going to expand in this channel.

The manufacturers who double down and really focus on eCommerce when others are still considering it, are the ones who are going to win years down the road. This is exactly why Beth and I share strategies on how to start, grow, and scale your online sales. We share examples of who is doing online sales well, and how you can grow your efforts today.

The building materials landscape is changing faster than ever, and this includes how to be effective online.

Whether you're trying to grow awareness, drive leads, or close more sales, there is huge opportunity to capitalize on growth in 2019.

Zach and Beth share 7 predictions that can help improve your overall marketing and sales efforts.

Make sure you don't start your year off behind the competition ... listen to this week's podcast to hear these predictions and how you can apply them to your business.

Effectively growing a sales team can be challenging, but staying ahead of the shifts in building products, while growing sales year after year is quite a feat.

Ben Myers from Kwikset comes on the podcast to share some key strategies he’s learned in his more than 15 years of selling. Learn how he inspires his team, grows sales in his region year over year and how you can implement his proven tactics to grow sales in your own market.

You’ve just gotten in the latest market research on your product category, now what?

Or maybe you’d like to start measuring customer engagement and in-store actions, but you’re not sure where to start.

Join us as we talk with Doug Jennings, the Vice President of Data, Analytics and Customer Insights at Lowe’s.

He gives great advice on not only what to track and measure, but how to look at the data your getting to understand how to best service your customer and grow sales.

Mandy Sancic wouldn’t say she’s a marketing expert, but she’s still been able to get incredible results on social media by applying a few creative ideas and partnering with the right people (you’ll see what I mean).

Listen in to see how she did it, what she’s learned and how you can take some of her hard-learned lessons and apply them to your own profiles.

We surveyed over 100 residential builders throughout the United States and found some pretty clear results as to what they’re looking for from building materials manufacturers, how they pick new products and what you can do to better target and convert them through your online efforts.

This podcast will show you how to sell to builders in a way that speaks directly to their pain points.

Do you want to know how to use social media to grab the attention of your audience in order to grow sales

In this episode Zach and Beth interview Holly Avera who shares her insights on how social media will impact building materials sales, and how you can leverage it to grow awareness and leads.

There are 4 big shifts that every company in the building materials industry needs to know.

Listen to this episode now to learn more.

Successfully targeting dealers and distributors can be a difference maker for your building product sales.

But what is the right approach to target this audience, and what systems to you need in place to win.

Today’s guest, Jon Vaughan, sheds light on what dealers and distributors in the industry actually want from their vendors.

Jon gives us an insider’s look at how building material manufacturers can create lasting relationships with dealers and distributors that make everyone happy.

How would you like to have a 24/7 customer service or sales rep that is always ready to interact with your customers right on your website? That’s the benefit of a chatbot. It lets you quickly answer your audience’s questions without increasing your time or resources or manpower.

This week, Zach and Beth talk about the benefits of chatbots, why you need one on your site and how easy it is to get started.

Getting your building products in front of decision makers is a lot easier when you take the time to understand their broader challenges and demonstrate how your company can bring them real value.

On this episode of Smarter Building Materials Marketing, Alex Cadieux shares how his company, Techo-Bloc, has created an enormously successful roadshow that focuses on the contractor, not the product.

Creating videos for your marketing efforts is something every building material manufacturer should be doing right now. It’s a lot easier to create videos than it once was, making it attainable for everybody regardless of your available equipment or budget.

More importantly, videos not only perform well on social media but can also be used to move your audience through the sales funnel.

Zach and Beth talk about eight different video types that can be used in the building material space, plus how to use them effectively in your marketing strategy to actually convert leads into customers.

Zach and Beth talk about how to execute e-newsletters, automated follow-up campaigns, and outbound email campaigns to target every level of the sales funnel.

Email is one of the most effective tools to drive awareness, sales, and build relationships. The problem is that too many manufacturers make the mistake of sending emails without a purpose, meaning they’re either sending emails and not obtaining any measurable results, or they’re doing it without an end goal in mind.

To have a more effective email marketing campaign, you need to figure out what emails you need to create so that you can start getting better results from your efforts.

Amazon offers incredible potential for building material manufacturers, offering a built-in sales platform with customers who are probably already looking for your product.

Greg Weyman, the VP of Marketing & eCommerce for Basco Shower Doors discusses how building materials manufacturers can get started selling on Amazon and how they can leverage those customer interactions to improve overall sales.

It may seem nearly impossible to get your building material company heard through all the noise of advertising, social media, and other communication that is being thrown at your audience.

Curt Steinhorst visits the show to talk about exactly what people want online and how you can give it to them.

Pinterest is an widely underutilized resource for manufacturers. Especially considering that Pinterest is widely used by those who are researching for projects they are planning for.

Whether your company targets Architects, Designers, Industry professionals or DIY-ing homeowners, Zach and Beth teach you how to create a successful presence on Pinterest.

Every building materials manufacturer needs a strong digital marketing strategy to compete, but where do you start?

No matter what stage you’re in, Zach and Beth lay out three distinct steps to make sure you’re reaching your target audience with the right methods.

Every year, building material companies spend hundred of thousands, if not millions, of dollars on trade shows, but they rarely are able to report on the ROI from these expensive events.

Trade show exhibits and visitors are dwindling each year, and we suspect it’s for this very reason. Don’t give up on your trade show schedule just yet. Just change your strategy. Today, Zach and Beth are talking about how building materials manufacturers can create a truly successful follow-up campaign for all those leads you meet at trade shows, including exactly what to do before, during, and after the trade show to gain leads, grow sales and get serious ROI for your trade show efforts.

Don’t wait to approach architects and interior designers when they’re established and, correspondingly, busy. Instead, you can start building your brand awareness with rising students in the industry.

Matt Wagner talks about how students are sourcing products today and what changes building manufacturers can make to reach them better.

Has your company noticed a change in building material buying habits, but has failed to develop a clear sales and marketing strategies to address these shifts?

To find out exactly what’s happening in the building materials buying space and how manufacturers can take advantage of these changes, Zach and Beth interviewed Grant Farnsworth of the Farnsworth Group.

Mark Mitchell talks about how the growth of the Internet has created changes in nearly every industry, and it’s no different for building materials manufacturers.

Find out how your company can embrace new trends with key insights from marketing “whiz” Mark Mitchell.

Generating more leads through your website starts with understanding why your audience comes to your site in the first place.

Today, on Smarter Building Materials Marketing, we’re going to take a step back from your site to discuss what your audience wants, how you can satisfy that, and where to introduce forms so you’re capturing contact information at the right time and in the right way.

Growing awareness of your brand is crucial for effective sales and marketing strategies. But, effective brand awareness is so much more than pushing your company name and logo.

To find the best ways to build and engage your audience that actually help grow sales, Zach and Beth give step-by-step actions specific to the building materials industry.

Your website should be helping you grow sales even if you’re not selling products directly online. Most building material manufacturers are treating their website like a one time event that they never think of again after it’s live. No matter where you focus in the channel—architects, builders, contractors or end consumers— your audience is starting their purchase journey online.

In the first episode of Venveo’s Smarter Building Materials Marketing podcast, CEO Zach Williams and Director of Digital Strategy Beth PopNikolov dive into how you can turn your building materials website into your leading salesperson.

Learn how to grow awareness, drive more leads and close more sales with the Smarter Building Materials Marketing podcast. Hear from Zach and Beth who tackle your burning questions about marketing for building products. They will share proven strategies to grow leads and sales, bring in industry experts, and interview successful manufacturers to help you learn what’s working in this space.