Has your company spent a fortune on a continuing education course that fails to provide great ROI? Are you ready to increase your product specification opportunities? Building product manufacturers are working with slimmer budgets and have more responsibilities on their plates. They need as much help as they can to promote their products and get specified. Today we’ll dive into the reasons why many AIA courses stink and what to do about it.

In the first part of this series we explained that many AIA courses fail because of lack of great content, poor photography and video, and the use of the dreaded PDF to educate architects. Today we’ll dive into the best platforms for AIA continuing education programs, the benefits of a sustainability course, and passion for your products.

AIA Education Platform

A significant reason why an online AIA course may underperform and not deliver great ROI, is the platform the course is on. Although a handful of product manufacturers host their own online courses, most manufacturers don’t have the resources, learning management system, and IT department to host their own online courses. Therefore, most manufacturers use a third-party platform. There are three key factors when judging an education platform and how it will affect your specification opportunities:

• Subscribers and traffic
• Engagement metrics
• User Experience

Subscribers and Website Traffic is Crucial

Traffic and subscribers drive course participation. There are only four AIA Education providers that have over 100,000 subscribers. Any provider not on the list below is not going to deliver the traffic you need for course participation.

www.RonBlank.com -- Offers online courses, webinars, and face to face programs nationwide.

www.GreenCE.com -- Offers online courses, webinars, and free LEED exam prep.

Hanleywood -- Offers online courses, webinars, and articles.

AEC Daily -- Only offers PDF read-only education courses.

LEED v4, Living Building Challenge, and WELL

Leonardo Da Vinci once said, “A small truth is better than a great lie.” Greenwashing was rampant in the industry several years ago, but now manufacturers are being called out and need to prove the sustainability of their products through testing, certifications, and disclosure documents.

If your AIA course is full of greenwashing and exaggerated claims, it will damage your brand. The name of the game in 2018 is sustainability. AIA courses that contain information about LEED v4, Living Building Challenge, EPDs, the WELL Standard, Health Product Declarations (HPDs), and other sustainable topics will perform better than a run of the mill course. Manufacturers should include the most important sustainable attributes about their products in their course. The most requested sustainability topics for AIA courses include:

• LEED product contributions: There are over 200,000 LEED professionals and this information is crucial for their projects.
• HPDs and EPDs: These transparency documents are increasingly being requested by major architecture firms.
• Certifications and Testing: Greenguard certifications, Low VOC emissions testing, etc. are all crucial to back up your claims.

Product manufacturers would be well advised to avoid two issues in their AIA courses: Greenwashing and using the wrong terminology. Your building product doesn’t award LEED points, it can contribute to LEED points. Your building product isn’t LEED certified. No product on the planet is LEED certified. People aren’t LEED certified. Only buildings are LEED certified. Know the difference between an HPD and an EPD, a Declare Label and Cradle to Cradle Certification. Using the wrong terminology can diminish your message and reduce your specification opportunities.

Passion Is Mandatory. Failure Is Not an Option!

Harriet Tubman once said, "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” Manufacturers that are passionate about their products, company brand, and helping design professionals will succeed. You can see it in their lunch and learns, product demos, and at tradeshows. Passion and intention play a significant role in our daily lives.

If you make a great product, then make a great AIA presentation. You’re not selling a product, you’re selling a solution to a problem. You don’t have to be the “first” in an industry, you have to be the “best”. Don’t accept the conventional, don’t accept mediocrity, and don’t accept bad AIA presentations. Think big, make bold decisions, and create the greatest AIA presentation in your industry. How does your company plan on improving your AIA course this year?