Building product specification is about creating strong, reputable relationships with design professionals in the AEC community. An effective way to create relationships and build brand awareness is by hosting free AIA online courses and GBCI online courses. No matter the size of your company, offering free AIA courses can build name recognition for your company and brand.

Architects Don’t Know You

One of the most valuable benefits of hosting a free online AIA course is that it makes design professionals aware of your brand. If you are new to the U.S. market, say a European or Japanese company entering the marketplace for the first time, it is crucial that you educate as many architects, specifiers, designers, and contractors as possible about your amazing products. Out of sight is out of mind. A design professional can’t use your product if they don’t know about it.

In a previous blog, 4 Reasons Why Online AIA CE Courses Help Product Manufacturers Get Specified discussed that building product manufacturers that don’t offer a free online AIA course do so at their own peril. Magazine ads and mailing out hardcopy brochures are antiquated forms of promotion that waste precious budgetary dollars and offer poor ROI. Online AIA CEUs offer significant ROI compared to many other options.

Educate Decision Makers Anytime

It’s a little-known secret that nearly half of AIA continuing education credits are awarded online during the weekend or after business hours. Architects are often times too busy to spend billable hours participating in classroom events, industry tradeshows, and going online to get their mandatory CE hours. That’s why you see AIA credits awarded spike after hours and on the weekends. The Christmas holiday season is off the charts with design professionals taking their mandatory hours.

An online AIA course can educate the decision makers anytime. Can your product rep educate AEC professionals on Saturdays and Sundays? Can your sales and marketing team teach specifiers about your products at 10 PM in Boise, Idaho? An online anytime course can educate the decision makers online anytime.

LEED Specifications

Does your product contribute to the LEED v4 rating system? An online architect course can teach design professionals about how your product integrates with LEED credits. LEED APs and LEED Green Associates need mandatory GBCI hours. A free LEED course can help promote your product and brand to LEED professionals.

Manufacturers can leverage their online LEED course to increase product specifications by discussing product transparency and sustainable attributes of their products. Health Product Declarations (HPDs) are extremely popular for contributing to LEED v4 and if your product has an HPD or Declare Label, then the decision makers need to know this.

There are numerous benefits to offering free AIA education including increasing building product specifications. How does your company leverage your AIA course to promote your brand and products?