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 Instagram 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…
Saves to your Listen queue, to pick up on another day or another device.
How a Seventh-Generation Lumber Dealer Markets for the Long Game
Ask most marketers what's driving demand and you'll get a list of campaigns. When host Zach Williams asked Erin Plummer, CMO of Hancock Lumber, she started somewhere else: customer intimacy and the discipline of deciding what not to do. In this episode she breaks down how a seventh-generation lumber dealer keeps marketing aligned to its mission as it scales, and why saying no is the strategic move…
How UFP Site-Built Is Bridging the Generational Gap in Building Materials
How do you attract, retain, and actually connect with the next generation of workers in building materials? Beth sits down with Mike Ellerbrook, Senior Vice President of UFP Site-Built, to talk about what his team learned by going directly to Gen Z, why bridging the gap between tribal knowledge and tech-native skills is a two-way street, and how the launch of Frame Forward Systems turned a product…
What the Solar Panel Playbook Can Teach You About Launching a New Product Category
What does it look like to bring an entirely new product category into residential construction? On this episode of Smarter Building Materials Marketing, Beth talks with Brian Sheng, Co-Founder and CEO of Aquaria, about building a company that delivers clean water to homes by harvesting it from the air. Brian shares how Aquaria found its first customers, why they positioned alongside solar and…
Encore: How Oldcastle APG Blends High-Tech Marketing with High-Touch Relationships
We're bringing this one back for the brand and strategy folks in our audience. Jenny Nail's conversation on how Oldcastle APG is balancing B2B partnerships with a direct-to-consumer push (and putting the homeowner at the center of all of it) has only gotten more relevant as that shift continues to play out across the industry. If you missed it, this is a good one to catch. Enjoy! What does it take…
We're pulling this one out of the archive for the sales folks in our audience. Bradley Hartmann's conversation on value-based selling has only gotten more relevant since it first aired — so we wanted to make sure it got in front of anyone who missed it, and give returning listeners a reason to come back to it. Enjoy! What happens when market conditions shift and your team has to learn how to sell…
We're bringing this one back. Karli Slocum's conversation with Beth on digital strategy, self-serve experiences, and brand consistency in the building materials space was packed with insights that hold up ... and then some. If you missed it the first time around, now's your shot. If you caught it already, it's worth a second listen. Enjoy! How do you serve a customer who wants to be hands-on and…
In a product category where white is white and red is red, how does a manufacturer stand out? On this episode of Smarter Building Materials Marketing, Zach and Beth talk with Brandon Guthrie, Marketing Director at Durasein Solid Surface, about how the company invested in a full-scale rebrand, built a specification-first go-to-market strategy, and created a brand that architects and designers…
Trade shows are one of the biggest line items in a building products marketing budget, but too many manufacturers treat their booths like product showrooms instead of experiences. On this episode of Smarter Building Materials Marketing, Beth talks with Shaun Jennings, Senior Marketing Communications Manager at FastenMaster, about what it actually takes to make a trade show booth work. They cover…
This week’s episode is a little different. Instead of a guest interview, Beth shares a field report from IBS 2026 in Orlando — breaking down what actually stood out on the show floor. From hidden products made visible, to gamified lead capture, to brands repositioning themselves around partnership instead of product, this episode unpacks the booth strategies that felt intentional and the ones that…
Acoustic products are technical, customizable, and often overlooked in commercial construction. So how does a manufacturer stand out in a category where performance matters more than aesthetics and complexity can overwhelm buyers? On this episode of Smarter Building Materials Marketing, Beth talks with Cody Martell, Marketing Director at Conwed, about simplifying complex product lines, segmenting…