Building Reputation That Resonates: Brand Strategies CEOs Trust

The 4th Critical Challenge for Building Products Executives

In our series examining the top marketing challenges CEOs want addressed, we've explored how forward-thinking building products companies are transforming their marketing departments into revenue engines, expanding market share, and developing competitive advantages. Now we turn to the fourth most critical challenge: building and maintaining a powerful brand reputation.

According to our research, 41% of CEOs rank brand reputation among their top marketing priorities, and with good reason. In an industry where products often have long lifecycles and significant investments, a strong reputation serves as both a risk-reduction mechanism for buyers and a premium-price justification for sellers.

However, many building products companies struggle to build meaningful brand differentiation beyond product specifications and features. They focus on what their products do rather than what their brand means to customers. In today's competitive landscape, this approach falls short of creating the lasting reputation that drives preference, loyalty, and advocacy.

Let's explore how industry leaders are building brand reputations that resonate with both trade professionals and end consumers, creating lasting value that transcends product cycles.

5 Strategic Approaches to Building Brand Reputation

1. Develop a Purpose-Driven Brand Position

Companies with the strongest reputations stand for something beyond their products. They connect their brand to meaningful values and purposes that resonate with customers on an emotional level.

Strategic Implementation:

• Identify core values that authentically represent your company's culture and vision

• Define a clear brand purpose that addresses industry or societal challenges

• Align all brand communications around this purpose, from advertising to product development

• Ensure every customer touchpoint reinforces your purpose-driven position

• Measure and report on purpose-aligned initiatives to demonstrate commitment

Real-World Impact: After repositioning around sustainability and responsible sourcing, one major exterior cladding manufacturer saw customer preference scores increase by 26% and achieved a 32% premium on its eco-certified product lines compared to standard offerings. (Source: Deloitte, Purpose-Driven Brands in Construction Materials, 2023)

2. Create Authentic Trade Professional Advocacy

In the building products industry, the recommendations of contractors, architects, and other trade professionals carry tremendous weight. Building authentic relationships with these influencers creates powerful reputation multipliers.

Strategic Implementation:

• Develop professional education programs that provide genuine value beyond product information

• Create exclusive professional communities and advisory boards for two-way feedback

• Implement recognition programs that celebrate professional excellence

• Design field support services that make professionals' jobs easier

• Gather and amplify authentic testimonials and case studies from respected industry figures

Real-World Impact: One building materials brand created a professional certification program that trained over 10,000 contractors in advanced installation techniques. These professionals became brand advocates, driving a 41% increase in specifications and generating 65% more positive online reviews than non-certified installers. (Source: Harvard Business Review, Creating Authentic Advocacy in B2B Markets, 2022) For more information on about influencers, see the case study From Visibility to Credibility

3. Implement Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives

Strategic CSR initiatives that align with your business objectives while addressing genuine industry or community needs can significantly enhance brand reputation while creating lasting positive impact.

Strategic Implementation:

• Identify social impact opportunities connected to your industry expertise

• Focus on initiatives where your company can make a meaningful difference

• Create partnerships with respected industry associations or nonprofits

• Involve employees in CSR programs to build internal advocacy

• Measure and communicate both the social and business impacts of initiatives

Real-World Impact: A building products manufacturer focused on reducing construction waste developed a take-back and recycling program for post-installation materials. The initiative diverted over 5 million pounds of waste from landfills while improving their reputation score by 27% among architects and specifiers who prioritize sustainability. (Source: McKinsey & Company, The ESG Report, 2023; Insights on Engineering, Construction and Building Materials, 2023)

4. Deliver Exceptional Post-Purchase Experiences

In building products and home finishes, the customer journey continues long after purchase. Companies that excel in post-purchase support build reputations for reliability and trustworthiness that translate into premium pricing and repeat business.

Strategic Implementation:

• Map and optimize the complete customer experience journey, especially post-purchase touchpoints

• Implement proactive customer success programs that anticipate needs

• Create frictionless warranty and customer service processes

• Develop value-added content and tools for product maintenance and optimization

• Establish regular customer feedback mechanisms with visible follow-through

Real-World Impact: After implementing a comprehensive post-purchase experience program including installation support, maintenance tools, and proactive check-ins, one cabinet company reduced warranty claims by 38% while increasing customer satisfaction scores by 47% and referral rates by 52%. (Source: Forrester Research, US Customer Experience Index and The ROI of Customer Experience Excellence, 2022)

5. Create a Cohesive Omnichannel Brand Experience

Building products customers interact with brands across multiple channels, from digital platforms to showrooms to job sites. Companies that deliver consistent, high-quality experiences across all touchpoints build stronger reputations than those with fragmented approaches.

Strategic Implementation:

• Audit all customer touchpoints for brand consistency and quality

• Develop channel-specific strategies that maintain brand essence while optimizing for each platform

• Implement integrated technology platforms that share customer data across touchpoints

• Train all customer-facing teams on brand values and experience standards

• Measure customer experience across channels to identify improvement opportunities

Real-World Impact: A national home finishing supplier who implemented an omnichannel brand experience strategy saw a 36% increase in cross-channel conversions and a 29% improvement in Net Promoter Score within 18 months. Their brand reputation metrics improved by 31% among both trade professionals and end consumers. (Source: Gartner, Omnichannel Experience in Building Materials, 2023)

Measuring Brand Reputation: Beyond Awareness to Resonance

Effective brand reputation management requires more sophisticated metrics than simple awareness. High-performing building products and home finishes companies track these key indicators to measure their brand's strength:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measures customer loyalty and likelihood to recommend your brand

• Brand Sentiment Analysis: Evaluates the tone of brand mentions across media and social platforms

• Share of Voice: Tracks brand mentions relative to competitors in industry conversations

• Brand Attribute Association: Measures the strength of connection between your brand and key attributes

• Trust and Credibility Metrics: Assesses perceived trustworthiness among key audience segments

• Premium Price Tolerance: Measures what percentage premium customers will pay for your brand

Implementing a Brand Reputation Measurement System

A comprehensive reputation measurement approach combines quantitative metrics with qualitative insights to provide a complete picture of brand strength.

Strategic Implementation:

• Establish consistent tracking methodologies across metrics for trend analysis

• Segment reputation metrics by key audience groups (architects, contractors, homeowners, etc.)

• Implement real-time monitoring tools for brand mentions and sentiment analysis

• Conduct regular brand perception research using consistent methodologies

• Create a brand reputation dashboard for executive visibility and decision-making

Real-World Impact: A leading flooring manufacturer implemented a comprehensive brand reputation measurement system that revealed significant perception gaps between how architects and installers viewed their products. By addressing these specific gaps with targeted messaging and product refinements, they increased their reputation scores by 24% among installers while maintaining their strong position with architects. (Source: Boston Consulting Group, Brand Measurement in Complex B2B Ecosystems, 2022)

The Brand Reputation Growth Roadmap: From Strategy to Implementation

Building a powerful brand reputation requires a systematic approach. Here's how to get started:

1. Conduct a Reputation Audit: Analyze current brand perceptions across key stakeholder groups

2. Define Your Reputation Strategy: Determine the core attributes you want associated with your brand

3. Identify Reputation Gaps: Determine where current perceptions fall short of strategic objectives

4. Develop Initiatives to Close Gaps: Create specific programs to address each reputation challenge

5. Implement Measurement Systems: Establish consistent tracking of reputation metrics

6. Align Internal Culture with External Brand: Ensure employee behaviors reinforce desired reputation

Conclusion: The Reputation Imperative

As CEOs increasingly recognize, brand reputation has become a critical driver of business success. Beyond marketing communications, reputation encompasses every aspect of how your company and products are perceived in the marketplace.

By implementing the strategies outlined in this article, forward-thinking building products companies are transforming their brands from commodity suppliers to trusted partners, building reputations that resonate with both trade professionals and end consumers.

In today's competitive landscape, these companies understand that reputation isn't just about being known, it's about being known for something meaningful that drives preference, loyalty, and advocacy. The result is stronger customer relationships, premium pricing power, and sustainable competitive advantage.

This article is the fourth in our series expanding on "Marketing Solutions That Drive Growth: What CEOs Really Want." In our final installment, we'll explore the fifth key challenge: creating a unified company narrative that aligns marketing efforts with business objectives.