What Specifiers Really Want (And Why Most Manufacturers Miss It)

Specifiers - architects, engineers, and specialist consultants - shape the shortlist long before a buyer ever touches a BoQ.

They influence everything from performance criteria to acceptable brands to “or equivalent” thresholds.

They set the tone for value, risk, compliance, ESG, maintenance, whole-life cost and client expectations.

And yet… the vast majority of manufacturers still market like specifiers are an afterthought.

This is why so many brands get scrolled past, substituted, switched out or worse - never noticed in the first place.

Let’s fix that.

The truth: specifiers don’t want to be sold to. They want to be supported.

This isn’t opinion. It’s evidenced.

·      94% of specifiers say they struggle with specifications (NBS)

·      60% reuse old specs

·      52% copy and paste

·      38% rely on manufacturers for clarity

·      and lack of clear information is a top cause of design-stage failure.

Then layer on the complexities of the Building Safety Act, RIBA/RIAI Stages, climate obligations, planning constraints, building regs, the golden thread, insurance requirements, and an avalanche of sustainability documentation.

The result?

Specifiers are time-poor, risk-aware and trust-dependent.
They need manufacturers who make decisions easier - not marketing louder.

The Design-Stage Reality: Miss Stage 2–3 and You Miss the Project

The intelligence couldn’t be clearer:

·      70–80% of project cost is committed at concept stage.

·      RIBA Stages 2–3 is where design strategies, product approaches and sustainability principles are decided.

·      Stage 4 is refinement, not discovery.

·      By Stage 5, the ship has sailed.

If manufacturers aren’t influencing the thinking early, they’re left arguing about price later.

This is why marketing must shift upstream - aimed at design professionals, not end-stage procurement teams.

Specifiers decide direction.
Contractors execute it.
Procurement validates it.

Get written into the design intent, and you get written into the building.

So, what do specifiers really want?

According to the data, not guesswork.

Below are the four non-negotiables, now expanded using the supporting industry documentation.

1. Design Detail That Makes Sense

Architects don’t “design buying journeys”, but they do shape product selection.

Evidence shows they select based on:

·      performance

·      compliance

·      sustainability

·      service life

·      aesthetic relevance

·      quality of technical documentation

·      familiarity and trusted relationships

(Ref: Product Selection Factors, Vitruvian principles, RIBA guidelines.)

Manufacturers often miss the biggest trust signal of all: visual intelligence.

Specifiers respond to:

·      crisp, technically accurate graphics

·      clear system diagrams

·      BIM objects that actually work (not box-tick objects)

·      CAD + NBS-ready data

·      literature with both beauty and detail

Why?
Because design clarity = professional competence.
And competence = lower project risk.

This alone can put you ahead of 80% of your market.

2. Verified ESG Credibility (Not Marketing Fluff)

Specifiers are trained to distrust:

·      Vague claims

·      Adjectives

·      “Sustainable” without numbers

·      Eco-signalling without evidence

They want:

·      Lifecycle impact clarity

·      EPDs (Environmental Product Declarations)

·      Certifications (BREEAM, LEED, BES6001, C2C, ISO14001)

·      Embodied carbon data

·      performance thresholds

·      supply chain transparency

·      meaningful ESG narratives they can present to clients

This isn’t optional: Sustainability is now a key driver of selection (Market Dynamics, Sustainability Jigsaw, Government Initiatives, RIBA Climate Challenge).

Manufacturers who treat ESG as a brand asset - not a compliance burden - become the go-to choice.

Read our Big ESG Energy blog

3. Photography That Proves Performance

From the Sales Tools documentation:

Specifiers want:

·      real projects

·      real details

·      real installation context

·      real results

Because a specifier’s worst fear is specifying something that:

·      doesn’t match intent

·      is switched out

·      causes failure

·      affects insurance

·      impacts safety (in a post-Grenfell world)

Photography + case studies = evidence.
Evidence reduces risk.
Risk reduction wins specs.

4. A Story with a Point (Not a Pitch)

Specifiers are looking for:

·      technical leadership

·      honest guidance

·      design intelligence

·      clarity under pressure

·      support, not selling

This matches the Trusted Advisor model:

·      long-term relationship

·      technical depth

·      relevance

·      objectivity

·      expert advice

·      consistent follow-up

And it explains why:
The manufacturers who educate - not sell - get written into the spec first.

Blogs, CPDs, project stories, diagrams, guides, BIM, technical sheets, detail drawings - these aren’t “marketing collateral.” They are specifier tools.

Use them properly, and you become part of the design team.
Use them poorly, and you become noise.

The real problem: most manufacturers still market to the wrong people

Your biggest risk isn’t the competition.
It’s the copy-and-paste inertia of the industry.

Specifiers default to:

·      products they already know

·      brands that feel competent

·      solutions they understand

·      manufacturers who help not hinder

If your marketing doesn’t speak to specifiers, you never enter that loop.

And if you’re not in the loop, you’re not in the spec.

So, how do you win?

Build your marketing around the specifier mindset.

This is what works:

Provide technical clarity

User friendly specs, BIM, CAD, diagrams, and test data.

 User friendly specs

Become the trusted adviser

Objective advice > product push.

Provide CPDs that actually teach something

Not sales decks in disguise.

(Top complaint from specifiers: presenters not knowledgeable enough.)

Make your website a technical resource

Specifiers search Google, platforms such as NBS Source, and manufacturer sites before anything else.

Use project stories strategically

Proof reduces risk.
Risk reduction wins.

Invest in design-led communication

Because design = trust.

And above all:

Show up early in the RIBA stages - not at tender.

Ripple’s Lens: Designers Decide. Marketers Influence. Manufacturers Win.

Specifiers will read your brochure and think “nice colours”. Especially if it's one we’ve done! But then they’ll also think:

·      “Is this competent?”

·      “Is it compliant?”

·      “Can I trust this on a £20m project?”

·      “Will this reduce risk or create it?”

·      “Can I justify this choice to a QS, client and insurer?”

·      “Is there enough detail to avoid contractor substitution?”

Your marketing must answer all of those, with clarity, intelligence and confidence.

That’s what Ripple builds: design for detail.

The spec isn’t won in the boardroom.

It’s won long before – particularly in how you communicate who you are and why you matter.

If you want to be the name on the spec - not the one they scroll past - let’s talk.
Ripple helps manufacturers build the design-smart, sustainability-ready, specifier-led marketing that wins work.