SMPS: Writing the Body of Knowledge for a Profession

THE CLIENT

The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) is a community of marketing and business development professionals in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (A/E/C) industry. SMPS offers their 6,800+ members in the United States and Canada professional development, leadership opportunities, and marketing resources to advance their careers.

THE CHALLENGE / OPPORTUNITY

SMPS had volumes of existing content, a magazine, and an active group of members who delivered workshops – they had a wealth of existing resources and content about their profession. As A/E/C professional services marketing and business development continues to evolve, it became clear to SMPS that professionals needed access to a comprehensive resource that cataloged the critical skills and knowledge needed across the profession. In other words, what they needed was a way to pull all of their content together into a professional “body of knowledge” that would also protect SMPS’ status as THE organization representing A/E/C marketing professionals across the country.

THE SOLUTION

The Springboard team helped SMPS first to create a vision and a plan for how the new body of knowledge would change both the profession and the organization’s credibility. We worked collaboratively to pull together a dedicated group of subject matter experts (SMEs) from their membership, and to onboard the group for the project. We then worked with the SMEs over a 15-month period to outline and then write the new SMPS MARKENDIUM: The Body of Knowledge for the SMPS profession.

The MARKENDIUM is the comprehensive educational resource for the successful practice of marketing and business development in the A/E/C industry. The MARKENDIUM includes case studies, theory-into-practice tips, reflections, and a glossary of key terms, and is available in print format as well as in a series of 25-minute, self-paced, interactive online courses.

THE RESULTS

The work to capture the critical content for SMPS has literally defined the A/E/C marketing profession and solidified the organization’s unique role in shepherding the profession into the future. The final over-800 pages of organized content create a map for all A/E/C professionals through their entire career lifecycle.

>> Check out the professional resources now available to the SMPS members.