Complete Guide to Construction Business Marketing
Those who dream of starting a construction business will have a lot to handle once the actual operations are finally underway. In addition to the logistics and financial aspects, marketing will demand a considerable amount of attention. Considering all of the nuances involved in marketing, that should not be too surprising. Those who are new to this and are looking for a guide may benefit from the information to be presented below. We guarantee that you will walk away from this article with greater practical knowledge than before, making your chances of success that much higher.
Complete Guide to Construction Business Marketing
Essential Marketing Strategies for Your Construction Business
To start things off the right way, you need to be aware of the various types of marketing strategies that you can employ. No marketing plan or market analysis would be as effective if you do not have a specific direction in mind. Before you decide to dedicate your company’s marketing budget to anything at all, be sure to take a close look at the following list. Each of these is complete with their own detailed explanations and descriptions so that you can easily determine whether or not a specific marketing strategy is the one for you.
Content Marketing for Construction Business
By definition, content marketing is the strategic approach that places focus on the creation and distribution of content that is not only valuable but also relevant to the needs and wants of the company’s customers.
- When coming up with a strategic plan that revolves around content marketing, consistency is a key component. Your defined audience will not be around for long if your content delivery is irregular.
- Content marketing is an excellent way for your company to engage in construction branding, especially with the cheap and convenient methods that are available to you online.
- Among the common business goals that content marketing makes easy to achieve will involve an increase in your customers’ brand loyalty, increased cost savings, and more sales for your business.
SEO in Construction Business
Short for search engine optimization, SEO is how marketers can get traffic for websites through the use of search engine results. Unlike paid search advertisements, there isn’t any payment involved.
- This will involve various kinds of searches, which will include video search, image search, news search, and industry-specific searches, like for commercial construction.
- To optimize websites, careful editing of its contents is needed. Other alternatives will involve the modification of HTML and the inclusion of relevant and specific keywords.
Construction Website
These days, it is practically a requirement for any kind of business to have an online presence. One of the better ways to do this so that your company can attain a level of internet legitimacy is to have a website.
- Having a website can be a great marketing strategy because it can be a place to put as much appealing information about your company as you can.
- If you are selling construction equipment along with your services, then you can use your website as an e-store, which is something engineers can appreciate.
- If you have a specific niche such as commercial building construction or residential, then you can tailor your website’s content around this specialty.
Referrals in Construction Business
A referral is when a customer or client recommends or refer your business to their own friends, family, and acquaintances. It is known to come in various forms, although at heart it remains the same in its purpose.
- Word of mouth is something that falls into the category of referral marketing. It allows you to grow your business without any cost or effort on your part whatsoever, relying entirely on the satisfaction and recommendations of your clients.
- Referred leads are known to have a conversion rate that is better than leads acquired through other kinds of channels by 30%.
- The six principles it includes are social currency, emotions, triggers, the practical value of the goods or services, public displays, and the use of stories.
Social Media in Construction Business
Part of any company’s marketing strategy in today’s world would be the incorporation of social media strategy. Gone are the days when such platforms are only used for actual socializing. You’ll find that there’s much to gain when it comes to the use of such online strategies.
- Social media marketing can be done through the most commonly used and most popular platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Which one you’ll use would depend on your specific goals and nature of business.
- Among the core pillars of this kind of marketing with involve publishing content, taking note of customer or client engagement, the studying of analytics, and advertising.
Social media templates are commonly employed and edited to ensure that it fits the specific purpose of its users.
Construction Advertising
This is also referred to as traditional advertising. Unlike the more commonly used techniques of the present day, this kind of marketing will rely on tried and true classics such as print, banner, and advertising flyers, even the use of a billboard, among several others. One downside to this is the fact that it can be costly and time-consuming, which is something that’s already mitigated among the newer marketing variants. When done right, this is still a very successful way to market your construction company.
Construction Networking
When you talk about networking, you may end up talking about the act of actually meeting other professionals in-person to connect on a personal level about shared interests. In the past—and even in the present—it isn’t uncommon for professionals to exchange a business card or two among themselves.To succeed in this kind of networking, it is essential to develop not only your overall social skills but also more specific ones, such as learning how to be an excellent listener.
Once you are finished with the networking event, how you follow up on it can contribute greatly to your success. There’s no need to immediately send a message to your new contact, but do not wait several months or even more than that to reach out.
A great way to get a headstart would be to research upcoming events where potential interest in your construction company is going to be high. From there, it’s all about making a commitment to show up.
Sponsor an Event
The idea of sponsoring an event as a form of marketing can be an overlooked but highly effective one. Through this, you can build up brand awareness for your company and be able to meet potential clients at once. You may event receive certain things such as an investment proposal, a construction management proposal, or a sponsorship proposal through these events.
Build A Brand for Construction
Branding is a strategy that can work wonders for any kind of business. However, there’s more to it than just the creation and promotion of a brand name and a logo to place on posters.
- Branding can come in the form of recurring words or phrases that clients can associate with your business.
- The logo is the most visible aspect of branding, with a nuanced look at it delving even further into what kind of images are used for it, as well as the particular shapes, and even the colors being used. All of that is carefully chosen to elicit specific responses from customers.
- Other things associated with branding will include certain scents, tastes in the case of restaurants, and even movements for certain products.
Construction Email Marketing
This is the kind of marketing that involves sending emails to leads with the intention of converting them into customers. You may send them emails without being prompted, although in several cases many leads will end up subscribing to your email newsletters via your social media or websites. It may even be a place for you to sneak in some branding marketing, especially through the use of a construction email signature.
Construction Marketing Plan
Knowing the basics of marketing and business plan creation will help you tremendously with your future efforts. There are multiple things that you must take into consideration, so feel free to look into the following factors so that you can ensure a more successful marketing venture for your construction company.
Define Your Objective
No plan would be formulated in the right way if your objectives aren’t specified and acknowledged. Whatever they may be, always state it clearly early on in your plan. Not only will it serve as a reminder of why you do what you are doing, but it will also educate those who may be interested in investing or partnering up with you in your company.
Analysis
Among the most widely used tactics by marketers would be the SWOT analysis, which can help determine what strengths and weaknesses you have, what opportunities are available for you to take advantage of, and what threats lay before you. The added self-awareness that this provides can be instrumental in helping you figure out what you need to do, what you have to work on, and what to avoid when coming up with your marketing strategies.
Strategy
Speaking of strategy, a good portion of any construction marketing plan will be spent on your strategic outlines. That is where you will list down what it is that you intend to do in order to achieve your goals, the prerequisites to be able to act on your strategies, and even the specific steps that you will need to take.
Marketing Budget
With all the focus on goals, analysis, and strategies thus far, do not neglect to consider how much funds will be needed in order to successfully pull them off. A separate budget must be constructed and adhered to before you can begin looking towards the results of your marketing efforts. Take note that too much or too little will greatly affect not just your marketing, but also the various other aspects of your construction business.
Monitor Results
Proper monitoring or documentation of your marketing plan’s results is the last logical step that you need to take. By doing so, you can acquire a clearer idea of just how successful your efforts have been over a period of time. From there, you can either continue on your present path or make the necessary adjustments if the results yielded by your marketing isn’t good enough for what you need.
Benefits of A Modern Marketing Strategy in Construction
Construction doesn’t just involve the building of structures from the ground up anymore. It is a thriving industry that relies just as much on marketing as any of its other counterparts. If you need any further proof, the following benefits ought to be enough to convince you
The Convenience
Compared to more traditional marketing methods, today’s tactics and strategies can be employed with great ease. Technology use makes it so that people who have never attempted to engage in any kind of marketing before will be able to do so without too much trouble on their part. Issues plaguing your marketing campaign can be addressed faster, and any changes you want to make can also be made as soon as you want it.
The Cost Saving
There was a time when to engage in any kind of marketing efforts for your construction company would involve consulting your profit & loss statement to see if you can financially manage it. Today, there are many who can perform entire campaigns for free, or at most, for a very modest cost to their overall construction finances.
The Wider Scope
Another benefit that needs to be emphasized would be the comprehensive scope that is made possible by modern marketing strategies. It is a fact that the information presented by today’s marketers is not only more in-depth, but the amount being provided also outclasses what traditional marketing normally provides. Anyone visiting construction bidding websites may see for themselves just how informative marketers can be these days.
Marketing Tips to Crush the Competition
Before wrapping things up, there are still a few more things to discuss and those are the specific tips that you can incorporate into your strategies. These are not too difficult nor does it require as much effort as entire marketing strategies or campaigns, but they do provide added benefits that will take your business even further than it already was. See for yourself and determine whether these are tactics you can employ sooner rather than later.
Offer Alternative or Uncommon Solutions
Successful businesses of any kind will inevitably involve some form of innovation. Within the construction industry, it is brand new or untested solutions being risked by industry leaders that have lead to automation and greater technology. If you want to be at a marketing level beyond your competitors, find some way to innovate, even if it is a bit risky.
Create a Unique Market
As much as you may want to focus on innovating your services and technology, there’s something to be said about the creation of an entirely new market. Granted, this is easier said than done, but if you can innovate your offerings in a way that is so unique and compelling, it may just lead to the development of an entirely new market.
Disrupt an Already Existing Market
Those who want more construction leads will find that it doesn’t always pay to follow the leader. When you and your competitors offer almost the exact same thing as everyone else, then it may be time to shake things up a bit and add something extra to a market that’s already thriving. Make it different enough, and you are bound to succeed with your attempts at disruption.
Focus on Creating A Strong Brand Early on
Even before you find yourself truly comfortable or confident in what your company has to offer, it can pay to engage in strong branding from the get-go. As they say, fake it until you make it, and a strong brand image will come in handy when the time comes that you actually are 100% certain in your services. Much planning and cost estimating will be needed for this particular tactic, so take special care before actually doing anything.
As you progress with your attempts to grow your construction business, you should be able to find more successful ways to market your company now that a strong foundation has been established. Take advantage of the business funding of your investors along with the right construction software that come your way so that you can begin your exhaustive marketing efforts as soon as you can.