Marketing your construction business is crucial for its growth and success. You can use various strategies to promote your business, such as creating a website, networking, social media marketing, and advertising. Additionally, sponsoring events and collaborating with other companies can help you reach a wider audience. 

 

I understand how daunting it can feel for construction business owners like you; we've been there. Whether you're new to the game or have been in business for a while and haven't quite cracked the code, navigating the marketing world can be overwhelming. But it doesn't have to be. Your business deserves to be seen, heard, and thriving—with the proper guidance, you can make marketing work for you. Let's unravel the puzzle, starting from square one.

 

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Topics: Marketing Ideas For Contractors That Work, Construction Marketing, Contractor Marketing, offline marketing for contractors

For a business to thrive and grow, it needs a strategic plan and the ability to find new customers and continually tap into promising markets. However, this can be easier said than done in a highly competitive trade industry.

 

With time, the quality of your work will speak for itself, which is the most valuable testimonial of all. While your good reputation preceding you is undoubtedly essential, there are a few other ways that you'll want to market your services to ensure that you have a steady stream of work.

 

The untapped potential in existing markets

 

Start by re-evaluating your existing customer base. Profiling them will help you more accurately define your target consumers. 

 

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Topics: Profit and Growth Strategies For Contractors, Construction Marketing, Contractor Marketing, handyman marketing, Inbound Marketing For Contractors

Raising prices can be a sore subject. Many construction business owners like you assume doing so will spell the end of your competitiveness. But by not raising prices, you're simply letting inflation and your suppliers' maintenance of your margins quietly eat away at profitability. The bottom line is that costs will always rise long-term - at least with inflation.

That means you have to pass on the costs to your customers or consume those costs yourself to the point where one day, you'll have to either suddenly raise prices or accept the eventual failure of your business.

The worst thing you can do is avoid measuring your costs by sticking your head in the sand. Cost rises will catch up with you eventually, so take action to maintain your margins.

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Topics: Marketing Tracking, Construction Marketing, Construction Accountant Who Listens, Contractor Marketing, Contractor Tips, Pricing Jobs, How To Raise Prices

When you go into business as a tradesperson, you often focus on performing your trade to the best of your ability – as it should be. With time, the quality of your work will speak for itself, which is the most valuable testimonial of all.

Before the internet was commercially available, just as many experts advised contractors about the layout and design of yellow page ads and which books to spend money on, I say you spend money because that is what it was - Marketing.

Many of us who owned and operated construction companies spent thousands of dollars on these experts. Based on their recommendations, we spent tens of thousands of dollars annually in full-page yellow page ads as close to the first position.

 

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Topics: Marketing Ideas For Contractors That Work, Marketing Tracking, Construction Marketing, Construction Accountant Who Listens, Contractor Marketing, Contractor Tips, Inbound Marketing For Contractors

One classic mistake construction business owners make when money gets tight is stopping marketing or cutting their budgets. At first glance, it seems logical to cut down your expenses during harsh economic conditions. However, in reality, it's the opposite of what you should do.

 

When your construction company is struggling, cutting your marketing budget will further hurt your business. During this time, you should go the extra mile to be at the forefront of the minds of your clients and prospects. With an effective marketing strategy, you should be able to increase sales.

 

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Topics: Increasing sales, Systems And Processes, Contractor Marketing, Contractor Tips

Sales are about addressing your customers' needs and problems. By understanding the issues clients face, you can show them how your service solves their problems. 

Here are some tips for asking the right sales questions to better understand and help your customers. 

1. Don't jump into sales questions right away.

Sales aren't just about making a sale, although that's certainly part of it. Instead, sales are about building relationships. That's how you make a sale today and encourage repeat business tomorrow. 

When you start asking questions, don't begin by asking questions about the sale specifically. Instead, ask questions that develop a relationship and give you a chance to get to know the client better. 

For example, ask questions about their long- and short-term goals. After that, move into questions about the issues they face and what solutions they currently use. Then, find out what does and does not work about those solutions. That will help you understand your potential customer, which allows you to meet their needs right now and anticipate future needs.

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Topics: Increasing sales, Systems And Processes, Contractor Marketing, Contractor Tips

Now that the internet has become an integral part of our daily lives, modern consumers no longer depend on television, radio, and print advertisements. We look and go through a plethora of information first, accessed through popular search engines (Google, Bing, and others), before deciding to make a purchase or hire a local service.

Technology advancement allowed companies to promote and connect with a larger number of potential consumers than the traditional, physical presence of a brick-and-mortar store. As a contractor, you are no longer confined to your neighborhood and push services directly to them. Your online presence enables you to reach out and pull qualified leads towards your construction company. But what should you do when you don't have a marketing manager that handles this side of your business? I say work with what you already have and go from there.

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Topics: Marketing Ideas For Contractors That Work, Contractor Marketing, Inbound Marketing For Contractors

If you're serious about getting the best value you can for your marketing budget, you'll need to develop a marketing plan. Many contractors are having challenges adapting to this ever-changing economy. Trade contractors who rely on the same general contractors they did a few years ago to supply jobs to bid on are finding it more difficult to recover and find work.

 

It appears that history is repeating itself. Instead of yellow pages, I see many well-intentioned people with their minds and hearts in the right place with a lot of really great ideas on what works and fails in social media. I certainly don't know what works for every contractor; however, what I do know is that every construction company is unique, and what works for your competitor may not work for you.

 

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Topics: Marketing Tracking, Construction Marketing, Construction Accounting, Marketing, Contractor Marketing, Contractor, Contractor Tips, Contractor Operating Tips

Go through a quick search of construction/home service-based businesses near you, whether it’s a Handyman, Plumber, Painter, or a Framing company, or better yet google your competition and look at their information. Does it link to their websites? And if so, do they maintain a blog?

How many people, including you, search the web for information before making a decision – buying equipment, booking a hotel, or eating at a restaurant? While a company website establishes your credibility as an industry leader, blogging presents an excellent opportunity for you to develop a relationship with your audience, strengthens your reputation as an authority in your field, and helps you stand out from the competition. You care enough to provide your prospects and followers relevant and useful information that they can practice and apply.

When creating content, ask yourself these questions:

• What is the purpose of this blog post?
• Am I adding value?
• Why is this important to my readers?

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Topics: Marketing Ideas For Contractors That Work, Contractor Marketing, Blogging for contractors

Yes, I know, as a Web Content Developer and Fast Easy Accounting’s resident Webmaster, this blog post could come quite a surprise to you but bear with me on this. I realized that writing about Online Marketing Trends and the power of Inbound Marketing doesn’t obviously support a more traditional way of marketing, but I am taking this topic head on to bring you a different point of view. In this day and age, despite the steady growth of the web, still, about 10% of U.S. adults do not use the internet - that means not all your target clients are online. This is an opportunity for you to implement some offline marketing methods to add to your overall promotional strategy.

If you’re just establishing your contracting business, have no office support or crew to assist you, and looking for ways to promote your company without spending a lot of money in advertising costs, then this could be the answer you’re looking for. If you’re a seasoned contractor and just want to do more networking in your spare time, this can also work for your company. Notice I mentioned “free” – however, this is going to cost you a bit (or more) of your time and effort (perhaps gas). Consider having a marketing budget if you want to take it up a notch and optimize your plan. For now, take out those box of business cards and shove it in your glove box and let’s get rolling:

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Topics: Marketing Ideas For Contractors That Work, Contractor Marketing, offline marketing for contractors