Construction Marketing

Hi, I’m Seth. Good to meet you. Look around, everything on this website is yours for free! Oh, and let me know if I can help you and your business in any way.

Overwhelmingly, people have been coming to me for online marketing advice more than any other construction marketing topic these days.

It’s an exciting time for online marketing. Our changing economic landscape combined with all the crazy, fun new changes in the way the internet works add up to some interesting opportunities.

There’s all this new stuff like social media, “new media” link building, and online video marketing.

I talked to one established construction marketing expert the other day who mentioned that “social media” has been killing him lately. And I know some folks who are real newbies, but have cracked the social media nut and are achieving huge results.

Also, I’ve found there are rafts of old, outdated information floating around in our sea of knowledge. Watch out for them, because if you jump on one of those rafts, you might go adrift towards the marketing “Bermuda Triangle.”

Marketing has changed. BIG time.

Has “relationship building” changed? No. Do we have new ways to establish relationships now? YES.

Have referrals dried up? No. Are there exciting new ways to maximize referrals? YES.

Is advertising obsolete? Yes. Ha ha. Sorry, I mean “No.” But do the old established advertising methods work for contractors? Not really. Not anymore.

Overall, adding real value for free, and making real personal connections will get you far.

1. Be helpful with no expectation of gaining anything in return. You will gain instant trust.

2. Help others make connections and grow their businesses every chance you get. Watch them reciprocate with referrals.

3. Answer questions and give your best information away for free. Become a trusted advisor (and make the sale.)

This new wave of online marketing and the viral spreading of ideas might be foreign to you. That’s OK. You don’t have to become a social media expert to run a construction business.

But you can take a look into the future of ALL small business marketing by taking note of the principles that the online community has adopted.

People buy from people they like. That’s a timeless principle.

Why is today’s marketing landscape different from the past?

Because now we have access to tools that allow us to connect exponentially faster than before.

Add value to the conversation, and make personal connections. Do this by shaking hands, one at a time. OR, inject these principles into your online presence, and do it everywhere, all at once, even while you sleep.

That’s the opportunity we have today.

Pass it along: If you know someone who could use help with website promotion and online marketing, feel free to send them a link to this page, or link to it on your own website.

Technorati Tags: Construction Marketing, Contractor Marketing

Check out this superb free ebook full of practical Social Media Marketing tips written by John Jantsch over at Duct Tape Marketing.

This creation of this ebook was sponsored by Microsoft Office Live Small Business (but don’t write it off just because it’s trendy to rip on Microsoft right now.)

In this ebook, Jantsch breaks down social media into bite sized chunks that any contractor can swallow, regardless of your level of online expertise.

There are a couple of case studies in there too. The one about the guy who uses social media to market his business selling fishing lures really grabbed my attention. There’s proof that a business that’s about as “offline” as it gets can use social media to grow and prosper.

So check it out, and start strapping up your marketing system right now with some extra handy duct tape marketing.

Technorati Tags: duct tape, marketing

Branding is as important a topic in construction marketing as “referrals” and “value engineering.”

So, how does a small business establish a brand? Let’s start by talking about trust.

What is the foundation of trust? Trust means confidence. Distrust means suspicion.

As Steven R. Covey says in his book The Speed of Trust:

“The difference between a high and a low trust relationship is palpable. Relationships of all kinds are built on and sustained by trust. They can also be broken and destoyed by lack of trust. Try to imagine any meanful relationship without trust.”

Branding is the act of establishing instantly recognized trust with your prospect. Easy to say, right? But how do you create a brand of trust as a general contractor?

Often the quickest and easiest way to do this is by incorporating your personality into your brand.

For most construction companies, your brand is you!

You must answer the question in your prospect’s mind, “Who is behind this business, and what are they all about?” You can do this by injecting your face, your voice, and your “handshake” into your marketing system.

Reach out and touch people through your website, your advertisements, your networking activities, and your mailers. Be the brand of your company, commit to spreading your personality and integrity, and your brand will get a huge boost.

For larger companies, or for contractors who hope to sell the business someday, don’t worry. You can’t do much harm by injecting yourself into your business. For example, look at Bill Gates. He has left his position running Microsoft, but he is still injecting his image and his personality into Microsoft’s brand in those infamous PC commercials. We trust Bill Gates, and that is Microsoft’s best branding strategy.

So, put your name and face behind your business. You are your brand, and your brand is you.

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Technorati Tags: Branding

Check out this list of 193 Creative Marketing Ideas written by Sam Decker of Decker Marketing.

Overall I found item after item on the list that could be straight out of my own bag of tricks. You will be hard pressed to read through the whole list and not find some construction marketing techniques you can use tomorrow morning.

Now, some of the ideas are a little “campy”, and others are just for fun. However, I highly recommend reading the list as a “marketing jump start” type excercise.

You will never complain about a lack of good marketing ideas after reading this list.

Here are some of the unique ideas you can use to market and represent your business:

35. Guarantee Your Service in Unique Terms

37. Make Your Bathroom a Pleasant Experience

       Worth noting! If you have an office with a bathroom your clients and subcontractors will use, it will make an unforgettable impression if your bathroom is remarkably pleasant. Take it a step further and use the same technique on the bathrooms of your jobsites. Have jobsite bathrooms cleaned daily and add “a woman’s touch” like candles or other frilly crap. Seriously though. I have seen this principal garner fierce customer loyalty for builders. It’s worth the effort in customer satisfaction. Hire a cleaning service to do it if you have to.

40. Put Up Yes Signs (like “Yes we accept personal checks”. All customers will appreciate your positive, as opposed to negative, business attitude.)

68. Add “Lift Letters” to Your Direct Mail Campaign

72. Hand Address Your Direct Mail Envelopes

79. Come Early and Stay Late for Meetings, Seminars, and Classes.

84. Celebrate Your Business’s Birthday

95. For an Event, Party, or Grand Opening You Can Subpoena Your Guests to Come

123. Capture the Email Addresses of Your Customers

There are a LOT more good ideas in this list. Go check it out.

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Technorati Tags: Marketing tips

Everyone who is even remotely interested in online marketing spends at least some time thinking about where their website is listed on Google. Search engine optimization is a fascinating study.

Sometimes search engines give you exactly what you’re looking for. Other times, not so much.

Check this one out.

Take the category “Construction Blog“, for instance. Now, I have found a thick list of excellent blogs relevent to the construction industry in my own online research. But what do we find at the top today? A spammy-looking directory site called Blogflux.

It’s one of those sites that requires participants to register and even pay to get listed. Which is a shame. Because when you take a look at the list of blogs it’s completely irrelevant to the term “construction blog.”

Now, I know that Google does a good job in some instances of weeding out this type of site. But sometimes they can’t. I hope someday they figure it out for the sake of knowledge and progress.

OK, let’s check out the #2 listing. It’s the good old Construction Jobs Blog. This site actually has some interesting posts. Still, the value of this site is somewhat up in the air.

Finally, at number three we find the Construction Contractors Digest at contractorsblog.com put up by Stevens Construction Institute (a consulting firm). Now this one actually has some really good stuff on it. I just wish they would post more often.

Alright, that’s enough search engine fun for today. Let’s hope in the future more guys like Mark Buckshon make their way to the top of Google for construction related keywords. You know, guys (or ladies, you too) who actually have something to say!

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Technorati Tags: Construction Blog

We love to receive reader input. Here are some recent comments from our beloved readers:

“This is a much needed service, thank you! I have two brothers who are contractors with an incredible track record of service & integrity. I am an entrepreneur (writer) and share many of the same challenges. I cringe when I hear bad contractor stories as I know it is not a statement on the entire profession. Funny, no one ever talks about the other side - bad clients! Clients who demean the value of what it takes to get the job done, have unrealistic expectations and time frames or are unwilling to allow professionals to do their job. It really does work both ways. I look forward to reading and supporting.”  -Karen S.

“I could not have said it better myself. Great article.”  -Janette

“I totally agree!

My husband has a heavy equipment construction biz here in Phoenix, and I am totally convinced that his innate “niceness” (which everyone comments on, clients, employees and developers alike) is the main reason he is still working while the industry has flipped on its head.

As you know, some construction folks are not known for being charming (cough cough — it gets rough out there in the field!) and some are downright rude.

A bit of consideration and kindness goes a long way — especially in a tough market!

Thanks for your blog — I will check in often, as I know nothing about construction marketing!”  -Pam