The construction industry is facing – and really many smaller companies have perpetually faced – problems marketing to prospective customers. The fact is that you need a way to leave your mark on the industry.
From a competition viewpoint, the way you present your business is more and more important. Your company’s image can be just as significant as price these days, and image translates into the ways your company is suitable to the project you are bidding on. Your past experience, your safety record and the quality you bring to the table all contribute to that image.
The suitability of your business for certain types of jobs is important. Customers have become more sophisticated in the questions they want answered. They are basing project awards on both quantitative cost and qualitative expectations.
Your company can capture business and maintain customers by engaging with them using different media, whether it is your bid presentation, website, blog, or something else. Your challenge – your marketing job – is to present your company in the most favorable and engaging manner, including the right content.
In our digital world, prospective customers continually face distractions. The world is increasingly defined by technology, and there is strong competition for visibility – possibly your biggest challenge. You need to be able to present your company and your product in a way that differentiates you. The pressure is on marketers to invest more time and effort in achieving that.
Customers want to be able to find contractors that are the most suitable for their upcoming project, ideally those that have completed similar jobs recently. In prequalifying contractors, their thinking is typically, “Tell me why you’re qualified to do the job.” You need to anticipate what they are interested in and present your past experience, your team, your strengths, in a way that answers that question proactively.
A history of quality is a key selling feature that can enable you to present your company in a positive light and instill confidence in owners that you will do a good job for them as well.
Marketers – including company owners who are doing their own marketing – are under pressure to produce spontaneous proposals, manage websites and produce quality content to promote their company. In addition, the company’s website needs to remain up to date. There is little excuse for poor quality in this day and age, when there are so many options to make marketing content interactive and engaging, i.e. videos, maps, links, widgets, images.
To position your company at a higher level, you need to let your target customers know that you are listening to them and their needs – match your story to their needs.
If you don’t have the time or inhouse talent to produce the right kind of content, hire someone, use a contractor or avail yourself of templates and time-saving instructions for doing it yourself.
By optimizing your past experience, you can put your name on the map and put your projects on the map, leaving your mark on the industry.
Listen to episode 110 of Bridging the Gap Podcast to learn more from guests Tom Deane and Noel Brady of ProjectMark.
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