Marketing is a core strategic function for most B2B and B2C companies. However, in several construction SMEs, it unfortunately, tends to take a back seat. I’ve been to many meetings where Directors or GMs will say they 'ran an advertising campaign with no return', or that they 'need to raise their company profile to boost sales but without wanting to spend money'. No wonder many construction SMEs do not give marketing the attention it so rightly deserves.
Here are three tips to see how you can prove the value of marketing in your company and leverage it to win more projects:
Tip #1: Don’t Spend Without Measuring
Most construction SMEs get their 'marketing' feet wet with traditional advertising. If this is what you decide to do instead of investing in other marketing channels, then be careful about how you spend your money because as you’ll soon discover, advertising can get very expensive, very fast. Companies, especially in construction, think that creating a print ad in a magazine or a billboard along a highway will give them the brand recognition they need. This could be true, but more often than not, is usually an expensive mistake. Print ads and billboards generally require a huge upfront investment and in most cases, companies don’t know whether these have been successful because they don't really know how to measure the ROI of these. If this describes your challenge - the good news is, there’s a solution to measuring advertising impact. One good way to measure whether traditional ads are working is to have a specific phone number, email address, QR code, referral code or landing page created just for the particular ad. Keep clear track of the calls, inquiries or RFQs coming in through these specific sources, and you’ll know whether your advertising is working (or unfortunately, not working).
Tip #2: Give Brand Awareness and Trust Importance
As a marketer, I strongly believe that brand awareness is important to any company, and every employee should care about their company’s brand perception. For the construction industry which is notoriously known for delays in project delivery, payments and unreliable partners, it is even more important for a company to focus on building trust in order to win more projects. One inexpensive way to raise your company’s profile, is by linking it to a global network like ProTenders, which can enhance your visibility to hundreds of thousands of industry professionals and raises the legitimacy of your business; think of it as establishing 3rd party credibility for your brand. This, of course, doesn’t replace the need for having a website of your own, but rather ensures your company is present on a highly reputable construction networking platform with over 25,000+ verified construction companies and 17,000+ projects listed. And if you’re a Supplier, ProTenders also allows you to host your entire product catalogue on the platform, thus enabling Specification experts and Design Consultants to easily find you when they are in need of products. Simply put, your brand awareness is your passport to being invited to private tenders - why not do what you can to increase your chances of being noticed and getting pre-qualified?
Tip #3: Grow Your Leads through Digital Channels
Marketing can contribute to revenue because the function involves more than just creating brochures and cool t-shirts or notebooks. The function can impact the bottom line by generating leads through digital channels such as your own website, an online network, email campaigns, social media, online advertising and several other channels. One difference between traditional marketing and digital marketing, is that the latter is scalable and more easily measurable, and thus for a small construction company, digital can result in a lot more leads and inquiries for your business. Ensure your website clearly explains what you do and has an easy way for interested companies to get in touch through a form and by phone. To increase your leads, also spend a bit of time to develop your company’s free social media profiles and engage with the construction industry. Remember, the response will be much stronger if you can offer something of value to your prospects- such as free tips, a free how-to guide or an assessment. Once you have these leads in your database, also consider inexpensive email marketing tools, such as MailChimp, as a way to regularly keep in touch with your leads. Regardless of which digital tactics you decide to pursue, it’s always important to be in sync with your Sales team, so that they are ready to manage these inbound leads and inquiries.
Sure, marketing is no walk in the park, but as shown above, it shouldn't take much for construction SMEs to make an impact from marketing. After all, the right tactics can and will result in increased sales for your business.
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