Updated on 9/20/2024.
The internet has supplanted, for quite some time now, the yellow pages as the primary source businesses and people use it to search for products and services to the tune of 90%. Yet some construction organizations have not made an effort to make their presence known online. The reasoning behind this is twofold: fear of the unknown and the fear that digital marketing is extremely expensive. Well, fear not! The following five steps are easy even for computer novices and can be done in an affordable fashion to provide an outstanding ROI for your marketing dollars. Plus, see how Pantera can help your construction business. Effective marketing strategies can pave the way for a better future in the construction industry.
Get started with a demo to see how Pantera can help your construction company.
What Makes an Effective Construction Marketing Strategy?
1. You Need a Website
It doesn’t need to be flashy; it just needs to be clean and professional. Your website is going to be the first impression of your company for the bulk of new contacts, and first impressions carry a lot of weight. The good news is building a website nowadays is affordable. Even a moderately tech savvy person can produce a simple, viable website with the essentials, in just a few days. If you hire a professional website design team, (ahem, Pantera Tools) the cost will still likely be much less than you’d imagine. This should be your first, second, and third priority if your company does not have an active website and you’re looking to generate more revenue.
Related: Top 3 Causes of Construction Project Rework and How to Avoid Them.
2. Get a Company Email Address
If your website is the first impression, your email address is your business card. Make sure to have a professional email address with your company name in it. One of the most popular formats is the first letter of your first name, your whole last name, @ the name of your company.com. You will generally have the option to link an email address to your domain when you first get your website up and running, so there shouldn’t be much additional cost.
Related: Why Branded Bids Win More Work.
3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
For those not well acquainted with internet speak this step might seem intimidating, but Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn’t really that difficult to comprehend or implement with moderate success. Here is a brief overview. When a person types something into a Search Engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing) the search engine will “crawl” the entire internet landscape to find the closest match for what the user is searching for. So if your company is Franklin Plumbing and is located in Denver and someone types the keywords “franklin plumbing” into Google, chances are your website will show up. However, if someone types the keywords “Plumbers in Denver” into Google you may not show up, unless you have a strong SEO presence.
SEO helps in creating and exchanging offerings that provide value to customers by ensuring that your content is easily discoverable and relevant to their needs.
Related: The Four Major Elements of Highly Successful Contractors.
When building your own website and web pages, you will be able to add keywords, tags, and descriptions so that your company will be included in these searches. That’s a basic overview and should suffice for you to implement some basic SEO into your website. However, SEO is a deeply layered discipline, and if you want an extra boost to your page rankings, you can always get help from SEO experts.
Get started with a demo to see how Pantera can help your construction company.
4. Pay Per Click (PPC)
PPC is a cousin of SEO and also deals with getting your website more publicity on search engines, but it works in a different fashion. SEO works with “Organic” search and is what the search engines objectively deem to be the closest match to your search query. PPC on the other hand is “Paid” search wherein an organization pays to have their website linked to specific keywords.
Private companies use PPC to gain visibility and compete in the market, leveraging paid search advertising to stand out among competitors.
You can tell which results are SEO and which are PPC generally based on their position on the page. PPC ads will generally be listed on the side of the page and up top in an off-colored box. SEO results are displayed below. Depending on the keywords, PPC can get a bit costly because organizations will be competing to be linked to the same keywords. There are many free tools available for those looking to maximize their PPC dollars.
Related: How Subcontractors Streamline Workflow and Projects.
5. Client Success Stories and Similar Testimonials
Having client success stories on your website provides a level of credibility that you can’t achieve with pure advertisements. For instance, if you see an advertisement for a company saying “we’re the best”, you’re going to take that with a grain of salt. However, if you’re talking to a colleague and they say “they are the best”, you’re more apt to believe them. Client success stories can come in the form of case studies, testimonials, pictures of completed work, and reviews and can be seamlessly added to your website to give you instant credibility.
Related: 3 Ways to Optimize Your Bidding Process.
Bonus: Social Media
Social Media is ubiquitous in modern society and can give you an expanded web presence. Facebook and X are great ways to engage friends, partners, and customers and post regular updates. But in terms of business to business marketing, LinkedIn is the undisputed king. LinkedIn provides a great network to promote not only your business but also your knowledge on certain topics. Building your company page is the first step, but don’t forget to join trade groups and jump into conversations to provide intelligent insights for your field of expertise. People looking for help on a specific topic may be future clients if they find your answers helpful.
Related: Is Your Company Highly Invested in a Project Management System?
Marketing Your Construction Company is Crucial
These are just some first steps, but if you perform them diligently, you’ll see that there is nothing to fear from a cost or technology standpoint. There are plenty of free resources on the internet to help you get started, but if you’re looking to get started with a construction-oriented group of professionals, feel free to try Pantera and see how we can help your company succeed.
Get started with a demo to see how Pantera can help your construction company.
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