Building Community: You’ll Thank Us Later (and for the Rest of Your Life!)

FREE 6-month Marketing Plan for Builders, Contractors and Small Business Owners in Northamptonshire.

In this busy day and age, especially as  builders or business owners of similar trades, it’s easy to get wrapped up in daily activities, and give your marketing a back seat priority.  

The problem is, with so much competition in the world, in order to attract and establish new customers and stand out from other local businesses, a well-planned marketing strategy is crucial.

Here at DP Marketing Communications we have worked with several local businesses in the building, trade and construction industries and we have used our experience of what works to give you a helping hand in getting more contracts, improving your customer experience and making more money!

There are 5 main areas to consider that once put in place correctly will guarantee a return on your investment:

1. Brand Identity – is yours up to scratch?

It’s important to have a well-designed logo, in-line with a consistent colour pallet used throughout all of your content – stationary and clothing, advertising (both online and offline), Social Media content and much more.

Remember, this reflects the personality of your business – how do you want to appear to you clients and prospective clients?  First impressions last.

Here are a few logo’s designed by DP Marketing Communications for our clients in the Construction Industry:

2. Advertising – who, what, when, where, why and how

Are you advertising in the right places for your target audience?  It’s one thing to stick a few posters up and hand out some flyers, but have you first done the leg work to find out if the people you want to reach are actually going to be in these places?

What’s even more important – who are you actually trying to reach?  If the answer to that question is “everyone”, then the amount you get back financially on the money you are spending on advertising is going to be minimised, and you are more likely to get a dent in your wallet, with not much success from your marketing efforts.

3. Website – is yours sh*t or sh*t hot?

Your website is your route to obtaining new business outside your operating hours, and although recent studies show that approximately 90% of new business in the building trade comes in via telephone, the majority of your customers will be retrieving your contact details from your website rather than other available sources.

There are some elements that every well designed website should have as standard, yet most of them you can’t even see or wouldn’t think about.

Is your website mobile friendly?  Approximately 70% of traffic is now through mobile devices and this percentage is growing more and more every month.  If your website is not mobile friendly, either due to display, slow loading, or difficulty in form submission, your visitors will leave as quickly as they arrive.

Does your page appear on the first page of Google?  By using SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) you can ensure that your website will appear before other businesses similar to your own.  Ensure that the correct keywords are used throughout your site including titles of your pages, within copy on your homepage, and by writing specific content on the topics that your target audience are searching for – a simple search using Google’s Keyword Planner will tell you exactly that.

Ensure that you create customer case studies and provide photo galleries of work you have completed – previous satisfied customers should be happy to provide quotes and testimonials singing your praises, and you should take advantage of this.  Before and after photos are a fantastic way to show what your business has accomplished.

4. Marketing Management – what’s your plan?

By having a 6-month or 12-month plan in place, you can ensure that all of these little tasks that seem so overwhelming once put together, can be on your radar, but in manageable chunks.

It’s one thing to have this plan put in place, but do you know what you get out of it?  What have you really gained from your marketing efforts so far?  Apart from the fact that you may be spending money with no real benefit financially, it’s important to know what works the best for you and your business!

5. Other Things to Consider (as recommended by the Wall Street Journal)

• Standardise Speciality
  • Select one of your strongest assets and market it as a standard feature offered
• Introduce Specialities
  • Develop and area of expertise within a standard service that you already offer
• Originality
  • A highly effective tactic (especially once combined with PR) is by having a unique and eye catching gimmick to attract attention and potentially go viral once word gets out to the public
• Email Marketing
  • An email newsletter is a great way to keep your existing customers up to date with recently completed jobs, upcoming events, and general news and competitions, but also to ensure that you stay present and in the minds of those who are not ready to purchase your services yet.  Ensure that potential customers can sign up to the newsletter on your website and Social Media channels.
• Social Media Marketing
  • Many builders will not see Social Media as an effective marketing strategy, but the truth is, being present on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest and LinkedIn will not only allow you to easily share news and content with new and existing customers, but also maintain levels of customer service through those channels.

So How Am I Supposed to Even Find the Time to Think About These Things as a Builder?

Well this is our time to shine! At DP Marketing Communications, we are more than just your bog-standard marketing agency.

We are offering a completely FREE 6-month plan to Home Builders and business owners of similar trades in the Construction Industry.  We pride ourselves on not only being highly experienced in online and offline marketing, but by providing a down to earth service (and not overloading our clients with marketing jargon that serves no purpose other than to confuse!).

We work with many builders, tradesmen and contractors in the Northamptonshire area, and like to maintain a personal relationship by face to face meetings in your preferred choice of venue, and constant contact via telephone, email and any other preferred form of communication.

DP Marketing Communications are the marketing agency…without the marketing price tag!

Get in touch today and find out how we can take your building company to the next level!