The November 2020 issue of the BouwMonitor report shows that almost half of the design, construction, installation and finishing sectors think they are not active with marketing. Contrary to belief, however, many of these companies actually do a lot of marketing activities, such as maintaining social media, a website and a network of customers. Companies also feel that more needs to be done in marketing in the construction industry.
Is your company busy with balancing many different things at once with little or no time left for marketing? Well, you are not alone. A quarter of construction companies in the Netherlands indicate that a lack of time is the main reason for paying less attention to marketing. But marketing does not have to cost your company that much in either time or money…
Even a relatively modest marketing budget can have a major impact on positioning your company and reaching a significant number of people. The larger players in the industry might well afford expensive advertisements in newspapers and radio and TV commercials, but as a small subcontractor you can still promote yourself through a newsletter, a press release, social media, a website and your networks. These forms of marketing are less expensive than the marketing instruments employed by large construction companies.
If you have a marketing budget, but would rather not get too involved yourself, simply choose the possibilities available in 12Build and get a high ranking in the search results. When general contractors then search for your specialisation, your company will be among the first to be selected by our smart system. If you would you like to know how to achieve this, just get in touch with us.
An important aspect of a good marketing strategy is to post consistently on social media channels. This creates engagement with your followers. 12Build understands the benefits of saving time and automation. And fortunately there are a few strategies you can deploy when it comes to managing content. You can actually schedule in when to post your content to LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and all the other platforms of your choice. Setting aside time on Monday morning, for example, will give you the rest of the week for other things. Scheduling posts can be done with various tools, although some of these can be quite expensive. A handy free tool, however, is Hootsuite. A free account with Hootsuite enables you to schedule up to 30 messages simultaneously on a number of platforms.
As a small business you will often have more direct contact with customers, simply because you are closer to your target group. Your company will have fewer specialised departments and you will know your customers through and through. You will therefore also have a better idea of what your customers find interesting. If sustainability is one of your priorities, why not make a mailing dedicated to the subject? Or if you are working with a new product that your customers might find interesting, incorporate this in your newsletter or write a small piece about it on social media.
Internet has become an essential part of our lives and an extremely important medium for communicating with your target group. An attractive website is therefore indispensable. It is your calling card. Potential customers who might never have heard of you can see at a glance who you are, what you do and why you are different from the competition. The main components of a good website only need to be set up once and can then simply be modified if you need to move, add a new telephone number or reference project.
In addition to a good website, you can also reach a wide audience on social media platforms. Examples of these include: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. These platforms will provide direct contact with your target group, enabling you to create interaction and to build a relationship with your followers. If you are unsure about which social media platform you should choose, no need to worry, we have already written a blog on the subject to help you.
More and more people are interested in the story behind a product or company. That is precisely what the concept of storytelling is about: showing the human side of yourself. Say something about how your company was founded and got off the ground. At 12Build, for example, we post a monthly client story (which you can read here). We write this story together with the subcontractort or general contractor to highlight your specific specialisation.
If you would like to share your success story with us and enable the readers to learn about your company and expertise, we also offer the opportunity for you to get your story across. You tell, we write. We are really curious to hear about the benefits that 12Build offers you. If you are interested in participating, just send an e-mail, and tell us about what 12Build means for your company, who you are, what your company does and why you would like to have a client story with 12Build.
Networking is really important. These are your business contacts. As a subcontractor, you could invite partners or suppliers for a cup of coffee, for example, and discuss possible future opportunities. Together you are sure to come up with some nice ideas. After all, your partners also have experience in the industry. Networking is very important, but it does not have to take up a lot of time.
A good marketing strategy, therefore, need not be excessively time consuming. There are a number of different ways to draw attention to your company. A limited marketing budget, social media, networking and possibly a success story on our blog page will already help you make great strides! And with 12Build, our dedicated cloud solution, you can be assured of receiving a high ranking in the search results when a general contractor searches for a subcontractor in your area of work.