There has never been a time when marketing for the construction industry was so important. However, those of us who are involved in this crucial aspect of business development are acutely aware that the industry has been notorious at making huge blunders in its marketing efforts!
On of the top five blunders people in the construction industry make when trying to grow business, is in the way it deals with prospective and current clients.
Most business development professionals recognise that all marketing for construction begins and ends in one simple principle - knowing how to build relationships.
It is at least 5 times easier to win a new contract from an existing client than to go out and find a new one! That is not to say that we should not be extending our client base because this is essential for ongoing company growth and to ensure a healthy sales pipeline.
However, if you are producing good quality work, you should find that 70% to 80% of your turnover comes either directly from current or past clients, or from referrals and recommendations from clients you have worked for. You need to spend a lot of time developing relationships with these key people as they can become your best marketing tool.
Current and past clients are like gold dust to your business. Your existing client base also forms potential sales revenue for backend products and services.
If you have no track record with your potential client, you need to be able to demonstrate that you are trustworthy. Endorsements and testimonials from people you have built relationships with, are crucial to substantiate this. It is also important to be available to your prospects so that they can have a face to face meeting with you. This is crucial even at the highest management level of your company. This will build confidence and reassurance because they are dealing with a real person and not just a marketing consultant with an ulterior motive!
There are many ways that relationships can be built:
1. Run a Lunch Club for your project team at completion.
2. Hold Continuous Professional Development Training Seminars with guest "experts" in the industry
3. Promise less, deliver more
4. Make sure there are open lines of communication
5. Give you workforce "Customer Relationship" Training
6. Distribute a high content newsletter
7. Open a Social Networking forum
etc., etc.,
You will find that if you apply these strategies every day, you will reap the benefits.
