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Unearth the Value of a Marketing Audit

Posted on by Christine

Unearth the Value of a Marketing Audit

In the highly competitive construction industry, effective marketing is essential for business growth and success. You can ensure your construction company’s marketing efforts are delivering the desired results by regularly conducting a comprehensive marketing audit. 

A marketing audit evaluates your current marketing strategies, identifies strengths and weaknesses, and provides valuable insights to enhance your marketing initiatives. A periodic audit keeps your marketing efforts fresh and is valuable in achieving your business goals. 

The primary reasons a marketing audit would be valuable to your construction company include the following:

Assessing Marketing Performance
A marketing audit provides an opportunity to evaluate your construction company’s marketing performance objectively. It involves a detailed analysis of your marketing strategies and campaigns, and their impact on your target audience. By examining key performance indicators such as website traffic, lead generation, conversion rates and customer feedback, you can determine the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. This evaluation helps identify areas that require improvement or realignment to optimize your marketing budget and resources.

Example: A marketing audit could show that your lead generation form is not working as well as it should. Maybe a required field is preventing many potential customers from completing and submitting their information. By changing that form field, you could begin generating 10% more leads from your website.

Identifying Target Audience
Understanding your target audience is crucial for effective marketing. A marketing audit helps you gain valuable insights into your customers’ preferences, needs and behaviors. By examining customer data, conducting surveys or leveraging market research, you can identify your ideal customer profile. This information
enables you to tailor your marketing strategies, messaging and channels to reach the right audience with the right message, increasing your chances of generating quality leads and converting them into loyal customers.

Example: Because of recent interest rate spikes, you may discover your target audience is spending more on existing homes than building new ones. You could use that information to pivot your marketing strategy to emphasize renovation services over new construction.

Evaluating Branding & Positioning
Your construction company’s brand image and positioning play a significant role in shaping customer perceptions. A marketing audit allows you to evaluate your branding strategy and assess if it aligns with your company’s vision, values and market positioning. It helps you determine if your brand messaging is consistent,
compelling and effectively differentiates you from competitors. By identifying gaps or inconsistencies, you can refine your brand identity, messaging, and visual elements to enhance brand recognition and build trust among your target audience.

Example: The most famous brands in the world continue to be recognizable with simple melodies, symbols or color schemes because they are consistently evaluating the return on their strategies. The effects of your marketing strategy will likely be more subtle, but the famous examples illustrate the lasting importance of maintaining brand alignment with your company’s values. Brand positioning and marketing strategy should be reviewed regularly to avoid serious missteps.

Assessing Marketing Channels
With the number of marketing channels available today, it’s crucial to invest in the right ones for your construction company. A marketing audit examines your current marketing channels, such as website, social media, email marketing, traditional advertising and more. It assesses their effectiveness, reach and engagement levels. This evaluation enables you to identify channels that are driving results and those that may require adjustment or elimination. By reallocating resources to the most effective channels, you can maximize your marketing return on investment (ROI) and ensure your message reaches the right audience at the right time.

Example: One common debate, especially with small- to medium-sized businesses, is whether Facebook is an appropriate channel and what can be gained from maintaining a presence there. The answer to this question for your business may change over time. An audit will pick up on these changes and suggest updates to your marketing strategy.

Analyzing Competitor Landscape
Understanding your competitors’ marketing strategies and positioning is essential to gain a competitive edge. A marketing audit helps you analyze your competitors’ activities, strengths, weaknesses and market share. By benchmarking against industry leaders and identifying areas where you can differentiate yourself, you
can fine-tune your marketing strategies for better positioning. Furthermore, analyzing successful campaigns and industry trends can provide inspiration for innovative marketing approaches within the construction sector.

Example: One of your competitors may be marketing to high-end buyers. As they work to attract that segment of the market, there may be an opening for you to position your business for projects at a different price point. If your competitor is advertising complete renovation packages, maybe you want to focus on new builds, or partner with a landscaper to provide renovation packages that include a refreshed appearance.

A marketing audit is a vital process that construction companies should undertake regularly to assess their marketing performance, identify areas of improvement and capitalize on market opportunities. By conducting a comprehensive audit, you gain valuable insights into your target audience, brand positioning, marketing channels and competitors. This knowledge allows you to make informed decisions, refine your strategies and allocate resources more effectively. Ultimately, a marketing audit empowers your construction company to enhance its market presence, generate more qualified leads and build lasting customer relationships, leading to sustainable growth and success in a competitive industry.

*Published in the October 2023 issue of Construction Business Owners Magazine:
https://www.constructionbusinessowner.com/marketing/unearth-value-marketing-audit

Turn Customers into Raving Fans

Posted on by Christine

Turn Customers into Raving Fans

If you are running a small business, a significant portion of your resources are probably devoted to converting random people into customers. You identify the characteristics of the people most likely to buy your products or services and focus your efforts on helping them see the value you have to offer their lives.

Then, they buy and you move on to the next sale. You are constantly stuck in this place of convincing people to buy. With each new lead, you start over educating them about your product and its benefits. You have the introduction committed to memory.

What if you could get someone to educate potential customers for you? As the owner of the business, you are the best person to talk about the value and benefits of the products and services you sell. Except…there is one person who would be better at it. That is your customer.

A customer, someone who has already purchased from you, not only knows your product from personal experience but is also part of your target demographic. Your customer knows other people just like himself, and he would love to share his positive experience with them.

Where Raving Fans Come From
Raving fans are like customers on steroids (no, not literally). They have such an exceptional experience purchasing from your company that they want to do it again. Beyond that, they connect with your company philosophy and see themselves as part of your brand. They are members of your tribe.

After you convert random people into customers, you can turn them into raving fans with these three easy steps:

1. Provide an outstanding product or service.
There is no shortcut around the quality of what you sell to your customers. If you are going to be successful in business, you must put your heart and soul into your product design and development and don’t let up when it comes to production. It is better to offer one exceptional product than ten average ones.

2. Solve the customer’s problems.
When something goes wrong, and sometimes it does, don’t wait for your customer to ask for a refund. At the first sign of a malfunction, even if it is something beyond your control, step in to help. You need to stand behind your work and the work of anyone else involved in the delivery process. If it was your supplier who came up short, you can make up the difference. When a faulty installation ruins the outcome, fix it, even if installation was not your job.

3. Talk to your customers.
It sounds silly, but you have to communicate with your customers to turn them into fans of your business. Direct communication is the number one thing all humans on the planet want. It validates their existence and makes them feel special. Connecting directly with your customers will seal the deal on their membership in your number one fan club.

Talking to the customers of your online business can be a challenge, but that is what your business blog is for. Each post serves as an individual message directed specifically to one person. The one person just happens to be your ideal customer. By talking to your ideal customer, you are talking to all of your customers because they share many characteristics.

Take advantage of the opportunity to talk to your customers by posting to your business blog frequently. Before long, your customers will turn into raving fans and start recruiting new customers to your business on their own – or with a subtle nudge from you.

Not sure what to say to your customers to turn them into raving fans? Sign up for our content writing subscription service and let us handle the content piece. You focus on amazing products and solving customer products and let the professional writers take care of the communication.

8 Essential Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

Posted on by Christine

8 Essential Marketing Strategies for Small Business

Running a small business requires a certain economy of scale, especially if you want to grow the business. Marketing is essential to business growth, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. Here are some marketing strategies to help you economize your small business marketing.

1. Know your audience.
Marketing your business is all about the customers. Even before you make your first sale, you need to understand who your ideal customer is and what they need from you. Write out a detailed description of your customer persona and refer to it often while building your marketing strategy to keep your efforts focused and avoid wasted efforts.

2. Harness the value of automation.
Marketing doesn’t have to take up all your time. You can create a strategy and then build in some automations. Everything from social media posting to email campaigns can be set up once and run continuously. Look for repetitive tasks in your marketing routine and add automation.

3. Position yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
You don’t have to be a forty-year veteran in your field to become a thought leader. Find ways to let the world know what you know about the business you’re in. Write blogs about industry trends, share your unique approach to customer problems or highlight the skills of members of your team. 

4. Build your brand.
Yes, there is a difference between running a business and building a brand. Branding is some of the foundational work that will make your marketing strategy successful. Once you have a brand identity that suits your business, you can expand your reach and strengthen your customer base. 

5. Nurture your website.
A website is an essential tool for digital marketing, but you can’t just set it and forget it. Your website needs to keep up with changing keywords and SEO algorithms. The content should grow and evolve with your business. 

6. Capitalize on earned media opportunities.
Some of the best publicity you can get for your business is free, partly because it comes with more credibility than a paid advertisement. Any time your business makes news by hiring a new employee, completing a project, or participating in a community event, you have a chance to get free publicity. Don’t miss out on these opportunities to get your business mentioned in the media.

7. Embrace your business’ social side.
Social media might not seem like a serious way to market your business, but it works and can be much more cost-effective than other forms of marketing. Social media marketing is a great way to develop relationships with customers and create brand awareness. You can use social media to share information about your products and services and to create a community among your customers and potential customers.

8. Capture referrals.
If you have one satisfied customer, you could easily double your success with a referral. Referrals require less time and money to convert than brand new customers. Use your current customer base, even if it is small, grow your business. Happy customers are the best ambassadors for your brand, and they know other people who are just like them.

These marketing essentials for small businesses will help you build a framework for your marketing strategy. Framework Branding can help you develop and execute a strategy that will scale with your business.

 

Construction Marketing Questions Answered

Posted on by Christine

Construction Marketing Questions Answered

You probably never thought about a connection between construction and marketing until you started your business. Now you’re looking for ways to make the business grow and simply getting new jobs through word-of-mouth is not cutting it anymore. (Pro tip: Even a referral system works better when it is part of a comprehensive marketing plan.)

Time to start marketing your construction company? These answers should get you started:

1. Will marketing grow my business?
 Not all by itself, but you will also find it extremely difficult to scale your business without marketing. Connecting with investors. Winning new business, learning about bid opportunities, and retaining talent all become easier when your company is implementing a solid marketing plan. When you’re ramping up or experiencing a lull in business, marketing can help you get over the hump. Marketing is still important when business is good, but it can be scaled back to help your business maintain controlled growth.

2. Are advertising and marketing the same thing?
 Advertising is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to marketing. Marketing activities – such as sending out press releases about a project ribbon-cutting, developing a brand positioning statement, or clarifying your target audience personas– build the foundation for paid advertising campaigns that provide a solid return on investment.

3. Do I need marketing for my construction company? Marketing is like a toolbox that you need to make your business grow and stay strong, no matter what industry you’re in. It helps you stand out from other companies that do the same things you do. Marketing also lets you create long-term connections with customers and brings in potential customers who are genuinely interested in what you offer. Besides, when it’s time to sell your company, investing in marketing can lead to better returns.

4. My business is too small for marketing, isn’t it?
 No business is too small for marketing, even if you are a solopreneur. Who is securing the next job while you’re focused on the current one? While you are building your heart out for one customer, a solid marketing strategy could be looking for your next customer. Marketing helps create name recognition and a solid reputation for your business, making winning new projects easier. Your business won’t be small for long if you implement the right marketing strategy.

5. Is there a difference between B2B and B2C marketing?
 B2B marketing is more data-driven and less emotional than B2C marketing. The emotional appeal you might make to a homeowner to sell them your renovation services will not work when you want to build a new hotel for a Fortune 500 company. Purchasing decisions for most large companies are made by boards or committees who have to justify their choices to each other and the executive team. Successful B2B marketing includes facts like the overall cost of the project compared to similar projects and the potential ROI the project owner can count on.

6. Isn’t my business name my brand?
 Your brand is much more than just your business name. It’s like your personality, which is only vaguely represented by your name. Your brand is a persona that your business represents. It encompasses your company’s values, style and expertise. Your brand conveys how you do business, how you build your client’s projects, how you differentiate your services from those of your nearest competitors. In many ways, your brand is the heart and soul of your business. When you can accurately express your brand to the right target audience, achieving brand alignment, growing your business becomes easier.

7. Do I need to hire a whole marketing department to grow my business?
 In marketing, like in construction, you have options to hire marketing specialists or outsource. If your business isn’t big enough to keep a plumber, a mason and an electrician on staff, it probably won’t support a digital marketing specialist, a content writer, and a graphic designer. An effective hybrid approach might be to hire one marketing generalist to act as your GC to coordinate the marketing subs you contract for each project. Another option is to contract directly with a marketing agency that could handle all your marketing needs, from data-research and strategy through planning and execution.

For more information about marketing your construction business and to schedule a free consultation with Framework Branding, contact us.