How to Position Your Company to Stand Out? – Marketing.

 

We have talked about core values and creating a business plan that is built around them. We have discussed the operations side of that. Here we will discuss the marketing of it.

Where to start.

o   Create a concise mission statement.

o   Create a tagline that epitomizes the products impact and is used everywhere with your logo.

o   Create a “30 second elevator speech” that everyone in the company uses which is consistent, clearly states what your company does based on that mission statement and leaves a lasting impression.

o   Make sure your experience is discussed wherever it possible.

o   Get a well implemented website – no website means you are not really in business.  Make sure there is constant adequate Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

o   Take the positive picture given by your customers and make sure they are placed on your site and sites like Angie’s List or Yelp

o   Publish stories in the local media showing, from the customers viewpoint, the positive jobs you have completed.

o   Establish a referral list for future branding and marketing.

There are many more tactics that can be used.  Be inventive because it shows your dedication tovalue, and it could mean more business. 

Build the statistical base.

Look at your company’s history to assess the number of estimates it takes to get a job, the exposure to the audience it takes to get the opportunities for estimates and the venues for exposure.  It takes constant evaluation of the position in which your company is to determine if your goals, direction, and methods are working.  We need X leads in X time to generate $X of income and X% of the leads will require X number of follow-up communications within X time before they buy.

Remember to critically analyze and tweaking the list below is, at the very least, on a monthly cycle and that you cannot get off the cycle or you will not see the results you want. You must continue to analyze the results, tweak what you are doing and analyze again. One thing you should be aiming for is diminishing the amount of effort you exert in the following list of tasks and increasing the effort in areas you are more familiar with, making the customers happy enough to refer their friends and neighbors to you.

 A construction business should be referral driven.  That does not mean you don’t do any other marketing.  It just means that producing value and asking for referrals should be the main driver.

Questions that warrant constant asking to reach the Goals.

o   What is necessary to create and maintain the goal you want?

o   How much revenue is necessary to maintain the company and get profit you need?

o   How much business does it take to make your financial goal?

o   Is our work and relationship good enough to warrant it?

o   Direction – Are you going after the proper type of business to reach that goal?

o   Methods - Each of the following need constant evaluation and work

o   How do we get the right number of leads?

o   Do we have enough customer referrals?

o   Do we ask for them?

o   Do we reward them?

o   Do we have enough repeat business?

Implementation

Many vehicles exist for planting information for the prospective customers to see. It is always your task to constantly assess if itis right and what it generates.

 Some examples are:

o   Print advertising – types that generate the right number.

o   Magazine, Yellow Pages, flyers, Money Saver coupons, etc.

o   Lists for email and print mail distribution.

o   Door hangers

o   Shows

o   Social media advertising - Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.

o   Pay-per-click advertising - Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.

o   contractormarketing360.com

o   getserviceleads.com

o   networx.com

o   homeadvisorpros.com

o   Angie’s List, Yelp, etc.

o   Direct Online lead sources - Posting projects to indirect online lead sources like Houzz, Porch, etc.

For the internet advertising it is necessary to add geo-specific information to each project to increase the likelihood that users in your service area will see your page (ex: Custom Outdoor Kitchen in Bethesda, MD).   Add multiple photos for each project to increase the likelihood of users adding your photos to their idea book.   Add a minimum of 20 keywords to each photo (“contemporary kitchen”, “subway tile backsplash”, etc.

What should always be done are:

o   Add credits for other contractors you worked with on the projectto any projects listed anywhere.

o   Referral partnerships with other contracting companies

o   Referral partnerships with realtors

Also, it is important to justify the amount you charge for the services you offer. Proper marketing and referrals do that for you.

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