How to brand a construction business: Building great construction company branding

Construction company branding is about more than just designing an eye-catching logo. When learning how to brand a construction business, you’ll need to consider how you can convey what your organization does, what it aspires to be, and what it can offer your target audience.

Effective branding in construction transforms your business into a human-focused, emotional, and engaging entity capable of connecting with your audience. The right brand will resonate with your target market, demonstrate your expertise, and strengthen your reputation. 

Look at some of the best construction brands in the world, and you’ll notice they don’t just compete based on amazing services. They also commit to connecting with their customers on a deeper level through carefully chosen color palettes, logos, and messaging. 

So how do you get started when building your own construction brand? Here’s everything you need to know about branding a construction company. 

Why is branding important in the construction industry?

Branding is important for any business. Consumers don’t just make decisions about what to buy or who to work with based on logic. They’re driven toward specific companies because they believe they share an affinity with the organization’s goals, mission, and values. 

Construction company branding is what transforms your venture into another faceless corporation offering architectural or building support into a concept that inspires loyalty. 

Get your construction branding strategy right, and you’ll not only improve your relationship with your audience and differentiate your company – you’ll also earn more revenue. 46% of customers say they’d pay more to work with a brand they can trust. 

Developing your brand early on is how you ensure you deliver a consistent experience to your customers. It forms the foundations you need to develop familiarity and understanding. 

According to the State of Brand Consistency report, presenting a consistent image and personality can improve your revenue by anywhere from 10 to 20%. 

What’s more, your brand strategy will ensure you have what it takes to retain your audience. Customers don’t regularly invest in generic companies. They form relationships with organizations that demonstrate the right vision, mission, and core characteristics. 

What makes a good brand in the construction sector?

So, what makes a good brand in the construction sector? What’s the difference between a market-leading organization and another nameless entity? The truth is there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for developing compelling construction company branding. 

The best construction brands are built on an understanding of the target audience they serve and their specific needs. 

Different styles of construction companies may focus on various brand elements. Some organizations aim to be perceived as modern and innovative. Others demonstrate heritage and expertise through a more traditional strategy. 

Your success will depend on a number of factors, including: 

Shared values

More than 6 in 10 of all brand relationships are built on shared values. Your customers want to see evidence that your company values the same things they do, such as excellent work, precision, a commitment to customer care, and creativity.

Positive impact

Increasingly, customers are searching for more sustainable brands committed to making a positive impact in their community. Today’s consumers are even willing to pay up to 50% more if they believe they’re investing in a sustainable brand. 

Expertise

Construction brands are responsible for building some of the most important assets in the world, from homes to office buildings. Buyers can’t afford to take risks with organizations that don’t demonstrate expertise and authority. 

Differentiation

There are millions of other construction companies competing for the same customers as you. If you want your brand to make an impact, you’ll need to commit to doing something differently. Your brand is how you ensure you stand out from the pack. 

Consistency

Familiarity is important when building a strong relationship with a brand. Your customers don’t want to see your identity constantly changing and shifting between different personalities. You’ll need to ensure you maintain a consistent image. 

How do you create a construction brand? First steps

Amazing construction company branding doesn’t happen overnight. For a construction brand to thrive, it needs to be designed carefully with a strategic approach. As most brand strategists will tell you, there are various steps involved in developing a brand. 

You’ll need to define your voice, create assets like logos and websites, and even produce an offline image for your company. 

However, before you start working with color palettes and marketing messages, there’s a lot of initial research to do. Here are some of the first steps involved in building a construction brand. 

Step 1: Set your budget

Branding in construction is an investment. Unless you have all the expertise you need in-house to help you choose the perfect name, produce marketing copy, and even design your logo, you’re going to need to spend some cash on outside help. 

In most cases, even if you think you can handle certain steps yourself, like logo design, it’s still best to work with a professional. 

Making mistakes with your branding early on could mean you’re unable to grow as quickly and consistently as you’d like. 

You might even need to invest more in a rebranding strategy at a later date. With this in mind, set a reasonable budget based on the expertise you need. Research branding companies capable of helping you design your identity, and ask them for quotes. 

Step 2: Identify your niche audience

There are various different ways to run a construction company. Some organizations focus exclusively on building homes and residential properties. 

Others work in the B2B industry, renovating offices and creating warehouses. There are even construction companies that focus on building tools for construction, designing architectural blueprints, or managing buildings.

Define your niche, and determine who your target audience is going to be. Every aspect of your brand should be built on your knowledge of your user personas. Ask yourself what kind of budget your customers have, what they value most from a construction brand, and what their pain points are. 

Step 3: Define your USP

Excellent construction company branding helps you to demonstrate what makes your company unique to your target audience. Every business needs something to differentiate itself from its competitors. 

With that in mind, ask yourself what you want your business to be known for. Will your USP revolve around using the latest tools, technologies, and sustainable materials?

Are you going to be building your brand based on a commitment to excellent customer service and support? 

Maybe you want to highlight your focus on excellent quality or incredible industry insights. Whatever you do, try to avoid making your USP all about pricing. There’s always a risk someone else could come along and offer a cheaper service than you, particularly while you’re still growing.

Step 4: Know your competition

While you’re defining your USP, it can be helpful to conduct a competitor analysis. In other words, figure out which other brands you’re going to be competing against to earn your share of the market. 

There are countless other construction companies out there, each with its own unique selling points and benefits to offer. Knowing what you’re competing against will help you to differentiate your company. 

Researching other construction brands can also give you some excellent inspiration. You can pinpoint what kind of names, logos, and marketing strategies other organizations are using in your space and define which efforts are most effective. 

Just avoid making your brand strategy too similar to anyone else’s. You don’t want to look like a copy. 

Construction company branding: Finding your voice

After researching market opportunities and potential audiences, a lot of construction companies make the mistake of jumping into the design of their visual brand. While visual identity is an important part of branding in construction, it’s often easier to work on your personality first. 

Your personality identifies how other people will perceive your company when exposed to your marketing messages, logo, and even members of your team. Think about the kind of promise you’re making to your audience and what you want them to feel when they interact with you. 

Here are some key steps to get you started:

Choose a brand name with caution

One of the first things you’ll need to do when defining your personality is choose the name that’s going to differentiate your brand. Your name should highlight the core components of your identity, such as professionalism and authority. 

If you’re struggling to select a name that resonates with your target market, it might be best to work with a naming agency that can help you research the right options. 

Try a tagline

Taglines and slogans can be extremely valuable for construction companies. They provide your audience with extra information about what your business stands for. You can even include them in your logo design. 

A good tagline or strapline will highlight some of the core elements of your company. You might use something like “Building a better future” or “A vision of tomorrow.” Keep it short and snappy.

Define guidelines for your voice

Your tone of voice as a construction brand defines how you’re going to speak to your customers. It should be evident not just in your marketing materials and website copy but also in how your employees interact with consumers face-to-face. 

Define the kind of personality you want to showcase in your voice and create a set of guidelines to share with your marketing team and staff members. 

Branding in construction: Building your image

Defining your personality, choosing a name, and even highlighting your preferred tone of voice will give you the foundations you need to start working on your image. Your visual construction company branding should reflect the core characteristics of your company. 

If you’ve decided you want to be seen as innovative and modern, you might choose a more simplistic, abstract logo. 

For construction companies, there are a number of factors to think about when building a brand image. Here are some of the most important elements. 

1. Select your brand color palette

First, before you start working on logo designs for your construction brand, you’ll need to start thinking about color palettes. Color choice matters because human beings form emotional connections with different shades. 

Color psychology tells us certain shades are commonly associated with different characteristics and concepts. 

The color blue is common in the construction industry because it’s connected to trust and reliability. If you’re building a highly sustainable and eco-friendly brand, you might use green as a reference to vitality and the natural world. 

If you want to be seen as creative and energetic, you might use shades like yellow and orange. Experiment with a range of different color options to see what works.

2. Create your logo

Once you have your color palette, you can start working on the various aspects of your logo. It’s up to you to determine what kind of emblem you want to create. You might opt for a simple wordmark that showcases the name of your brand. 

Alternatively, you could consider using a combination mark, which combines an image with your name, to convey more information.

The best logos are simple but evocative. They highlight the core identity of your brand and provide insights into what makes you different from the competition. 

Think about the kinds of shapes you might want to use (such as squares to demonstrate stability) and the sort of typography that might work for your company. Sans-serif fonts are seen as more modern, while serif fonts can be conceived as being more sophisticated and authoritative. 

3. Design your online presence

Today, virtually every business needs an online presence. The chances are the majority of your customers will find you by searching online for construction companies in their area. 

With that in mind, you need a compelling, insightful website that showcases the core elements of your brand. Use your website to teach people about your company and the services you offer. 

It may be worth working with a professional web designer to ensure you can create a website that offers fantastic experiences to end-users. 

You’ll also need to think about other aspects of your online presence, such as your email marketing and social media strategies. Every aspect of your strategy should be consistent with your brand identity. 

4. Consider your offline presence

In construction company branding, offline assets can be just as important as your online presence. You’re going to spend a lot of time working face-to-face with clients. You may need to design an office with signage to highlight your brand identity. 

You’ll also need to think about the uniforms your employees wear, the vehicles they drive, and so on. 

If you’re heavily focused on building a local audience, then you may want to invest in some offline marketing strategies too. You could create leaflets or mailers to send out to your customers, invest in billboards, or even work with radio and TV advertisements. 

Make sure your offline branding follows the same guidelines you use online. 

How can I promote my construction business?

Creating a brand is only the first step in making sure you can thrive in the construction industry. Once you’ve established a personality and image for your construction brand, you then need to think about how you’re going to take your identity to your audience. 

The good news is there are various ways to promote a construction business, from connecting with customers through social media to investing in radio promotion. Some construction companies even sponsor local sports teams and charities to increase brand awareness. 

Here are some quick tips to get you started:

Make sure you’re easy to find

Once you’ve built your website and social media presence, ensure you’re taking steps to make your online identity more visible. Investing in content marketing and SEO can be an excellent way to ensure you’re reaching your customers through every stage in their purchasing journey. 

Content can also be an excellent way to showcase your thought leadership and build your credibility. 

Focus on local marketing

Most construction companies will only be able to serve customers in a specific space. With that in mind, it’s worth doubling down on your local marketing strategies. Use place names and locations in your content and SEO strategies. 

Target specific audiences based on their location with your social and PPC campaigns. You can even invest in local offline marketing to improve your chances of local reach.

Highlight your specialties

The best marketing strategy for any construction brand will always focus on drawing attention to your USP. You’ll need to highlight what makes your business different as much as possible. 

Think about what you’re going to do differently to your competitors, and highlight the benefits you can offer in every marketing strategy you use. You can even target specific keywords related to your niche. 

Commit to excellent customer service

Many construction companies find the majority of their leads come from referrals and word-of-mouth marketing. With this in mind, you should constantly be focusing on ways to improve customer satisfaction. 

Concentrate on connecting with your audience on a deeper level, addressing their specific needs, and responding to any complaints they have quickly. You can even ask for referrals and testimonials for social proof or showcase user-generated content on your site and social feeds. 

Partner with other brands

Look into ways of developing your brand presence through partnerships. You could consider asking to have your business listed on a website directory to help customers find you. Another option could be to sponsor a charity or sports team in your region to help you strengthen your presence. 

You might even consider showcasing your brand at industry events and conferences. 

Construction company branding examples

If you’re struggling to find inspiration for your construction company branding process, you might find it helpful to check out some of the best construction brands in your industry. There are bound to be plenty of similar organizations out there to explore. 

Here are some great examples to use when you’re looking for inspiration:

1. Bechtel

The second largest construction company in the United States, Bechtel has made quite a name for itself over the years. The organization is named after its founder and uses a bold, eye-catching logo to capture the audience’s attention. 

The colorful planet behind the company’s wordmark highlights its focus on serving a wide range of customers all over the world. 

2. Fluor

The Fluor corporation is an American construction and engineering firm offering a range of services to different business leaders across the country. 

Fluor is also named after its founder and uses a compelling, sophisticated wordmark for its logo. The letters, all in uppercase, convey a sense of strength and stability. The color blue is also associated with trust and credibility. 

3. Kiewit Corporation

The Kiewit corporation is one of the largest construction firms in North America. Launched in the 1800s, this long-lasting brand has built its identity on heritage and consistency. 

The organization’s brightly colored logo, depicted in black and yellow, instantly connects it to the construction landscape and the warning or hazard signs used throughout the industry. 

Creating the best construction brands

Learning how to brand a construction business can seem like a daunting concept. Construction company branding isn’t without its challenges. You’ll need to think carefully about the image you want to create for your organization and how you want customers to perceive you. 

It’s not enough to just have an eye-catching logo. You’ll also need to think about how to use branding in construction to connect with your audience emotionally. 

The more impactful your brand is, the more likely you’ll be able to find customers, convert them into loyal clients, and improve your company’s presence.

Fabrik: A branding agency for our times.

Now read these:
—5 step guide to starting a construction business
—Essential tips for construction company naming
—How to design a construction company logo
—Effective strategies for construction marketing
—Biggest construction companies and their logos