How to market a construction company: Strategies for marketing in construction

Learning how to market a construction company is one of the most important things you’ll need to do when building your new brand. With effective marketing in construction, you not only improve your chances of collecting great leads. 

You’ll also ensure you’re developing a strong reputation for your business that helps you outshine the competition. 

Construction is an essential industry. Brands responsible for designing, building, and even remodeling structures across the globe effectively build the world we live in, one step at a time. 

Without construction companies, we wouldn’t have schools, hospitals, roads, or anything else we rely on today. However, this doesn’t mean the industry isn’t competitive. 

In fact, according to some studies, there are more than 3.7 million construction businesses in the US alone. Ensuring your organization can attract clients and generate revenue means not just building an eye-catching brand identity. 

You also need to find a way of conveying your values, vision, and unique characteristics to your target audience. That’s where marketing comes in. 

Today, we will look at some of the most effective construction company marketing techniques you can leverage to build a successful brand. 

Why is marketing important in the construction sector?

No company can thrive without exceptional marketing. In every industry, there are endless organizations competing for the same target audience. 

In the construction sector, your marketing campaigns are what convince your would-be clients to get to know your brand and eventually purchase your services. They introduce your customers to your brand promise, unique selling points, and of course, any deals or offers you might provide. 

Construction company marketing techniques enhance your business opportunities at every point in the customer journey. At the top of the funnel, they build awareness and highlight the unique features of your brand. 

In the middle of the funnel, marketing campaigns tell your audience why they should choose you over your competition and highlight your unique benefits. 

Marketing even has the potential to convert customers at the end of the purchasing funnel by providing the extra “push” clients need to hand over their cash. 

Used correctly, effective marketing in construction:

• Improves brand awareness and recognition.
• Helps to keep potential customers engaged.
• Builds loyalty among existing customers (and improves retention).
• Demonstrates your authority and credibility in your space.
• Differentiates you from other market competitors.
• Increases sales and revenue.

Where do construction companies get their leads?

As the world of construction continues to evolve at an incredible pace, there are numerous ways for professional brands to acquire leads. The exact lead generation strategies you use will depend on the type of construction business you’re building. 

If you’re planning on offering architectural or design services to government groups and other businesses, you may invest heavily in trade shows, one-on-one meetings with clients, and LinkedIn advertising. 

If you’re offering building and remodeling services to everyday homeowners, you may focus on offline marketing, showcasing your brand on your construction vehicles, purchasing billboards, or partnering with TV and radio channels. 

Here are just some of the lead generation tactics construction companies can use:

Partnerships and referrals

Referrals from previous customers, as well as partnering brands, can generate a number of quality leads for construction brands. Customers are more likely to trust recommendations from friends and reputable companies, giving you more opportunities to connect with potential long-term clients.

Social media

Many construction companies are now active on social media, using organic content and ads to collect new leads. You may have seen other construction brands using videos on Instagram and Facebook to showcase their work. 

There are even construction companies marketing on LinkedIn to attract B2B leads. 

Tradeshows and events

Tradeshows and events give construction companies an opportunity to showcase the unique products they make for the construction world. If you sell machinery or materials to other builders, tradeshows can be a fantastic way to highlight the unique benefits of whatever you have to offer. 

Search advertising

Being visible on search engines is crucial for construction companies. Local SEO can be a great way to attract leads from nearby communities. Content marketing also helps to highlight brand authority and thought leadership. Search engine ads (PPC) can also help to increase leads. 

Website forms

Forms, online calculators, and similar tools are also excellent for attracting leads. Some companies use lead magnets on website landing pages to convince customers to contact them for a quote or consultation. 

You might offer your customers access to a free consultation if they fill out a form. 

How can I promote my construction business? Getting started

Learning how to market a construction company starts with a significant amount of research. After all, there are dozens of different ways you can approach marketing in construction, both in the offline and online environment. 

Doing your research before you dive into a construction marketing campaign ensures you’re not wasting time and money on strategies that won’t deliver results. 

Before you begin exploring the opportunities offered by email advertising, radio campaigns, and so on, it’s worth taking the following steps: 

1. Define your target audience

There are countless different ways to launch a construction brand. Companies can focus on residential or commercial space, offer building or architectural design support, or even specialize in a specific niche. For instance, you may concentrate heavily on sustainable construction. 

Each “specialist” area comes with its own specific audience to target. Knowing exactly who you want to reach with your campaigns is crucial to ensuring each marketing message hits home. 

Creating a set of user personas before you invest in construction company marketing will ensure you can understand the specific goals, pain points, and requirements of your customers. 

2. Build a brand identity

Advertising for construction and building an effective brand go hand-in-hand. 

You’ll need a clear view of the personality and identity you want to convey before you start creating your campaigns. Sit down with your team and ask yourself what kind of construction company you want to run. In other words – what do you want your customers to see when they interact with you?

Are you trying to build an image as an authority in your space? If so, you may invest more in thought leadership content for your construction company marketing ideas. 

Maybe you want to highlight your friendly and supportive nature, which could mean using more user-generated content as social proof. Define your USPs, your brand vision, and the promises you’re going to be making.

3. Know your competition

A big part of making construction company marketing effective is ensuring you can separate your company from the other brands in your industry. Ask yourself what the other organizations in your landscape are already doing to reach their audience. 

If similar companies have a strong offline presence, you may need to consider using similar offline marketing strategies yourself. However, it’s also worth exploring other overlooked strategies too. 

If you know your competitors are investing heavily in SEO, using tools like SEMRush and Ahrefs to find out what kind of keywords they’re ranking for may help you to spot gaps in their strategy. This can give you a chance to reach customers who aren’t being served by other brands.

Offline marketing strategies for construction companies

Today, a lot of marketing in construction has begun moving into the online world. 

Many of today’s consumers in both the B2B and B2C landscape start their search for solutions with a Google search. Plus, with a rising number of consumers on social media, construction brands can easily find a wide audience of potential leads on the web. 

However, offline marketing can still be extremely beneficial for construction brands. Today’s consumers still discover construction brands through local radio and television ads, guerrilla marketing campaigns, and more. 

Here are some of the ways you can start marketing a construction business offline: 

Tradeshows and events

As mentioned above, offline events can be an excellent way for B2B construction brands to connect with potential customers. 

Many buyers for other construction brands and bigger firms will visit these events to learn more about the market, experiment with demonstration products, and connect with sellers. 

If you can showcase your unique products and services at an industry-recognized event, you can also strengthen your credibility and reputation as a construction brand. 

Guerrilla marketing

Guerrilla marketing can be difficult for smaller companies to invest in because they typically require a lot of creativity and investment. 

However, if you can find a way to draw attention to your construction business through a creative event, such as a flash mob, or a local event, you may find you get a significant boost in leads. 

If you’re thinking of exploring this opportunity, it might be worth working with a marketing agency for help. 

Partnerships and sponsorships

Partnerships are a great way to expand your market reach and potential audience. You can consider working with a complementary brand for referrals. 

For example, if your business offers to remodel residential homes, you could join forces with a real-estate company or some interior decorators. Sponsoring a local team or charity can also be a fantastic way to draw more eyes to your logo and offers. 

Radio and TV slots

Radio and television advertising still has a lot to offer construction companies. While television advertising can be quite expensive for smaller companies, it’s usually reasonably affordable for a smaller brand to get a shout-out on a local radio station. 

Focusing on a closer audience can be a great way to attract some of the ideal customers you’re looking for. After all, the chances are you can only serve a specific location. 

Offline branding

Offline branding also helps to draw attention to your business. Putting your logo on the vehicles your employees drive, plastering it on billboards and signs around your town, and even creating uniforms for your staff can make a huge difference. 

The more customers are exposed to your logo and tagline, the more familiar they’ll become with your brand. Plus, you get an excellent opportunity to highlight your unique identity. 

Creating a digital marketing strategy for a construction company

While offline advertising can significantly increase the number of leads you acquire through construction marketing, it’s crucial you don’t overlook the importance of being online. Google tells us around 63% of shopping journeys now start online (usually with a search). 

To begin building your digital marketing strategy, it’s worth mapping the average customer journey. Using the personas you created earlier, ask yourself how customers in your industry are likely to search for and encounter construction brands. 

Here are some fantastic options to get you started:

Advertising construction services through content

There’s a reason they say content is king. In virtually every industry, customers start their search for solutions by looking for answers to questions online. Creating compelling content optimized for search engines with SEO tactics will boost your chances of reaching the right audience. 

Start with some keyword research, using tools like Ahrefs and Answer the Public to determine what kind of words and phrases your customers are looking for. You can also consider speaking to your customers to get an idea of the questions they ask when looking for construction brands. 

Once you have your keywords, create content around them to offer genuine value to your audience. 

You can produce everything from how-to guides to blog and news posts highlighting your services, your expertise, and your authority in your industry. Even guest-posting on other sites can be a fantastic way to expand your reach and find new customers. 

Remember, it’s not just written content that makes an impact, either. According to some studies, video leads to around 157% higher organic search results. Video is a great way to showcase what your company can do and highlight your company’s personality. 

You could create a timelapse video of the construction process or shoot videos of your team working together. 

Construction company marketing on social media

As mentioned above, social media can be an exceptional tool for construction brands. It’s a chance to not only boost awareness and brand reach but also form deeper connections with your target audience. 

Everything you post on channels like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn gives your customers a chance to learn more about your brand and how it works. 

In fact, around 75% of construction companies are now promoting their business on social media. The key to success here is making sure you create the right campaigns for the correct channels. 

Using what you know about your target audience, determine which channels or platforms they’re going to be using. Facebook is a common option, but it’s worth looking into various other channels, too, like TikTok, Pinterest, and even Instagram, so you can showcase your visual side. 

Create engaging videos and posts which highlight what your business can do. One of the best ways to really make an impact with social media is through user-generated content. Share videos created by your customers, and pictures of their newly-built solutions, to demonstrate the quality of your work. 

If you’re going to be using paid ads on social media, remember targeting is key. Most social channels will allow you to pinpoint the exact type of customer you want to reach with carefully-chosen campaigns. Use these targeting tools to attract local audiences. 

Marketing a construction business through email

While email might not be the newest or most exciting tool for marketing in construction, it’s still extremely beneficial. Email gives you a chance to connect with your customers regularly, nurturing leads into repeat customers. 

You can create lead magnets and landing pages for your website, which encourage customers to hand over their email address in exchange for something of value.

Once you have your email list, use it to promote relevant content to the right people. Use your email marketing tools to segment your audience and send them the information they’re most likely to be interested in. 

You may have a segment dedicated to helping customers maintain the new buildings they’ve purchased for you and another for new customers. 

You can set up email sequences promoting new offers or drawing attention back to the content campaigns you’ve created for your website. Email can also be a great way to connect with clients who may become advocates for your company. 

You might offer your existing customers a discount on future repairs and maintenance if they refer your organization to a friend. 

Another great way to use email is to collect customer feedback. Asking clients for reviews and testimonials ensures you can leverage more social proof for your business. Remember, the majority of today’s clients will read reviews before choosing which brand to work with.

Tips for marketing a construction company

There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for marketing in construction. When you’re learning how to market a construction company, the chances are you’ll spend a significant amount of time conducting tests and running campaigns to find out what works for you. 

You may even eventually decide to work with a professional to build the best marketing strategies for construction companies. Advertising agencies and experts can assist with everything from content creation to SEO management. 

However, whether you’re going it alone or working with professionals, there are a few tips you can follow to boost your chances of success:

Make sure you’re easy to contact

First and foremost, it’s important to ensure customers can contact you whenever they have questions to ask. Ensuring your number is easily visible on Google, your website, and social media pages is crucial. 

However, you may also consider investing in other contact options, like adding a messaging app to your website.

Go local with your ads

If you’re going to be promoting on Google and social media, remember there’s a limit to the customers you can serve. Focusing on global promotions might not be the best idea for a small construction company. 

Taking a local approach should save you some money on marketing and ensure you reach the right clients. 

Create the perfect website

The chances are many of your customers will learn everything they need to know about your business by checking out your website. With this in mind, it’s worth working with a website design team to create a compelling site. 

Remember, around 30% of customers won’t even consider contacting a business without a website. 

Make the most of your existing customers

Your happy clients are one of the most valuable marketing tools you have. They can help to drive new clients to your business and improve your reputation in the industry. Ask them for reviews and testimonials you can share on your website and social media. 

You can even consider creating referral and loyalty campaigns.

Showcase your employees

Highlighting your employees is a fantastic way to make your business seem more reliable and credible. Draw attention to their expertise and skills by giving them a place on your website. 

Create videos showing your employee’s work, and ask them to produce content for your site and social media pages when possible. 

Choosing the right construction company marketing strategies

Marketing in construction can seem like quite a challenging concept at first. If you want to learn how to market a construction company effectively, you need to be willing to spend a lot of time researching your audience and getting to know their preferences. 

Construction company marketing takes place online and offline, and you’ll need to invest in consistently.

However, if you can find the right strategies to showcase what makes your company special and unique, you’re more likely to collect a wider variety of leads. Remember, whenever you invest in a new marketing campaign, ensure you can monitor and track the results of each strategy. 

Evaluating the impact of your campaigns will boost your chances of better campaigns going forward.

Moreover, if you’re struggling with effective construction company marketing, don’t be afraid to seek extra help. Marketing agencies and brands can deliver support and expertise through every step of your advertising strategy.

Fabrik: A branding agency for our times.

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