Overview Of The Construction Industry
Many construction businesses are struggling currently; due partly to the changing economic climate, but also to the country’s recession.
The nation’s population is ballooning however houses are not being built to house the population sufficiently. With a growing population comes the need for facilities (schools, libraries, businesses) that are not being built quickly enough.
The problem lies with the funding; because many clients are being careful with their money it is not being spent on capital projects. The big construction firms are therefore struggling due to big projects being put on hold or canceled (which costing millions of pounds each is a big loss) which is then cascading down to the smaller construction firms, electricians, builders, plumbers, etc. Talbon Construction is also a popular Construction firm since 1965.
The large companies have financial reserves that they can draw on, or can cost cut in order to ease cash flow up; however, the smaller companies (or freelancers) are hardest hit as they may rely on the feed of work.
Marketing In The Construction Industry
Construction companies historically do not really market themselves (as a general rule) but do historically rely on word of mouth or on recommendations from friends in the trade.
The need, therefore, needs to be on construction companies being more proactive and actually hunting down work. This is a change from years gone by when work used to be plentiful and business was booming construction companies had the freedom to pick and choose. However as work had dried up, it is a case of taking what they can get. One other thing that makes things harder is that during the boom years of the 2000s, many new construction companies started up and quickly grew, now things are hard many are now competing on the existing projects that are left so competition is high.
Construction businesses are great at construction but not very good at construction marketing; most have not done marketing in the past and do not really understand how it works. Many construction companies do not have websites or do any marketing historically – as the industry has been busy, word of mouth has been used.
Marketing Options For Construction Companies
All construction firms are different (architects, builders, M&E etc) but there are marketing options that each can utilise.
As the industry is deep in recession, all construction companies need to ‘shout’ in order to pick up new business. Shouting would be done through marketing – by being seen an heard will mean they will pick up contracts and construction projects.
Websites For Construction Companies
First and foremost, all construction businesses would benefit from having a website. This gives a ‘virtual’ presence and a chance for customers to find out more without the need of a phone call or visit.
As we are now in a digital world, the construction industry as a whole needs to modernise and get on board.
PR for Construction Companies
Another good marketing tool for construction firms to do for starters would be to talk to construction experienced PR agencies that may well be able to help them with industry exposure.
PR is all about generating exposure and by talking to a industry experienced PR agency construction firms should be able to stand out in the crowd and get more sales enquiries.
The type of marketing that construction firms would need would depend on the sector that they are involved in. PR has been generally known to be effective for most industries however within the construction sector; there are other forms that may be more suited.
Telemarketing For Construction Companies
Construction companies may well benefit from using telemarketing as a way to generate new sales leads; this is generally acclaimed to be a fairly quick form of marketing in generating new sales enquiries. Although it may be expensive in the short term, in the long term it should prove worth while. Telemarketing is a very pro active form of marketing and as such would certainly boost new enquiries in the short term.
The Need For Construction Marketing
There are numerous different forms of marketing on offer, each one does it’s job effectively; however it would be wise to talk to a specialist marketing company that knows the construction industry in order to find the right one for your construction business.
The problem is that the work is out there, it is just that the work is not as plentiful as the boom years – so construction companies need to be aggressive in their marketing, pro active and shouting louder than the competition.
