Your Company’s Guide to Contractor Business Marketing

You have a contracting business. It’s on its way to success after all the hard work, planning, failure, learning, time, and money you’ve put into it. Things are looking up– or maybe not as up as you want. How are you supposed to keep a new business afloat? People should always need home-service companies and general contractors, right? Leads should be easy! Being the newest (or the longest standing) construction company in your area seems like it could be reason enough for the phone to be ringing off the hook. But when all is said and done, it might be time to face the facts: you could use some contractor business marketing.

Companies Who Need Contractor Marketing

One awesome thing about general contractor companies is that they get the job done. They know how to plan, map, build, repair, design, and create with precise satisfaction. But when it comes to marketing, many contractors often struggles with knowing where to start.

Now more than ever, it’s important for small businesses to invest in solid marketing strategies online. 76% of people today use search engines like Google or Yelp to find a local construction company, plumber, landscaper, or other contractors who can meet their needs. Everything is online these days. If you’re depending on word of mouth or community listings, you’re likely missing out. Both can be helpful, but you want to be part of the bulk of internet resources people turn to when trying to find helpful services!

Contractor Business Marketing: Grow Your Business, Reach Your Goals

First and foremost, contractor business marketing is a great way to reach future business goals. If you want to grow your business, digital marketing is the best tool to win the trust of potential customers. At the same time, it lets you weed out the pointless calls from people asking you for services you do not offer.

Another perk of online marketing is it’ll boost your opportunity. One marketing idea can turn into a six-figure project if the strategy is practical and launched right. When you’re in the construction industry, promoting yourself to the right place at the right time is worth all your marketing investments and more.

Here is a real-life example from Owl SEM:

Out of the Gutter is a local rain gutter company in Southern California. During the slow season, they were struggling to keep a stream of income. Many people search for rain gutter services, but OTG was hardly showing up.

We started working for them and noticed they didn’t have a website. They had no knowledge of Google ads, Yelp, or Facebook outreach. From May 2018 to January 2019, we used all the following digital marketing techniques to build their business.

Our efforts boosted them to one of the most popular gutter and roofing companies in the area. They now enjoy a minimum service charge of $400 just to keep up with their calls. You can read more about our story with them by clicking here.

Your Website: “Always On” Lead Generation Machine

Does your company have a website? Good. Is the website modern, fast, good-looking, and simple? If not, you need to work on some new website designs. Don’t hang on to an old website you’ve had since 2014 or earlier. The tech world changes rapidly. If you keep up with the main trends that appeal to most customers, you’re likely to be a more trustable source.

Your site also needs to appeal to your target audience. Web designers know all about this– they specialize in setting the first impression for your company. Think of it this way: your website is your business’s first impression, resume, scheduling platform, informative plug, internet brochure, and bulletin board all in one place. It needs to represent the best, most practical aspect of your overall company!

Setting up a top-notch site can generate leads like no other. Everything is so automated these days: scheduling, buying, emailing, posting to social media, and so much more.  Having the right tools in place can save you tons of time while giving you awesome results and ROI.

Ad Campaigns: Track & Measure Your Customer’s Needs

Online ads serve as more than just a “megaphone tactic”. You’re not merely shouting what you offer to the world and hoping some hopeless consumer calls you up. You’re not the guy from OxyClean (RIP).

Advertising campaigns can use the intelligence of internet algorithms, marketing trends, and SEO keywords to create the absolute best advertising possible. You can dictate where your audience spends the most time on the internet and find them where they’re at. For example, there are Facebook ads, Linkedin marketing, Google paid ads and even social media advertising. Not to mention YouTube, Twitter, and countless other mobile apps people use every day to consume and search for goods & services.

The best part about Ad campaigns is they can be customized. Their success can be tracked specifically to show you data on how well your ads do, or what your ideal customers are searching the internet for most.

Email Marketing: Low-Cost, Effective, Personal

As we mentioned in this post, email marketing is a no-brainer when it comes to online marketing efforts. It can be super cost-effective, simple, and successful.

Email marketing is when you send direct emails on a consistent basis. More people use email now than ever before. Through generating an email list, you can stay in touch with returning customers by sending monthly newsletters, special offers, seasonal discounts, and even ask for reviews. It’s the modern equivalent to snail mail coupons.

With email, you can also gain new clients. This happens when there’s a list of interested, potential clients give you their email one way or another. Obviously, spamming these people is out of the question– you want to be respectful. However, there are ways to communicate through email to targeted groups and let them know you’re truly there to help them. People love that. That’s the kind of service people care about these days.

Social Media: More Effective Than You’d Think

I know what you might be thinking: my construction business does NOT need social media. Who would want to see us on Instagram?

You might be surprised. Instagram, Twitter, and even Snapchat have seen massive growth in the past few years. Everyone from therapists, freelancers, and cabinet companies use social media as a way to keep a good reputation with their customers and use marketing strategies to get found.

Social media marketing is one of the newest digital marketing techniques around, which is exactly why it IS so important. Using the right posting schedule, hashtags, ads, and things like IGTV can show your target buyers what you do. It lets them see who you are and why you stand out from other contracting companies in your niche.

SEO: The Contractor Business Marketing Key

Now let’s talk about SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. When someone types a question or phrase into a search engine, the most optimized content match will show up first (after all those paid results at the top that say “Ad”, of course).

The more valuable, relevant content you have on your website, the more likely you’re going to show up as one of the first results. Content factors come into play such as keywords, readability, internet crawlers (robots that scan web pages), images, video, and so on.

To start with SEO, you need a content creator. Preferably someone who can write well, post new content and has an understanding of how SEO and SEM (Search Engine Monetization) work.

Ways to boost SEO include publishing regular blogs, sharing informative videos, using infographics, Google Analytics, and many other useful tools you should not be doing business without. See, when you offer free content to someone who wants to learn, they become curious at what you can provide them if they pay you. Giving is key — you don’t want to be greedy with knowledge. The world has enough greed already.

The goal is to show and tell, then land new leads from excited buyers who genuinely want to work with you! Plus, the more your content gets read, the better it’s going to rank on search results in the long run.

Now What?

If you find this applies to you or your business, awesome! You are on the right track. Use these tools to your advantage when moving forward with your marketing plans.

If you need help starting or improving your contractor business marketing strategies, reach out to us today. Our passion is to fuel success for your business.