Use these hints and tips to help you grow your business by making the most of your marketing.
For many contractors, marketing often falls to the bottom of the to-do list. When there are deadlines to meet, products to order and invoices that need sending, calling your local paper to place an advert or jumping on social media will definitely not be your number one priority!
It’s true that positive word of mouth can often keep you ticking over just fine. However, if you really want to grow your business then you need to think about your marketing a little more closely. Of course marketing your business will take some of your time, however it doesn’t have to distract you from your business priorities.
So, where do you start? How can you market your business effectively, whilst saving time and money in the long run? These hints and tips can save you both time and money and get you started on your plan to achieving marketing success.
- 1. What do you want to achieve?
Start by thinking about what your goals are. What are the main aims of your marketing activity? What do you want it to achieve for your business? Answering these key questions will help ensure you focus on the right areas.
2. Who do you want to reach?
Think about what type of customers you need to target to grow your business – do you need to identify local house builders, property developers or the local council? Are there construction companies local to you that you haven’t worked with yet? Or are you more interested in speaking to local home owners? Think about who you need to make contact with and how you can reach them.
3. What’s your plan?
Put together a plan of action. The best way to reach your target audience is to use the same ways of communicating that they do. If your potential customers are active on Twitter or Facebook, then think about using these yourself. Or is there something more local that you can do to speak to these potential customers? Remember lots of people still prefer face to face – so make sure you go to the same events they do and meet them that way.
Having a clear plan helps you avoid spending time on marketing that won’t give you the results you need. With a plan in place, you’ll know when to say no to opportunities, however you’ll also know when a marketing idea is going to work for your business – be it advertising in a local newspaper, social media or attending an event.
4. What’s your budget?
You need to know how much you can or want to spend. It’s an easy way to ensure you’re more selective and makes it simpler to see what’s been successful. Ask yourself what do you want to achieve with the budget you have? For example, when advertising in a newspaper, check the catchment area and the size of the advert. Can the newspaper create the advert for you or do you need to pay for a design to be created. How many leads do you expect to have? Ensure the advert has a reference that the customer quotes to receive a discount or free gift – this will enable you to then compare how much you spent against your results and see what’s worth doing in the future. Setting a budget also means you’re less likely to spend money on marketing that won’t benefit your business.
5. Learn from your mistakes
Don’t expect everything you do to be successful! Make sure you keep track of what works and what doesn’t so you know what to do in future. Also remember, that what works well now, might not work so well further down the line, so make sure you’re always looking at new and relevant opportunities to market your business.
At the end of the day, it’s about making informed decisions – you wouldn’t buy from a supplier that wasn’t going to deliver you the goods, and you can say the same about marketing. Make sure it’s relevant, cost effective and it is going to engage with the people you need it to.
Wienerberger is a leading provider of wall, roof and landscaping innovations.
