Marketing is expensive and no easy task for small business owners within the construction industry, but you cannot neglect the fact that marketing is also one of the most important building blocks for your small business, says Lynn Lambe, director of Little Lambe Consultancy.
- Activate your Google My Business – A free tool for all businesses to use, Google My Business enables your business profile to appear when people are searching for your business or businesses like yours on Google Search or Maps. Google My Business makes it easy to create and update your Business Profile—so you can stand out, and bring customers in.
- Set up your social media channels – Every business within the construction sector should have a LinkedIn Business page. LinkedIn is the business social network platform to show off your work and employees and its free! What it does require though is weekly updates and interaction with other businesses and potential clients. Other social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, may not be of value unless they fit with your target demographic. For instance, a plumber likely isn’t going to gain a lot of traction on Snapchat, whereas an e-commerce clothing retailer likely would.
- Show instead of tell – Instead of just telling your customers how great your materials are why not show them. LinkedIn is the perfect network to highlight to prospect customers and business where your products are being specified, projects you are working on and even site visits that your company is at. People want to see your business in action and where your team is. Focus on high quality imagery and engaging content and see your profile grow from strength to strength.
- Ask for Reviews – Ask your existing customers to review your small business on Google or other major reviews sites. Simply asking can remind them to do so. More reviews can lead to better visibility in review site search results (though this isn’t a guarantee). Just make sure you aren’t pressuring anyone to leave fake or deceptively positive reviews. These can then be used in marketing collateral later down the line, once the customers are happy for the material to be used.
- Spruce up your Email Signature – Your email signature may be the most neglected or forgotten potential part of your marketing strategy. It will be seen by everyone you’re sending an email to, but often times, business owners don’t include anything useful at the end of their emails. Use a service like Wisestamp to curate your own professional layout, or just create one in the email settings of the email provider that you use. You can include your latest products, blog post, social media profiles, or link to your website.
These five, free marketing tools will help you engage customers, build relationships, and ultimately keep your brand top-of-mind. It’s not always about the money you have to spend on marketing, it’s about the time and effort you put into it and above all, the relevance it has for your customers.Little Lambe consultancy is a dedicated construction marketing agency helping construction businesses to grow their brand and increase overall sales.
