Ask the Experts: The Evolution of Construction Marketing

Steve Wright

Vice President of Information Services Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc.

Digital marketing has had a tremendous impact on construction marketing, offering higher visibility for construction companies and vendors than ever before. Online marketing allows you to measure performance in real time and make rapid changes to campaigns or content that is not performing well. You can request and receive responses from potential customers and build a relationship before the customer even calls to speak to a sales representative. Prospects do over 75 percent of their research online, before reaching for the phone or sending an email to request information from an actual person inside your business. From developing a website that provides visibility for your company, its products and services and your industry knowledge to creating sharable content and using social media to spread the word, marketing technology’s importance to today’s construction company cannot be overstated. The construction industry is viewed as an industry that is late to the party, but the success of digital marketers in other industries, as well as our own, and the demand from potential customers for easy-to-find-and-share information will continue to drive the increased use of digital marketing in the construction space.

Rob Walker

Owner Tile Craft LLC

The construction industry has seen a complete transformation in terms of marketing! Ten years ago, it was all about the “hustle.” Business owners needed to be out on jobsites constantly, talking to contractors and calling builders. It was tough, especially in the remodeling field. Today, it’s much easier to find homeowners and/or help them find you. I think the biggest improvement that comes from technology is the fact that connections between homeowners and remodeling professionals are now more easily made, whether it be from a paid marketing platform or from social media. My company has used several different methods of internet marketing. At first, we tried a variety of big-name advertising channels and paid ads. This was expensive and not entirely effective for my company. But, through social media and a couple of fairly inexpensive lead generation companies, we discovered better results. In construction, you need to be geared more toward the local arena. We have learned that it is all about having the right combination of marketing methods. We said goodbye to traditional billboards and cold calling. Internet marketing has revolutionized our business. The greatest aspect is the amount of time saved by not having to physically look for work.

Cheri Woodsmall

Founder & CEO Woodsmall Marketing Group

The customer experience landscape is changing. Today’s customer wants to see things in real time. They don’t just want to imagine what a finished product might look like, nor do they want to wait on revised bids. The use of virtual reality (VR) is becoming the norm, as computer visualization and 3-D and 4-D modeling will increasingly provide the way for customers to experience a building’s design before it is even built. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology is also becoming increasingly popular. From the ability to provide aerial building views of a completed project to monitoring jobsites and ensuring safe practices, drones are quickly laying the foundation for the future of the industry. Many of our company’s clients have used aerial imagery to impress investors and managers. Aerial photography adds a polished, professional look to any promotional video, and it is beneficial for use when clients are away from the jobsite and want to see progress of the project. Finally, the use of mobile technology in the industry is evolving rapidly. From companies using large, mobile plan tables for full document control to utilizing cloud services to show potential customers work in progress, the opportunities are endless with mobile technology. To submit a question, email Managing Editor Elizabeth Manning at [email protected].