Construction is one of the industries that still feels the effects of the pandemic, even as other businesses have bounced back to normal. Project pullbacks by owners, lower investment in certain sectors, and a less than optimistic hiring outlook are some of the barriers affecting contractors. However, with a strategic and tailored marketing plan, your company can soon stand out amongst competitors.
75% of job seekers consider a business’ brand before applying, for instance, and more than half of applicants search for a company’s website and social media channels before applying. Therefore, an effective online presence can be a great marketing asset for your construction business.
See how a construction company renovated their website with the help of our managed marketing team in this testimonial: URETEK Revamps Its Website with Impact’s Marketing Experts in Houston.
Build a Great Website
People get the first impression of a building from its façade. Regardless of how beautiful or architecturally sound the inside is, the front is the first thing viewers will notice. The same can be said of a business website, which has become the face of a company.
In an age where users might interact with your company online long before they do so in person, it is especially important to create a website that reflects the outstanding services and image of your construction company.
Elements of an Effective Construction Company Website
Consider implementing the following elements into your website:
Clean Design: It should be easy for your user, whether they are a client or job-seeker, to navigate your website and find they information they are looking for. As a construction company, if you want to focus on recruiting, having a dedicated Careers page is a must. Other common pages include About us, Services, Blog, and Contact Us.
Company Brand: The colors, voice, and design of your website add to its branding and identity, but what should visitors to your website know about your company? Whether a prospective client or employee is the user, ensure they understand your organizations’ mission, history, and culture.
Is there a specific material or process that is your construction company’s signature? Some contractors will focus on commercial projects, while others handle industrial ones. Does your company do all? Identifying your industry differentiators will ensure users understand how your business stands out from the rest.
Careers Page: To increase the numbers of applicants, a dedicated careers page should communicate the advantages of working for your business. Consider adding photography or video of your employees working on a project or enjoying a company event. List the benefits and growth opportunities an applicant will receive as your employee.
Adding your construction company’s mission to this page can be helpful as well. Applicants want to work for businesses that make a difference in their communities, so relaying this message will increase the chances of job-seekers aligning better with your organization.
Images and Video: These will take your website to another level. Visuals make the difference between a basic website and one that users will often return to. Use strategic images and videos throughout your website to show your past construction projects, your process, and any employee outings or especial events.
Related Blog: 5 Ways to Improve Your Employer Image
SEO: In simple terms, search engine optimization (SEO) is using the right keywords and keyphrases so that search engines—such as Google—can easily locate pages in your website and display them to users. SEO facilitates organic traffic to your site through search engine results.
For example, having the keyword “residential construction company in Chicago” on a page means search engines such as Google will be able to sort and find your website when users search for that specific term.
Watch this explainer video on the different components of SEO and the potential pitfalls of a poor strategy.
Related eBook: What Makes a Quality Website?
Conduct Market Research
Marketing without data and research would be like building a house without a blueprint. You can make a good guess—especially as a contractor—about where all the materials would go. However, having a plan would allow you to complete your project much faster and effectively while minimizing the risk of error.
Whether you are looking to increase leads or increase the number of applicants to your construction business, market research can be the foundation to a great marketing strategy.
For Prospective Clients
When working to generate leads for your business, understanding your prospective clients’ pain points and their wants will boost your marketing efforts. To do this, consider conducting qualitative and quantitative research.
Qualitative Research: Research done to uncover customer needs, wants, opinions, and industry trends. For this type of research, consider interviewing past clients to find out your company’s selling points. Was there a reason your construction business stood out to them? What was the best part of working with your company?
You can leverage these points to craft a better company image as well as to communicate to prospective customers why they would benefit from hiring your services.
Consider also researching your competitors. How are they presenting themselves to their audience? Do they have a social media presence? Through this process, you can understand what your competitors are doing right and what makes your company different. Focusing on your differentiators will make it easier for your audience to understand the benefits of working with you.
Quantitative Research: This research is all about numbers and data. Internally, looking at your sales numbers, trends in different markets and locations, as well as which service created the most ROI will help you understand which areas of your business to highlight.
Consider also doing an online search for construction case studies on various industry trends as well as customer research. These case studies often have reliable data from large number of correspondents.
Working with a marketing service provider is also an option. This path lets you continue to conduct business and focus on serving your clients as you work with a marketing team that has the skill and experience to execute all the marketing tasks needed to complete a successful campaign for your construction business.
For Job Seekers
The suggestions above also apply to hiring. . After you have conducted research to understand what prospective employees are looking for, use this knowledge to craft the employer image you wish to convey through your website, social media channels, and within your organization.
Social Media: 79% of job seekers are likely to search for open positions through social media. If your construction business is not taking advantage of social media, now is a great time to start. Job seekers will also research the companies they are interested in, so creating a deliberate, welcoming, and unique online persona is important.
As an added bonus, online job ads are much easier to share among users, increasing the visibility of your recruitment efforts and company profile.
Social media is always evolving, so developing a campaign—a marketing plan listing your projected actions and goals—is not a one-and-done task. A social media campaign is expected to show you what you did right and where you could improve, which will allow you to modify your efforts to continuously get better results.
Related Blog: How Businesses Can Use Recruitment Marketing for Talent Acquisition and Retention
Takeaways
- A website will act as the shop front of your business online. Investing in your construction business website will show clients as well as job seekers your brand, image, and the differentiators that make your company stand out amongst your competitors.
- Your website should have a clean design to allow for easy navigation. Featuring photography and video of your projects and company events is an easy yet effective way to show future employees the benefits of joining your team.
- Conduct research to learn more about industry trends, customer and job candidate needs, and to be able to deliver a message that addresses their concerns.
- Social media is a great tool that can be leveraged to increase leads as well as share job openings.
- The hiring outlook for construction companies may look a bit uncertain currently, however, with the right tools and strategy you can soon increase visitors to your online channels and prospective employees. Therefore, marketing is more than worth it for construction companies.
To learn how a construction company took a deep dive and upgraded their website, check out our customer testimonial with an industry leader in pavement and soil stabilization: URETEK Revamps Its Website with Impact’s Marketing Experts in Houston.
