Construction marketing is an innovation that has taken over the industry, as companies strive to stand out in the impacted market. A key element of success for marketing in the construction industry is staying aware of key trends and outlooks for the year. The online environment is constantly evolving, and the construction industry is developing right along with it. Construction marketing is a great solution to not only sharing about your company’s services but also establishing your brand as something your clients should invest in.
Here are five key construction marketing trends that your company should be aware of moving into 2017. The Construction Marketing Association conducted a national survey of construction professionals and asked the following questions:
- In 2017, will you increase or decrease overall marketing activities and budgets?
A whopping 96.4% plan to increase marketing in 2017 – a 12% jump from last year.
If your company was planning on increasing marketing efforts into 2017, you are not alone! With the rest of the construction industry catching on to the idea of marketing and business development as a strategy, it is even more important to move forward and determine the specific marketing tactics that will work best for your company.
- What traditional marketing tactics will you increase or decrease in 2017?
Interestingly, PR is the traditional marketing tactic construction professionals plan to invest in most. Email marketing and branding are still clearly important as well. On the flip side, direct mail seems to be the tactic most professionals want to use less often.
PR is one of the most cost-effective marketing tactics! It utilizes impressions rather than engagement, which is a low cost and high reward tactic. However, email marketing and branding go hand in hand. Cultivating an email base, and staying at the forefront of your client’s minds is key to when it comes time to bid out a project. Lastly, it is no surprise to see the decline in traditional marketing tactics! This is the most cost-effective and least targeted form of communication between brand and consumer.
- What Internet marketing tactics will you increase or decrease in 2017?
Websites are important. 92.9% of professionals plan to increase website development and none said they plan to decrease investment. No one also plans to reduce their social media budget. Less are planning to invest in mobile (46.2% plan to increase) and pay-per-click (PPC) (30.8% plan to increase).
Mobile is the rise. This is no surprise! As we can note from these results, targeted digital efforts will transform how construction companies market to their consumers. With clients living on their cell phones, social media will show the personality of your brand, and pay-per-click advertising will offer targeted results.
- What lead generation marketing tactics will you increase or decrease in 2017?
Since the rollout of Google’s snack pack update, local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has gained importance, and construction professionals are taking notice. 0% plan to decrease local SEO budgets and 73.1% intend to increase this expenditure. Sales prospecting and online reviews are also really important. Telemarketing is the area many plan to decrease and few plan to increase.
SEO takes the reigns in the market, as both lead generation and brand marketing efforts depend on the visibility of Google Search Results. This is an area that almost every single company can improve in, and demonstrate growth.
- What construction industry trend do you anticipate will impact your business most in 2017?
Federal and State Regulations, Qualified Workers, Federal and State Regulations, Economy, Data Center Growth, and Political Change.
All of these factors will be impacting our companies! It is advantageous of the industry to take note of theses trends, and to their best to anticipate and proactively plan for success. How will your construction company take advantage of these 5 trends as you plan your tactics?
