Do construction businesses need to embrace digital marketing?

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” – There’s a divide in the industry, many traditional construction business owners and tradespeople are still thriving from word of mouth and old school methods of advertising. Understandably, they don’t see any need to embrace new strategies and can we really argue? Let’s lay out the facts and compare traditional methods with newer digital marketing techniques…

Leaflets and flyers Vs social media 

There is still something to be said about a physical copy of advertising material, whether it be a business card or a handout. The problem is, they are only effective if they are being given to the right audience, otherwise, it is just a waste. Mass printing of flyers is not only unsustainable and uneconomical, but it is also costly.

The beauty of social media is…it’s free! Yes, you can purchase paid ads but if you post regularly and engage your following with quality content you won’t need to, your pages will speak for themselves and grow organically…especially on Linkedin. Digital marketing and social media pages require commitment but once you succeed the results are incomparable.

Billboards Vs A website

There are many pros to billboards, if you know your demographic then you can specifically advertise in relevant areas to target them. You can also invest in new state of the art digital billboards for a more impressive ad campaign. On the flip side, they’re only temporary. You pay a fee for an advert which is not permanent. You also have to rely on people being proactive enough to physically make a note of your website or contact details. They are also super expensive.

When you pay to have a website built, yes it can be costly, but you essentially have it forever. On websites, you can add call to action buttons so site visitors can easily reach you should they require your services. You can use digital marketing CRM systems to see where your website traffic generates from and track leads to see if they convert. With billboard advertising, it is exceedingly difficult to see how many client wins you have gained.

Paper mail vs online email marketing

So you’ve always sent out your monthly and annual newsletters via the post? Yes, you may have an older clientele but there are more people going online than ever, especially after the global pandemic. In the UK 99% of adults aged 16-44 years were recent internet users and 54% of adults aged 75 years and over were too.

Not only is email marketing much more environmentally friendly but it can be free. Even if you have a huge client base, on platforms like HubSpot you are entitled to 2,000 free emails per month, if you wanted more, you could sign up to a paid package which is likely to still cost less than print-based newsletters.

Printed ads in The Phone Book vs Google Ads

The Yellow Pages stopped circulating circa 2019 so it is not too long before The Phone Book closes its pages too. If your customer demographic is 75+ then maybe the phone book is still a place for you to advertise but if it is not, then it’s time to move forwards into digital marketing…

Google Ads run via a pay per click system. Your Ad could appear at the top of the search engine in your specific field i.e. Crane Hire Lancashire. Everytime someone clicks your ad, the search engine charges you a price. The average cost in the UK is £1.95 per click. However, like with any digital marketing technique, it just takes one good lead to convert and the income gained from this could essentially pay for your ads for the rest of the month, quarter or even year!

Word of mouth Vs Trustpilot 

Word of mouth is immensely powerful; some businesses survive solely for many years from it. However, with the influence of websites like trustatrader.com and review resources like Trustpilot, people are taking to the web much more often than calling upon friends or acquaintances for advice.

An online review can reach thousands of people much faster than a verbal recommendation can, you can also tag or display the review on your social channels or website to draw in even more clients. This is where digital marketing can really take your business to a whole new level.

Radio and TV ads Vs SEO

When it comes to search engines, people are looking for you. With TV and radio ads you are approaching them. Yes, TV and Radio stations create phenomenal exposure, and you may get an influx of enquiries but are these going to be your ideal clients? Probably not.

The beauty of search engines is you can specifically target your perfect clients. Landing pages that contain your ideal location(s) means you will get work or clients from the correct area. You can also ensure all the written content on your website is packed full of keywords and phrases, which reflect what people requiring your services will be typing into Google.

If you are not ready to immerse yourself fully into digital marketing just yet, then just switch up one or two of your old methods, ease yourself in. You can speak to us for advice on all digital marketing covered in this post and we can show you proven results for each.