Construction Marketing Ideas

Lead Generation -- Dos and Don'ts

This posting from Marketingprofs.com makes some good points, but I think misses the essential one. It recommends lead generation from your website and direct mail, suggests trade shows and print advertising can be effective, and says don't bother with television or rented email lists.

Fair enough. But these marketing gurus fail to recognize the best source of leads for business are your existing and previous clients. Referrals and repeat business are, indeed, the name of the game, especially in the construction sector. I would go out on a limb and suggest that you spend 80 per cent of your marketing budget on this stuff -- and that means your marketing budget doesn't need to be too large. (It could include trade association membership where you can attend meetings with your clients, tickets to sporting events, support ads for your clients' features in trade publications -- yes that is what we sell -- or simply thank you calls, or even simpler, returning client calls promptly and courteously.)

But the best existing client marketing is the most subtle and challenging -- it is that chemistry that builds a relationship; a sense of community and common values between you and your clients. Then you won't need to worry about how fancy your website is to attract new leads.