The Construction Marketing Ideas webinar

is scheduled for July 8.  If you register by June 30, however, you will receive a free copy of my Construction Marketing Ideas book.  For additional information, visit http://dcnweb5.eventbrite.com/.

For additional insights and observations about Construction Marketing, you can visit the Construction Marketing Ideas blog which is updated daily at http://www.constructionmarketingideas.com.

Fresh ideas for architectural, engineering and construction industry marketing

About a half year ago, I moved the Construction Marketing Ideas blog. The new blog is updated daily with lots of information and insights into issues relating to marketing for the construction industry. As well, links and resources are updated -- and you can view videos and other materials related to construction industry marketing.

This site remains in place largely because of the archives: Lots of useful earlier postings which you may wish to refer or can discover through your Internet searches. And of course you can also link from here to the Construction Marketing Ideas book page.

Another positive review for Construction Marketing Ideas

Today, I really received a surprise in opening my email.  London, England construction marketer and consultant Chis Ashworth wrote in his Competitive Advantage Newsletter:

Mark Buckshon is a journalist who publishes regional construction industry publications in the US and Canadian market. He is also a prolific Blogger.

Construction Marketing Ideas has been written for the North American Architectural, Engineering or Construction (AEC) business, but has much of relevance to those same companies in the UK. If you are not in this group it is still well worth a read as it contains plenty of useful ideas.

Many of his suggestions have been drawn from a few key businesses that he has got to know and all are practical. He also provides a number of useful references for further reading. The first half of the book sets out the foundations for an effective business, covering subjects such as brand, identifying strengths, customer relationships and the business plan. Then he moves on to make practical suggestions for promoting your business. For those who are not in small AEC companies, his views on the use of digital media will probably be most useful as they are based on practical experience.

Although there are a number of references to US organisations it is an easy book to read and contributes to a very small library of specialist construction marketing books.

This review is truly a wonderful surprise, because I didn't send the reviewer a review copy -- he purchased the book, like anyone else!

(The book naturally is written primarily for readers in the U.S. and Canadian market so indeed it focuses on organizations such as The Society for Marketing Professional Services which are relevant more on this side of the pond.)

New, original content . . .

Is at the actual Construction Marketing Ideas Blog. I maintain this site largely because of its archives.

The book and more

At this site, I'll refer you to the Construction Marketing Ideas book.  However, you can find much more substance at the actively-maintained Construction Marketing Ideas blog.

The media relations/publicity Webinar

Event registration powered by Eventbrite

We had originally scheduled this event a week ago, but just as I started, the audio/visual froze and I needed to abort!  Ouch.

I've rescheduled the Webinar for Wednesday, June 9 at 3 p.m.  As this is a make-up event to fulfill commitments to the original participants, I am not promoting it widely.

However, you can still attend for free if you've advertised in any of our publications in the past year and admission is half-price if you've purchased Construction Marketing Ideas: Practical strategies and resources to attract and retain clients for your architectural, engineering or construction business.

Alternatively you can register for the event for $79.00 and we'll send you a free copy of the book.

New levels

These are interesting times, and some of the stuff happening behind the scenes makes for great stories.  But I'll keep it simple for now.

As we prepare to "restore" the design and all the features at the new Construction Marketing Ideas site, I'm maintaining daily substantive and hopefully useful postings there.  So feel free to head over for a look.

Constructionmarketingideas.com

It appears my main blog site, http://www.constructionmarketingideas.com, is unavailable right now.  I believe the problems are server related at my ISP as the error codes are appearing on all the domains.

This means updating postings will be delayed.

An issue with an AdSense Forum spammer

A disgruntled former AdSense publisher has been posting links and references to this blog.  For observations on this matter, you can read this posting at the actively maintained Construction Marketing Ideas blog.

Until the matter is resolved, and to ensure that legitimate advertisers are not victimized by the fraudster, I have removed the AdSense code from this site.

The picture at right is the Hacienda Hotel in Los Angeles, where the spammer used a public WIFI access spot to cause havoc.

Good ideas

I use this legacy site primarily to reference your visit to the frequently updated and content-rich Construction Marketing Ideas blog hosted on our own server at http://www.constructionmarketingideas.com.

You can also preview my book here on Google Books.

Learning marketing lessons

I wish I could share with you some of the lessons I've learned today.  However, some marketing stories are not meant to be shared publicly.  Although openness is often an asset (and I've found that truthfulness about everything -- including your mistakes and problems -- helps build trust and your brand), there are times when the cone of silence makes the most sense.

Oakland is a beautiful city.  You can preview the Construction Marketing Ideas book here.

The Art and Science of Publicity: A special Webinar

I'll be hosting a special webinar to provide practical guidance and suggestion to architectural, engineering and construction businesses on how to achieve substantial -- and profitable media publicity.

The special session is scheduled for Tuesday, June 1 at 3:00 p.m.  You can find out more by clicking on the notice at the right of the page or here.  

Tickets are $79.00 but if you have purchased the Construction Marketing Ideas book, you will save $40.00.  The book retails for $39.95, so essentially your book will be free! (And though it is somewhat against my self-interest here, you can possibly save money by ordering from some online retailers such as Amazon.com.   If you do, simply send an email with your proof of order to qualify for the discount.

Some of the topics covered int he Webinar are reported in the free booklet, The Art and Science of Publicity, which you can access at the real Construction Marketing Ideas blog.

Co-operation and success

In just a few hours, Bill Caswell will present his special Webinar:  How to increase Company Performance through increased Co-operation.

The program is from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. (EDT).  We'll be sending you detailed log-in information Monday morning if you've registered already and (if you wish to wait until the last couple of hours) will send you the information as soon as possible.

Webinars can be of special value if you have conferencing/group viewing capabilities as several people can watch at the same time.  You'll learn far more than the $49.00 investment from the experience.

You can register at this link.

Online Ticketing for How to increase Company Performance through increased Co-operation powered by Eventbrite

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Encouraging co-operation

This blog's sidebar has a link to Bill Caswell's upcoming webinar:  How to Increase Company Performance through Improved Co-Operation.  The event is just a couple of days away, on Monday, May 17.

Construction Marketing Ideas reviewed on Remodelcrazy.com

Writers not surprisingly have a mixture of hope and fear when we learn our book is about to be reviewed. Thankfully, hope can turn quickly to grattitude if the review is positive.  (I don't know what it feels like to receive a negative review yet for my book because I haven't received one.)

You can read the review of the Construction Marketing Ideas book on the Remodelcrazy.com site.

The book

Yesterday, I received an email from the marketing representative of a major general contractor in Ottawa.  She had heard through the grapevine that her company had been mentioned in the Construction Marketing Ideas book and wondered where she could purchase a copy.

I initially referred her to Google Books and the book home page, then decided to simply offer her a free copy (we've done thousands of dollars in business over the years).

She then explained to me how she had learned about the book.  Her counterpart at the company's office in Los Angeles had purchased the book and was using it, asked her if she knew a "Mark Buckshon" in Ottawa.

Small world.

The book is selling an average of a copy or two a day, which won't put it to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list, but is certainly reasonable for a relevant but reasonably specialized topic.

These books go together

You will find many elements of my Construction Marketing Ideas book share some of the philosophies of Go-Givers Sell More. Read more at the actively-maintained Construction Marketing Ideas blog.

Measuring, listening and the book

You can read a posting about when to measure and when to listen at the "real" Construction Marketing Ideas blog.

You can also read portions of the new Construction Marketing Ideas book at Google Books.

How much is a lead worth to you?

I know, the obvious answer is "it depends". Clearly a high-value referral lead for a high margin project is worth more than a one-of-many lead for a small job.

But there is a purpose in this question to see if you've measured your cost-per-lead. This information is useful in assessing your marketing performance and, if you have sales representatives, their results.

You can view the results of the poll and find more details at the primary Construction Marketing Ideas blog.

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