Digital marketing and lead generation are not exactly areas of expertise for construction companies. These companies spend a substantial amount of time working on the site and bidding for new projects. And like other B2B businesses, construction companies require a constant flow of opportunities. For this reason, lead generation for such companies is very critical. It has become a key metric for the majority of construction companies now working to improve on it. Like anything else, it’s easier said than done. The main intention is to boost lead generation but not any leads. Qualified leads are the best. Businesses and people look at starting those projects that deliver some of the greatest returns for the construction company.
How to boost lead generation for your construction company
The following tactics can get you more leads and more so those leads that drive revenues. Contractors rely on “word-of-mouth” referrals in order to grow their businesses. This means they leave it up to chance whether someone makes a recommendation or not. However, you need an active approach if you need to grow your business and have leads consistently come your way.
- Focusing on the local search engine optimization (SEO)
The most efficient strategy of lead generation for any construction company is local SEO. If anyone searches for a construction company in your area, your business is to ensure they can find your company easily. Ideally, local search efforts are meant to ensure your company shows up in the results of a search engine whenever other companies in the area are searching for those services you provide. Some local SEO efforts that can assist you to get off to a good start include
Optimization of meta titles and descriptions
This is what a person should see when the website has populated in a search engine. You have to make it appear good.
Get Citations
Ensure the name of your company, phone number and address are in many sites aggregating business data as possible. Again, ensure there’s consistency.
Get on the Google My Business (GMB)
This is a directory like Infogroup or Yelp but it’s important because its owner is the search engine of all the search engines.
Get online reviews
There’s a need for social proof that convinces people to be your clients. For this reason, encourage those customers who get satisfied with your services to leave behind reviews on your GMB page.
Get backlinks from the local non-competing businesses.
One great thing for SEO is backlinks since they assist your business rank above the competition in the results for the local search engine.
The above strategies just scratch the local SEO surface. Most of your competitors could have failed to realize the effectiveness of various strategies of lead generation. Engage these strategies in order to beat your competition.
- Creating engaging content to drive leads
Your ideal clients are searching for engaging content that would determine your expertise. Additionally, the more the content you publish, the more traffic driven to your website. Hence, you need to show your expertise in the industry through publishing content that engages and is necessary for readers. Some examples that can get can you going include:
- How you can install drywall for beginners
- How your business roof can be affected by weather
- Signs that show time is ripe for remodeling
- Things you should think about when you want to expand
Further, you should think of developing content strategies as well as scheduling for the content you would want to write and publish. The more posts you do, the better. By driving your users to an engaging blog developed on the website, there’s a higher possibility of navigating to a service page and contacting you eventually. This is all about guiding the users through the buyer’s journey; the digital buying journey.
- Starting a Strategic B2B appointment setting program
Other than content marketing and local SEO that helps drive your inbound leads, outbound marketing is the flip side of the coin. Outreach is important in a sector such as construction. If you choose not to speak to those in the market, your competitor is ready to do so. Essentially, every business requires lead generation irrespective of how well you’re already known. As such, a B2B appointment setting program helps in building a pipeline to consistently generate high-quality leads. Key activities include:-
- Prospecting. Great salespersons have that one person who’s dedicated and solely responsible for building lists and prospecting.
- Cold calling. You cannot say cold calling is dead; it’s just difficult. Having a process and ensuring your salespeople know about handling objections, cold calling becomes an effective section of your entire strategy.
- Email marketing. Allows you to make a follow-up of your prospects while providing them with the necessary information concerning your company.
- Lead nurturing. One of the most essential components of B2B appointment setting program is lead nurturing and qualification. Once you have qualified the leads, they need to stay in the pipeline. Ideally, outbound marketing does not mean calling prospects in their thousands with the hope that one agrees on a meeting. Rather, it’s about contacting hundreds of those qualified prospects, you ask them discovery questions, build a relationship and continue to follow them up until that time when they feel it’s right to make a commitment.
- Scheduling appointments. The reason behind B2B appointment setting programs is for the sales representatives to set up the qualified sales appointment for the closing sales reps to deliver a qualified and better sales pitch.
Thus, outreach while engaging a well-thought-out process such as B2B appointment setting is an effective approach to generating outbound leads for the construction companies. If you desire to start your own B2B appointment setting program or you want to do sales outsourcing, a team composed of appointment setters can give you more time to speak to the most interesting prospects.
- Utilizing Marketing collateral that boosts sales efforts
Marketing collateral is one thing that gives your outbound sales efforts a significant boost. Additionally, sales collateral is the secret weapon meant to give you a leg up within the competitive space. Sales collaterals guide a sales conversation and also ensures your business can tell the story. For instance, sell sheets, case studies, brochures, etc can tell a lot to a prospect. Further, they are visually appealing and ensures your business has a professional appearance. The fate of your construction company should not be left to just luck. And knowing where the next business opportunity comes from should not be a matter of guesswork. Even when your efforts are paying off and are doing well, do not let your competitors come closer.
- Find a Niche
Stable growth in the construction industry is fuelled if you find a niche. To compete with more experienced construction companies, you need to adopt more targeted efforts. If you’re an expert in commercial construction, you should zero in on commercial construction leads instead of residential construction leads. Customers are going to benefit from your knowledge and experience upon choosing relevant projects that deliver the desired results. Connecting with your customers and establishing your authority requires time and commitment. Therefore, find your niche in order to achieve qualified leads and business profitability.
- Boosting your social media presence
In the ever-competitive construction sector, presence in social media makes a significant difference in customer retention and acquisition. Direct mail/email, cold calling, and traditional media have been key in generating outbound leads, but inbound lead generation depends heavily on blogging, online events, and social media marketing, among others. As such, it’s possible to win new leads through active participation in various social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Further, shine on the social media platform you have chosen because the more you engage your target audience with the business, the better is your chances to secure potential leads and win new business.
- Crafting a solid email marketing strategy
Finding high-converting leads lies in a solid email marketing strategy that promotes your construction services to potential customers. A digital marketing offshoot, email marketing bears unlimited potential for the success of your business. Again, building your email marketing lists can be a time-consuming task, but turning the leads into paying clients is a worthy effort. Lead magnets such as e-books, newsletters, or free offers motivate your audience so that they can sign up for your emails. And if well done, email marketing campaigns deliver great returns on investment (ROI) for your construction firm on lead generation.
Conclusion
Construction lead generation is an approach driven by perseverance and precision. Essentially, finding quality leads remains an ongoing challenge requiring a well-rounded lead generation approach. The best practices in lead generation have been evolving. Thus, a one-size-fits-all strategy cannot succeed because an actionable insight is needed to feed your funnel of lead generation. Construction project leads can be boosted through the adoption of a holistic strategy of lead generation. The above tips can significantly help you find the right leads at the same time. Determine your niche, build a strong presence on the social media platforms, focus on an attractive website, and adopt a customer-focused culture.