Marketing and branding

How to craft a marketing strategy for construction companies in 6 steps

Developing a marketing plan for your construction company

Marketing should be seen as your construction company’s strategic plan to maximize strengths and downplay weaknesses. It’s also a way to identify where your company has a competitive advantage, assess which markets to focus on and understand demographics.

To achieve these goals and help your business grow, your company must take a few simple steps to develop a construction marketing plan.

6 steps to creating a marketing plan for construction companies

In the ever-changing construction landscape, standing out from the competition requires more than just exceptional craftsmanship. A robust marketing plan is the cornerstone of success for any construction project, regardless of size or specialization. Here are some tips for creating great construction marketing strategies:

1. Create a marketing objective

Most projects start with some type of objective. Marketing’s no different. Setting one will help you craft your company’s market. Ask yourself this question: What should the goal be of your marketing efforts? A solid marketing plan must start with a measurable objective that you can compare your results against.

2. Perform a SWOT analysis

A construction SWOT analysis can help you create your marketing plan while providing a clearer perspective of the construction industry landscape in your area.

  • Strengths: What does your company do best? Where does your company have a competitive advantage?
  • Weaknesses: Where does your company need improvement? Where are you at a competitive disadvantage to other companies? Are you lacking key team members or processes?
  • Opportunities: Where do you see opportunities? What services could you begin to provide as add-ons that would be natural/logical for your business? What areas are competitors weak in where your company is strong?
  • Threats: What market conditions are posing a challenge to your business? Are some of your business processes in danger of being replaced by new technologies? If so, are you developing strategies to counteract the changes? What other problems exist (financial, economical, etc.)?

3. Analyze the current market

Your construction team should ask themselves: What opportunities align most closely with the objective that you set? Where does your firm have a competitive advantage? Does this area of strength align with your strategy? In some cases, your company’s strengths won’t necessarily fit into your initial marketing objective. Don’t be afraid to adjust your objective accordingly. Always compete in the areas where your company’s already strong and has the advantage. These should also be areas where you see the potential for growth.

This doesn’t mean you should dismiss potential areas where your company lacks an advantage. Your goal should be to develop an advantage as quickly as possible. That’s unless the cost and barriers for entry are too high for it to be logical.

Ready to promote your construction business like a pro?

4. Create a marketing budget

We’ve all heard the saying about spending money to make money. That definitely isn’t easy for many companies to do. Start by considering the platforms you want to focus on and go from there. You must set a solid dollar figure you’re willing to spend and develop the mix within your budget. It’s also important to consider some additional budget questions. If your marketing efforts work, do you have enough staff to cover additional work? Is your company able to hire more staff if necessary?

5. Develop a strategy to market your construction company

Once you have completed the other steps, it’s time to determine the marketing channels that you will use to achieve your objective. Your construction company’s website is a strong sales tool, so make sure it’s easy to use for potential customers. Consider making the most of your marketing dollars by creating high-quality, engaging content on social media channels. You can also invest in video marketing. Remember to analyze your target market often and make the necessary adjustments to fine-tune your campaign.

6. Monitor the results

Look back on the objective you made at the beginning of this process. Take stock of how much progress you’ve made with the strategies and tactics you’ve used. Maybe even try getting some feedback from clients and make any necessary adjustments from there.

Creating a marketing plan for your construction company in itself won’t magically bring results. But a well-constructed, thoughtful marketing plan will help you allocate resources most efficiently and earn new business in markets where you have a competitive advantage.

Get started with Buildertrend

Ready to take your construction company to the next level? Our construction management software helps you stay organized and efficient to keep your projects on track and on budget. Schedule a demo today to get started. Have questions? Contact our expert team for more information on our construction marketing tools.

Construction marketing plan FAQs

Examples of marketing plans in construction include strategies targeting different marketing channels such as construction email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing or paid advertising (like PPC). Construction businesses can advertise their strengths through these channels to increase brand awareness and attract new clients.

Construction marketing plans should include user personas from your target audience, market research to analyze strengths and weaknesses, marketing ideas for different channels and a budget that allows you to attract new customers while retaining a positive return on investment. 

Construction business owners can attract potential clients by developing a marketing strategy that includes outreach through social media platforms and email marketing. Offering your target audience relevant content and testimonials can help attract new business and increase conversions.

A marketing strategy helps a construction company build brand awareness, find new leads, reach potential clients, stand out from competitors and ultimately win more contracts. It also provides a structured approach for marketing teams to allocate resources for digital marketing tactics.

About The Author

Lizzie headshot

Lizzie Long Lizzie Long is a Content Specialist at Buildertrend.

Want to contribute to our blog?

We believe in building a community for construction – sharing is a big part of that. If you have industry expertise or a story to tell, your voice can reach thousands here.