Construction Marketing Tools

I want to introduce you to a couple of very important construction marketing tools which can be used by Building Contractors and Construction Consultants alike. The reason most construction companies do not keep a record is usually because they think they hold all of this information in their heads or they are just too lazy!  Another reason will be simple. “It’s just not a part of their Marketing Plan.” Wasted opportunities are plentiful when it comes to marketing your building company effectively. Apply these standards  to your marketing operation and see the benefits grow in your marketing activity. I have focussed on these two helpful spreadsheets which provide quality analysis for your construction business. Alongside these tools a robust Marketing Audit should be carried out and referenced regularly. The Marketing Audit is a vital tool for consultants and contractors alike.

Tender Register

Every construction company should keep a tender register. That inventory is a very important element within your marketing tool-kit. It does two things for your business. Firstly, it helps to measure how competitive you are as a building contractor. Second, it gives you Mr Builder an overview of all work providers who are sending you enquiries, how many enquiries are coming through your door or in-box and most important how economical you are in pricing the work. A great reference tool and more.

Using this key Marketing Tool

Instead of complaining that you have not had a response to your tender submission, (which you invariably won’t) rather pick up the phone and request feedback from the Architect, QS or decision maker. Learn to ask questions which may well give you the edge next time.

How many contractors were on the tender list?
Ask for a breakdown of the tender prices. You need to add Lowest price to the table below.
They may even highlight areas where you were more competitive. e.g. Your drainage may have been low whereas your electrics were 20% higher than others.
What other opportunities will be coming up next and when? In the diagram below is a section of a Tender Register.

You will also be able to monitor how many tenders come in through each work source. In the above diagram it seems that our contractor is most competitive when pricing work under £200K. This of course will provide a much clearer picture over a period of months. It may be that you are set up as a company to price residential work more competitively than education work because you have a better track record in residential. There is a lot of helpful information that can be gleaned from the Tender Register. Do you use one?

Another Excellent Tool

You may have a mental picture of how work providers see your business. But, do you know exactly what type of work is most profitable for you as a contractor? In which value bands are you most competitive? What is your conversion rate? If you keep a spreadsheet of tender enquiries you will know at a glance.

 

The above chart is used as a spreadsheet to refer to when reviewing your tender pricing trends. You might want to add a list of those estimators pricing the works. This will indicate who is converting most of your workload. If you are winning most of your work under £100K and you want to increase the size of projects you win between 100-200K then you need to take the necessary action to achieve this. I think there are times when the work providers perceive your company as small and will only send you jobs to price that are under £50K.

 

“Marketing is a contest for people’s attention.”
  –  Seth Godin

 

 

It is important for your marketing to have this information at hand. There are many variations but as you can see there is huge value in using this information to benefit your business. I have found these tools very helpful in giving me a good grasp of how effective my marketing is and where it needs to be adapted. See you soon…