Plumbing and plumber marketing: The accidental discovery

A search of Google keywords "Plumbing Marketing" leads you to plumbermarketing.com, not Adam Hudson's Plumbingmarketing.com, which I discovered yesterday. Why?Yesterday, I reported on my discovery of some really useful resources at Adams Hudson's Plumbingmarketing.com site (one of a network of sites he operates from Alabama.) But what do you find when you key in "Plumbing marketing" without quotes on Google?Another site, plumbermarketing.com has first ranking (at least from my Canadian base, but using the global Google search engine, not its "Canadian" version. That takes us to this site, whose domain is owned by Torske & Sterling Pty...

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An accidental discovery

A screen shot of Adam Hudson's "squeeze page". The free offers are worthwhile.Sometimes in business you find really interesting things by accident. Yesterday evening, I uncovered some really great resources (and lessons for my own marketing library) from Adam Hudson, including two well-written free papers, "Double Your Yellow Pages Leads" and "51 Can't Miss Contractor Marketing Tips". He also offers a bi-weekly newsletter.In reading through these materials, I felt somewhat humbled because they are both well written and easy-to-implement.For example, consider his concluding points (48-51): "Top Smartest Marketing Moves for the Year."Design...

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Marketing maturity

Some people just "get it " from a young age. They understand the basics of human and personal relationships and responsibility, have a solid (and realistic) self-esteem, naturally focusing their lives with great relationships, enjoyment and achievement.Others never get it. They blame other people for their problems, are often filled with hate, unstable relationships, and destruction, or simply apathy.Finally, some learn the answers through sometimes tortuous paths.I'm in the latter group. Nothing comes easy for me in social and personal relationship (marketing) skills except perhaps for two gifts, my ability to keyboard really rapidly, and...

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Finding your ideal client

This can be easier said than done, but one of your primary marketing challenges is to focus your energies, resources, and strategies on building the trust and respect of your "ideal" potential client.I put "ideal" in quote marks because this person (or organization if you are selling to other businesses), is not always as easy to find as you would like, and isn't always what it seems at first sight.Nevertheless, if you have been in business for a while, you probably know who your ideal clients are: You probably can look at your current client list, and quickly find the top 20 per cent -- in loyalty, profitability, ease of service, and enjoyment.The...

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The Marketing funnel

Conventional sales practice requires you to process many "leads" before you find the gem of real business. Not-very-good salespeople (or not terribly effective businesses) then instruct their sales representatives to "make the numbers" by calling and calling, emailing and emailing, and knocking and knocking on doors. A few thrive within this cold approach to business development -- but most either become drones or burn out and move on to something better, quickly.Undoubtedly, this approach to finding business actually is effective, to a point. Since it is so distasteful and frustrating to encounter rejection, few bother to go through all the...

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Your three most important construction marketing priorities

You have limited time and resources. Where should you focus your marketing attention, and how?Here are three fundamentals which, I believe, should reflect about 80 per cent of your marketing energies.Know and understand your current and recent clients (and the ones that left for the competition).The ongoing Construction Marketing Ideas poll, How do you attract most of your business?, shows that 34 per cent of this blog's readers obtain most of their business from repeat clients -- and 39 per cent from referrals. So you really need to know your clients, on two levels: How they relate and feel about your service, and who they are: Their likes,...

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A training video

Just for fun . . .Discovered this on the remodelcrazy.com si...

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Two (new) places on the construction marketing spectrum

I've just posted a couple of worthy permalinks, representing two places on the spectrum in this blog's readership.In the first, Chicago-based Anne Scarlett of Scarlett Consulting reports in her Scarlett Letter blog on some intriguing and high level AEC Marketing issues. Consider, for example, her recent posting where she offers some thoughts on what professional firms measure in assessing bonuses and achievements.Earlier this year, I delivered a session to the SMPS Southern Regional Conference. I met a gentleman (Greg) in the audience that works for a large, multi-disciplined engineering firm (XYZ Engineering). I don’t have their exact revenue...

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How much should you spend on construction marketing -- and where? (2)

In my last posting, I answered the first part of the question with a one-size-fits-all answer, suggesting the percentage of resources for marketing (and sales) should be 5 to 25 per cent of your projected sales.Of course, this is a wide range -- because the allocation depends on your business. Your most important concern should occur if your marketing allocations are above and below this range: If it is above, I can't see how your business can be sustainable unless you are ripping off your current clients, and if it is below, I can't see how you can retain any meaningful future business.The next part of the question, "Where?" suggests a hierarchy...

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How much should you spend on construction marketing -- and where?

If you think I will offer a simple and fast solution to the question posed in this thread's title, you will need to be patient, or truly believe that superficial answers can apply to all businesses, in all circumstances. Nevertheless, I'll suggest some general guidelines here which may help you as you start framing your marketing budget (which you should co-ordinate with overall resources and capacities.)(For this blog, I'm including "marketing" and "sales" expenses in the same rubric. You can be more specific in the allocations -- in which case, you would put the cost of lead generation and indirect supporting activities into "marketing" and...

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Tricks, gimmicks, and shortcuts

This comment I received overnight (about 2 a.m. EDT) certainly seemed flattering.Dude, GREAT blog. This whole site that you have set up is top-notch. Well done. I stumbled across it as I was looking for an article on general contractors.I’m really looking forward to reading all of your archives. Terrific job, keep it up!However, my sixth sense immediately told me something didn't ring right here. Why would anyone write such flattering remarks for an old posting relating to the Ontario General Contractors' Association? Must be, I ultimately correctly deduced, an effort by someone to steal a back link through a form of comment spam/management.However,...

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Trust, "scams" and the Great Game of Construction Marketing

Bruce in the PSMJ Resources Blog uses the story of the late Walter Cronkite's influence in ending the Vietnam war to validate the power of trust in marketing. Meanwhile, a few days earlier, Matt Handel in Help Everybody Everyday posts a couple of videos of Brian Brushwood's presentation at SXSW Interactive 09 with a rather direct title "How to Scam Anybody". Bushwood explains how scammers -- and marketers -- use psychological manipulation techniques to influence results, and get what they want.For many of this blog's readers, of course, Walter Cronkite is some old figure from the past. You may have been a little kid when he disappeared from...

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Slogans

In this video, marketing guru Al Ries explains some of the basics of successful slogans.I've enjoyed this lengthy contractortalk.com thread, Company Slogans. Some are downright hilarious -- and some efforts at "slogans" are so laden with cliche, they are beyond boring.This comment by "Dick", a Minnesota-based masonry consultant, succinctly describes the core of a good slogan.Slogans are worthless if they are the usual, trite ones about how good I am or where it work(s).A good slogan is remembered to trigger a future solution for a project or problem . . .Sort of like logos that say nothing, but are remembered and recognized.One great and insane one was in Virginia Beach - "It it does not go down, call Brown" - Everyone remembered that one even if they did not have a sewage problem. If they...

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How important is it to be first on Google?

This chart showing the importance of high ranking on Google is published in Distribution of Clicks on Google's SERPs at seoresearcher.com, October 26, 2006.How important is it for your architectural, engineering or construction business to be in first place with relevant keywords for organic Google searches?The answer is "very" if you consider two important elements, the percentage of searches that rely on Google, and the amount of attention given to the top position on the search rank compared with others, even on the first page of organic search listings, at least if you can believe one widely quoted study from Cornell University researchers...

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Balance and change

Construction marketing, I believe, is both a science and an art. You defy all probabilities of success if you fail to observe some basic rules (or laws), but if you think that just following the rules will solve your marketing challenge, you will most likely be disappointed.Consider, for example, the challenge in stretching or ignoring industry norms. In the non-residential community, general contractors will rarely select their subtrades without inviting competitive bids. You might be lucky (or experienced) enough to be consistently invited to be a member of a reasonably small short list, but, even then, if you wish the job, you have to have...

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Personal, business, or both

This image of a construction worker at Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, is relevant to the business, but does the viewing of some construction sites make the family vacation over the Christmas holidays a business trip? Not in this case: We kept our costs rock-bottom low, but used personal not business funds to pay for the vacation.Successful entrepreneurs rarely truly separate their personal and business lives. If you start your business because of your passion, skills, and drive for the business, you can't just "leave it at the office" when your work day ends. This isn't that bad, of course, if you are married to someone who shares your...

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Blogger or Wordpress

Clay Posey of Mychiefmarketingofficer.net, who is helping me on developing and managing leads, shares the perspective of Hubspot that business bloggers should always host their own blog rather than rely on external services such as blogger. He outlines his reasons in his personal Marketing Fusion Blog posting. (A screenshot of my own 'holding' Wordpress blog at constructionmarketingideas.com is on the right.)I agree, in part, but think this issue is on the weaker side of the 80/20 rule; that is, 80 per cent of the value and business you create is in 20 per cent of your activities, or (conversely), 80 per cent of your frustrations and problems...

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Passion and marketing

Participants share a moment at the Greater Ottawa Home Builders' Association Golf Tournament earlier this year. If you enjoy golfing, and have products or services to market, association events like this can be invaluable for building your business (and you'll have fun while you play.)Some of the saddest people I've seen are older (or for that matter younger) people who are working because they "have to"; for the money, for survival. Sometimes this situation is through no fault of their own, or is a trade-off for something better for the future. I have great respect for immigrants, for example, who take on menial jobs to create a future for...

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Consulting: Which way to turn

I'm sure most contractors (and for that matter, publishers like me) would not mind earning $250 an hour or more as a consultant. It's pretty good money for sharing your knowledge, insights, and experience.The question of course, is it worth spending that kind of cash especially when things are tight and your business is faltering?The answer, of course, is "it depends".If you are fortunate enough to find an honorable consultant who minimizes his time waste and knows how to help you solve your problem, the hourly fee is not only reasonable, it could be your wisest bargain.But you can also get caught in the trap of paying large dollars for self-serving...

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