Читать книгу Construction and Contracting Business - Entrepreneur magazine - Страница 16
ОглавлениеCompany logos come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. A few, like the Nike swoosh and McDonald’s golden arches, are so recognizable that the companies don’t need to include their name with the logo. Many professional sports team simply have the swoosh sewn onto their uniforms; viewers instantly identify the logo with Nike. Children riding in the back seat of their parent’s car do not need to be told that a McDonald’s is just past the next intersection; the golden arches (although less prominent in recent years) announce the fact well in advance. These companies have spent millions of dollars establishing worldwide images that are directly linked to their logos.
“If you don’t do it excellently, don’t do it at all. Because if it’s not excellent, it won’t be profitable or fun, and if you’re not in business for fun or profit, what the hell are you doing there?”
—ROBERT TOWNSEND
Unfortunately, small contracting companies do not have the resources to develop and promote such a recognizable logo. However, this fact should not prevent them from presenting a positive image to the public.
The term “marketing” has quite a few definitions, which vary widely depending upon the type of product or service being sold. The marketing strategy for a company selling toothpaste to consumers is much different than that of a company selling steel to automobile companies. However, simply put, “marketing” is any activity that connects producers with consumers. Marketers use knowledge of economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and strategy to project a positive image that increases demand for their products. Most contracting companies concentrate their marketing activities on customer needs, rather than product innovation, which is typical of a service business. They ask, “What do our customers need and how can we efficiently and profitably meet these needs?”
While many aspects of marketing may sound complicated and expensive, there are things that a new contracting company can do to promote itself to prospective customers without employing an expensive public relations company.
fun fact
Nike developed its swoosh logo in the early 1970s. Company founder Phil Knight was facing a deadline and needed a logo. He paid the handsome sum of $35 for the swoosh design, commenting that he didn’t love it. He eventually gave the designer stock in the company. I bet he really loves the logo today.
Get Your Website Up Immediately
The first place most people go to look for products and services providers is the internet. Everyone will want to know where to find you online, which means, like most new businesses today, you will want to have your website posted before even opening for business. Worst case scenario, you don’t go into business and simply take the site down.
Designing a simple site is not difficult, and as your business grows, so can your website. Before designing a site, or asking someone to design one for you, a new business owner should look at the sites of service businesses to get an idea of the look that he or she wants for the website. While you cannot take someone else’s content, you can certainly get the general idea of the layout and perhaps even colors that you want.
Sites should be fairly simple in the early stages since you are new and the lack of familiarity will send customers elsewhere if the site is slow to load or overly cluttered.
Typically your website will contain the following:
tip
Don’t forget, your website is up there day after day. Update it often. Keep it current. Provide fresh content such as recent jobs you’ve completed and any new services or special deals you are offering. Also, be informative and entertaining. For example, provide some handy home maintenance tips that your customers can do for themselves, not to replace your services, of course. If you can do so in an entertaining manner, people will keep coming back to your website often.
Homepage. Photos of your work, a listing of what you offer, areas you serve, and a paragraph on why people want to work with you. Easy links to the other pages on your site (such as your About Us pages), and any relevant company current news is typically found on the homepage. Like the rest of the site, the homepage should take on the colors and concept used elsewhere for your business (such as on business cards, brochures, or anything else you use to promote yourself). You should also include a link to your Facebook page (which is also advised these days) and anywhere else you can be located. For an excellent example from a general contractor’s website, visit the Sherri Builders’ homepage at http://sherribuilders.com.
About Us. Tell your story in a brief and clever way. Read other About Us pages to get an idea of what to say and then in your own words tell the story of how you got started and why. People don’t need your life story, so edit, edit, edit. Keep it to a couple of paragraphs and a photo of yourself and perhaps your team. Don’t be scared to open up a little bit by personalizing the page. We’re living in an age in which people like knowing a little about the people with whom they are doing business.
Gallery. Some pictures of jobs you have completed (with the consent of your clients). Update if you have recent jobs to add.
Press. If anyone has written about you or your business, post, or link to, the story or blog. Hint: save the story on your computer in case the newspaper or magazine goes belly up and the link is no longer viable.
Contact Page. Make sure people can reach you easily. Have your phone number and email available on every page.
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Linking to other sites and having those sites link back to yours is a great way of drumming up business. Look to connect with businesses that compliment yours with similar yet not competitive services or products your customers would benefit from buying.
You can also try to maximize your responses by offering online deals, such as 10 percent off if you respond via email by a certain date. Your goal is to start a dialogue about what contracting needs a client may have and how you can fulfill them in a cost effective way (without underselling yourself).
Once people respond to your website, make a smooth and early transition from emails to a phone call and even an in-person meeting to show them what you can do for them. Of course, you also need to make it clear, on the website, exactly where you do business. If you’re based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for example, someone from Boise, Idaho, probably won’t be in your area.
Also, don’t quote prices on your website, although you can give a range.
Always put the most important data and great photos high up on the pages so that people need not scroll down and down. Also make sure your colors and graphics look good, not only on your computer screen but also on various mobile devices since more and more people are using their cell phones and tablets instead of their laptops. Don’t waste time on fancy graphics that take too long to load. Nobody has time to wait.
There are plenty of web builder sites that will help you build it yourself such as http://web.com, www.wix.com, www.weebly.com, www.godaddy.com, and https://wordpress.com, among others. A couple of sites you might visit that specialize in contractor websites include http://contractorgorilla.com and www.contractorweb.net, or you can hire a web designer. Look for recommendations from other business owners you know. Once you find someone, look at their portfolio of website designs
If you look for a local web designer in your area, make sure to show her other sites that you like, and be sure that she develops a site that is user-friendly and easy to maneuver. It’s your business, so get what you want. Remember, as a service provider your site is a business card of sorts to get them to email or call you; that means you do not need retail features like a shopping cart. Don’t spend money on unnecessary features.
From a technical standpoint, it is important that all pages link easily to the information the individual is seeking. Don’t make visitors to your website jump hurdles to find what they are looking for or they will give up. Check links often to make sure they are still working. Also, you want to try to build a contact list using your website. If you give something away, they may be more than happy to provide their email address so you can reach out to them. Such a giveaway can be anything from a 5 percent discount to the first ten people who book you for a job to a free download of interest to your audience.
warning
Look carefully at the other sites a web designer has done in the past before hiring someone. If they all appear to have a similar style and it’s not what you want, do not assume for a second that this person can deviate from the norm just for you. Habits are hard to break. You need someone who sees your vision, not a variation of her own.
Establishing an Online Presence
As many business owners have learned over the past decade, just because you have a website doesn’t mean people will find it. Even if you optimize your site with keywords, links, and other tricks of the trade, that still doesn’t assure you that people will flock to it. You need to draw people to your website. One way to do so is to build your presence on social media through a Facebook page, Twitter posts, and photos on sites like Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr.
Linking with other retailers and getting your listing in all local online directories also draws attention to your website. You will also want to get yourself on Angie’s List (at https://www.angieslist.com) which can be a godsend to contractors, particularly with local listings that can be read by your potential clients. Of course you need to get positive reviews. The same goes for Yelp (www.yelp.com).
As for your own social media postings, you want to show your expertise in conversations and by helping people who are seeking solutions. Social media is for letting people get to know you, NOT for hard selling. Think of yourself at a party. Would you approach possible customers with a sales pitch or with a polite conversation that touches upon the needs of the person to whom you are talking? Then, if you can work what you do into the conversation more generically, you can let them know what you do.
You can also draw in new business by adding tidbits of clever information, trivia, e-cards, jokes, or anything else relating to the type of contracting your business does. Then spread the word, share with friends or fans, re-tweet comments on Twitter, or post a video on YouTube, but first make sure it’s NOT boring. Then share it by linking to it from your site and through word of mouth. Be creative and generate a buzz. If you can “go viral” to any extent that means those who see it spread the word for you—it’s free promotion! This way your followers and clients help promote your business. Perhaps you create something humorous on how NOT to build, and then show them the correct way in which you could build. Keep it simple, fun, and concise—and make sure your contact info is easy to read.
One successful trick of the trade is to promote your company through the use of free coverage in local newspapers, magazines, in blogs, and on other websites. Many newspapers have a Sunday home improvement section that offers tips and suggestions for home remodeling and landscaping. The editors of these sections are constantly looking for the local expert to assist in the development of articles. A contractor who is mentioned in the article or offers money-saving tips will gain instant credibility as an expert and reach many potential new customers at the same time. One landscaping company in the Midwest volunteered its employees to help eradicate invasive weeds at a local county park. The result was a front page article with several photographs showing the employees spraying the weeds with an herbicide. The only cost to the company was several hours of labor and a bit of chemicals; the goodwill and positive image projected by the company was invaluable. In the eyes of many consumers, this company became the local expert for control of invasive weeds. One of the goals of such an endeavor is to let the community know what the company does in a positive and constructive way. Becoming the local expert who sees a problem and offers a solution will pay dividends well beyond the cost of time spent preparing for the event.
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Look for blogs that include interviews or guest bloggers. While the internet will reach a much broader audience than you need, it will also blanket your community with your expertise, since nearly everyone gets the web without having to go out and buy a newspaper or magazine.
Another approach to marketing and public relations is to offer free services to the community. Local nonprofit organizations hold fundraising events during the year and are constantly looking for items for an auction or a raffle. Contractors with design services can offer their services to help these organizations raise money. Others may donate coupons that offer savings on either products or services. Here again, the cost to the contractor is relatively small and the goodwill very large.
New companies can issue press releases to their local newspapers informing the public of these charitable endeavors. However, press releases can go further as well by announcing what’s new at the company—be it new employees, employee promotions, new products and services, or company milestones.
save
Advertising in the telephone directory can be very expensive for a new business. One way to save money is to list your company’s website address in the directory rather than purchase a display ad. While the future of the printed version of the Yellow Pages is bleak, internet editions are a very important means of promoting yourself. Look for local directories.
For any type of marketing you plan to do, it is essential that you know your customer demographics and the demographics of any media in which you decide to advertise or write articles or blogs. What age range and income bracket is most receptive to your marketing? When posting online or buying ads in magazines or newspapers, what is the circulation and to what age group and income level? Demographics let you know if you are reaching the people who need and could afford your services.
It’s advantageous to get an idea of what other successful contractors have been doing on social media over the past few years. You can learn from those who have been there and done that. See where they post and what type of information they provide about their areas of specialty and for their customers.
You also want to pay attention to the responses you are getting, not only on social media but at review sites like Yelp (www.yelp.com) and Angie’s List (www.angieslist.com). What do people like or dislike about what you are doing? What postings are generating likes? You can learn a lot from your followers and customers. Keep in mind that just as quickly as social media can help you, you may take a negative turn if you get into arguments with those who’ve posted bad reviews, and this can hurt your reputation.
If you get legitimate bad press (based on something that went wrong) you need to be honest, humble, forthright, and apologetic. In short, be ready to put out fires and make amends when necessary.
While the internet is an incredible tool for business, many elderly citizens are not computer savvy and do not use a computer. Many others use the computer and internet for shopping and information, but not to shop for contracting services. For these folks, print advertising is still a valuable tool. Costs vary depending on the type of print media used.
What’s in a Name?
The name you choose for your business should reflect your market niche, identify you and your services, and be easy to say and spell. For example, Habibullaev & Associates is difficult to say and means nothing; on the other hand, Barefoot Lawn Care, one of our favorites, gets its message across immediately and positively. Likewise, Paula’s Petals makes good sense for a florist, but can anyone imagine what Pete’s Photosynthetic Management Group LLC does? Also, make sure your company name can be used on your website—do a search for the domain name that best suits your business name. They should be the same with a .com at the end, or .net if .com is taken. So if your business is Kramer Contracting, you want to be able to use KramerContracting.com, or .net. Search for domain names even before choosing your company name.
A simple approach is to prepare fliers that can be dropped off at individual homes. Some contractors who deliver colorful and informative fliers to all the homes in the neighborhood where they are currently working.
Advertising in major metropolitan newspapers can become very expensive; local community newspapers offer better values, especially for new contractors who wish to limit their services to a small geographical area. These papers periodically print special sections that appeal to home improvement shoppers.
Because magazine readership is significantly down, you may look to post ads in small local circulars or fliers instead. Local community-based websites can often give you a good rate for frequent advertising. Advertising is more significant when seen often, and these smaller, but very localized, publications allow you to get more bang (placements) for your buck. Other options for adverting and promotion include:
Mailings. Typically something like a postcard or a flier can work but be careful; often you do not get enough response to make the process of making something to send—printing it, getting a mailing list together, and taking the time to send it—cost effective.
Placemats or menus at local diners or pizza places. This can be an inexpensive yet effective method. It is estimated by the Entrepreneur Business Idea Center that a 50 seat restaurant uses about 6,000 placemats a month.
Your local Little League team. Sponsoring a team is great way to introduce yourself to the community
Local bulletin boards. Put up a flier at the library, post office, at some restaurants, etc.
By far the best, most successful, and cheapest form of marketing your company is “word of mouth.” A happy client is much more likely to tell his or her friends and neighbors about the great work you’ve done for him than one who merely thought you did an average job. An unhappy client can do more harm to your business than nearly anything else.
Recently, a small contractor surveyed its clients and asked them which medium they were most likely to use when shopping for contracting services. “Word of mouth” was the winner. While small businesses usually cannot carry out in-depth marketing studies, the more they know about their clients, the more chances they’ll have of increasing sales. Knowing your clients’ typical age, approximate income level, and personal preferences allows you to tailor your products and services to meet their particular needs. As mentioned earlier, learn about your customer demographics.
Several techniques can be used to increase the chances that a client will give your company a good recommendation. Chapter 10 discusses relationships with clients in more detail, but from a marketing aspect the following are critical to creating and maintaining an excellent reputation:
Communicate with the client. All clients appreciate knowing that their project is the most important one you are working on. Also leave them your business card (with your phone number and your website and email address on it).
Present a professional image. Employees in the field should look and dress like professionals. The best way to achieve this is to require that employees wear clean uniforms while on the job. The uniforms do not have to be fancy or expensive. T-shirts with your company logo are usually acceptable, but they must be clean and well maintained. Smoking while on the job should be limited to breaks. (If you can get away with it, we suggest prohibiting all smoking during the workday.) Finally, vehicles should be well maintained, clean, and the same color. Remember the fraudulent asphalt sealers in the Preface? Their van was rusty and had no name or logo on the side; most likely it spewed black, smelly exhaust as they drove off with poor Mr. Jones’s money.
Train employees, and discuss with subcontractors the importance of showing respect to your clients. It’s important that whoever is working on your behalf understand that you don’t really pay their wages—the client does. While working at the job site, your employees should be able to answer basic questions posed by the client. If they do not know the answer to a question, they must tell the client that they don’t know but will either find the answer or refer it to someone in the company who can answer it. Typically they should be able to text or call you, or someone else in the company, to get the answers. Clients appreciate both diligence and honesty; your employees must have both. Your reputation is on the line.
Enter (and win) awards competitions. Many contracting business associations have annual competitions that allow members to display their best work; the best are often recognized at an awards banquet. Preparing for an awards competition can be time-consuming and expensive, but shortcuts cannot be taken when preparing an entry. These competitions are usually judged by a panel of your industry peers who know a substandard job when they see it. The publicity that results from winning an award is priceless because clients love doing business with companies that are among the best in their field.
Sign Up
There are a lot of associations and organizations covering all types of contractors. If you search online for associations for contractors you’ll find government, independent, roofing, electrical, drilling, and many more associations. Some are quite large, such as the Associated Builders and Contractors of America (at www.ABC.org), with over 20,000 chapter members. Membership in associations enhances your credibility, plus they can help you get answers to questions in your industry and provide guidance on legal or financial issues.
While everyone strives for success, too much of a good thing can occasionally lead to problems that overwhelm a business. Each business should strive for a professional and successful marketing and public relations campaign; but each business must also be able to meet the demands that might be generated from successful advertising. Some businesses find themselves in a situation where they are growing faster than their ability to provide quality and timely service. Anticipation of growth before it occurs will help prevent potential bottlenecks in providing goods and services to your clients. In particular, rapidly growing companies often find themselves in trouble in some or all of the following areas:
Lack of skilled foremen and workers. This weakness makes it difficult to complete projects with the expected high quality.
Scheduling conflicts. Most clients do not want to wait eight or ten weeks for the commencement of their project, but some fast-growing contractors make unrealistic promises for project start dates.
Shortage of tools and equipment needed to complete the project. This situation often results in the purchase of equipment beyond the amount budgeted or the need to rent expensive equipment on a short-term basis.
Cash flow. Can the business keep up with expenditures? Increased business usually requires an increase in outlays for materials and labor, so the company must improve efforts to collect funds from clients.
A contracting company must understand these potential pitfalls and make contingency plans in the event that business activity grows “too fast.” Rapid growth does not always follow successful marketing campaigns, but the company that fails to plan for it may become a statistic on the “business failures” list. There was a television commercial running that showed a group of employees press the button that launched their website. Then within moments, they got flooded with responses. At first they were thrilled, but then their initial smiles of success turned into worried expressions as they wondered what they would do to accommodate all the clients they received. In the real world, many businesses that signed up on Groupon, and other discount sites, got more customers than they could handle and found themselves in all sorts of water—in some instances they even ran themselves out of business. So, before you spread the word far and wide, make sure you have enough employees and/or subcontractors to handle the potential workload.
Marketing is any activity that connects producers with consumers.
Self-promotion is an excellent and inexpensive way to advertise your business.
You should have your website designed and posted before you open your company.
Word of mouth is the number-one way most contracting companies find new clients.
Understanding the potential pitfalls of extremely rapid growth makes good business sense.
The use of social media can be a great way of attracting new customers as well as maintaining good communications with existing clients.
Make sure you can accommodate the workload that you may receive from advertising and marketing your services.
