Developing a construction marketing plan and strategy is critical to the success of your organization. The term "marketing" is often misunderstood and used incorrectly. Marketing is much more than selling or advertising. Marketing is the strategic plan that you develop for your organization that looks at your construction company's strengths and weaknesses; the areas in which you have a competitive advantage; the market(s) that you will target your sales focus on; the demographics of your chosen market; and the pricing structure that you plan to use.
While advertising is often confused with marketing (as is strictly selling), it is just one piece of a solid marketing plan. To use a farming analogy, if I may, marketing is akin to analyzing crop prices, field conditions and determining what crop to plant-advertising and public outreach nurtures the seedlings, and selling harvests the results. Each component is a part of the larger strategy and depends on the other for success. As with most issues involving a construction business, planning and preparation are paramount, as well as measuring the results. We can't take a break from fundamental business practices.
It's important to understand the general steps necessary to create and implement a construction marketing plan for your business. The size of the marketing budgets will vary, as will the intended target market. Ultimately the development of a marketing strategy comes down to similar steps that can be used for any size organization. It doesn't need to be expensive, but it must be thorough and thoughtfully analyzed. And it must be articulated to your staff and stakeholders. Your marketing plan, just like your financial plan, must be monitored and adjusted as needed, andit must also be adaptable to changing competitive environments. The construction market looks very, very different today than it