Here are three alternative approaches to architectural, engineering and construction industry marketing. Which applies to you?
I advertise extensively.
You spend a significant amount of money each month to promote your business with paid advertising in magazines, newspapers, the Web and perhaps television and radio. You measure the effectiveness of your media, but you aren’t worried about immediate results — single ads don’t usually work on their own; the process is cumulative. Your marketing budget is perhaps in the 10s of thousands of dollars each month. Media sales reps love you because you’ll try new things and not be fearful to sign ongoing advertising contracts.
I market strategically, with a real budget, but focus on relationship development and the client experience,
You might spend as much money (as a portion of your overall business revenue) on marketing as the first group of advertising-focused marketers, but the process to an outsider is more subtle: ‘Thank you’ programs for existing clients, hired public relations and communication specialists; planned community and charitable projects and association membership and support, and investment in CRM (Client Relations Management) systems and staff training to create “wow” client experiences.
I rely on word of mouth, repeat business, and open bid competitions (in other words, I don’t really market).
You might buy the occasional ad because a salesperson calls and suggests you support a charity or existing client and you may spend a little money haphazardly here and there on marketing because you have to or are desperate. Advertising, you think, is a waste of money, and it usually is when you spend it the way you do. Marketing, you believe if BS — just do a good job at a fair price and you’ll have enough business.
Since my business earns 95 per cent of its revenue from advertising, you might think that I advocate that you should go to the first model. Ironically, most of our clients are in the third: They are haphazard and not very smart about how they spend money on marketing and advertising. I started this blog and wrote my book to help them but few get it. (When I communicate directly with clients offering additional support and resources — making clear I am not simply trying to sell them more advertising — the only ones who respond are generally in the first and/or second categories. They don’t need the services/support but understand its reasoning and value.)
In fact, I think the second approach, a thoughtful, client-centred but but budgeted approach to marketing, is truly the wisest approach. Paid advertising can certainly be part of the picture, especially if you wish to connect with consumers rather than other businesses, but other approaches to marketing focusing on extending and expanding existing client relationships asre probably much more cost-effective and can be a lot more enjoyable. Best of all, this approach works beneath the surface of your competitors’ radar, giving you incredible control and power in developing your “stealth” and pinpoint effectiveness. The potential clients who you really want to serve know you are the best, but others you don’t care to have any business with don’t even know you are there.
The challenge is the second approach is probably the hardest to execute if you don’t know what you are doing. Advertising sales representatives and marketing consultants who work for “free” but collect their fees from media commissions or other third party-sources are unlikely to be too helpful in the broader approach. Your competitors who practice these principals won’t exactly broadcast their secrets. And you still must face the fact that this is not a route based on instant gratification: You can’t simply pick up the phone, buy the adverting, and then wait for the leads and clients to emerge. It takes work and time which you will rationally justify takes you away from billable work and immediate revenue.
You can get there by reading, learning, connecting with non-competitive peers, and doing it yourself (with a clear budget). This approach, in fact, is the wisest route if you are just starting out in business. Or you can contract with consultants or specialized employees who will do the heavy lifting for you. Here, you need to know enough to know who to hire/contract and who is stringing you along with BS (telling you what you want to hear, and delivering what you say you want, even though it isn’t really what you really need.)
In my business, I know only of two or three people who practice the first version of marketing effectively and perhaps a small handful who succeed at the second approach. Most of these businesses are successful and have lasted through several recession ups and downs. (A few in the first category have flamed out; they were pouring huge amounts into advertising and marketing but weren’t playing by the rules: Scratch the surface, and you would find a hollow or unethical underbelly. I recall visiting one of these big advertisers/marketers in prison, confirming from that meeting that he belonged there.)
If you are like most in the architectural, engineering and construction industry, you probably fall into the third category. I suppose if your approach “works” nothing I suggest will cause you to rush to change. But you can move into the second category, which I believe takes you further along the path of success than any alternative with some thought, a reasonable budget and a commitment to combine patience, persistence and measuring (metrics) to achieve results. I show you how in my book and will describe the process in greater detail at the July 8 Webinar. (Early-bird discount ends tomorrow.)