Construction marketing is about ?building your brand? and building your brand is all about building trust between your business and potential new clients. Not surprisingly, business-to-business marketing has many similarities with how humans relate to each other and become friends or (even stronger) find spouses or mates. Ultimately, a machine won?t decide who does business with your organization; it will be an individual or small group (led by a leader, with input from others in the purchasing organization.)
These observations suggest your marketing success will be highest if you can make your ?marketing personality? as appealing as possible to your potential clients. If they sense a good fit, if they feel comfortable and trust in you, they are more likely to give you their business.
The question is, then, how do you discover and build their trust.
Clearly, it helps to know what your potential clients? interests and values are and ensure your marketing message aligns with them. As well, you want to avoid jarring inconsistencies except in special circumstances as attention-getting devices. You need to convey integrity and you need to be accessible, but not appear desperate for the business. Sometimes you need to be assertive and ask for the business (it can depend on your potential client base) but rarely is it helpful to be pushy. However, persistence (in a positive sort of way) can lead to magical and highly effective results.
One thing you don?t need to be is the life of the party, perfectly cool and absolutely flawless in every regard (unless you really are that way). If you are truthful, authentic, ?human?, sensitive and aware of your environment, you will probably achieve more success in marketing than any canned approach you pick up from a marketing book ? or blog.
That is why I advocate linking your marketing to your strengths, your passions and your values. You?ll be real and of course far more effective than if you think you need to follow the path set by others. Be yourself and put aside the cliches of what you think is ?effective marketing? to connect and build trust with potential clients without stress or frustration (and usually without great expense.)
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