Ask yourself this essential question concerning the success of your company: "Is your advertising putting you out of business?" It should be obvious that poor advertising can cost your company tons of business. However, great advertising can put you out of business even faster. Yes, you read that right.
An old joke in the advertising business is: if your company isn't very good, then good advertising will get that word out faster and put you out of business sooner. It's absolutely critical that your advertising and company performance match. Your advertising can then attract the right prospects who place high value on what your company does well, leading to happy clients and ongoing work through repeat customers and referrals. Referrals are a powerful way to grow your business because word of mouth advertising by past and present clients is the most effective advertising.
While advertising is critical to a company's success, its purpose is often misunderstood. Advertising should create awareness and familiarity. To achieve these goals, the advertising must first reach the prospect and then resonate with the prospect. Advertising is not designed to sell, especially in the construction industry where the sale may be millions of dollars, but instead it should be designed to educate the prospect.
Reaching the Prospect
Jack Trout and Al Ries stated in their marketing book classic, Positioning, that "positioning is the battle for your mind." Studies have indicated that a prospect must see a company's advertising at least nine times before a comfort level is established with the company. Complicating matters, the average prospect will only see approximately a third of the company's ads. So, a company must run an ad at least twenty-seven times to maximize the impact of an advertising campaign, Contractors must be committed to their advertising. A simple message repeated over and over is more powerful than a complex message delivered only a few times.
I'm sure most people have heard the statement, "Bad publicity is better than no publicity." This is true because people tend to forget the context in which they heard the name. I'm not advocating that you seek bad publicity, but I am reinforcing the importance of getting your name out there. This is why job signs are so powerful. When a prospect sees your name every day as he drives by one of your projects, your company's name recognition is increased in his mind. However, successful advertising requires more than name recognition. It demands the right message.
The Right Message
For advertising to be truly successful it must be part of a well‑planned marketing campaign that communicates a consistent message. Harvard professor Michael Porter defines marketing as "anything you do to get and keep a customer." This means your operations are part of your marketing campaign, and your advertising must match your operations. Good advertising promotes what your company does well. Yet, too often the necessary connection between advertising and operations doesn't exist. Too many contractors advertise what they think customers want to hear and then fail to deliver on promises.
There are two problems with this kind of advertising. First, you don't attract the right prospects. Second, the prospects that you do attract will not be satisfied with your performance because they had different expectations. The first situation is bad enough because it creates lost opportunities. However, the second situation is a disaster because it creates unhappy customers who will spread negative publicity about your company. You may be a great contractor, but if your services don't match the client's expectations, you are in trouble.
For example, if you are a contractor that takes extreme pride in craftsmanship, you may let the schedule slip in order to perform the work just right. But, if the client's most important consideration was timely delivery, you will have an unhappy client no matter how great the craftsmanship.
The second key to effective advertising is that it must be about your prospect, not your company. I often tease my audience at speaking engagements by stating, "All contractors lie." After a few nervous laughs, I go around the room and ask the contractors what they tell prospects about their services. The simple answer I hear, "We're the best." However, by definition, there is only one best, which means all the contractors but one are lying. And, they might all be lying if the best contractor is not in even in the room. Of course, clients don't consider this lying. It's like when both athletes say each will win before a game. We expect these statements. Therefore saying you're the best has little, if any, impact on the prospective client. You must prove it through actions, not words.
Measurement
The key to high performance is measuring your company's performance. But what should you measure? The Performance Based Research Studies Group at Arizona State under Dean Kashiwagi, Ph.D., has learned after thirteen years of research that the following eight factors are critical to measure:
- Ability to manage the project cost (minimize change orders)
- Ability to maintain project schedule (complete on time or early)
- Quality of workmanship
- Professionalism and ability to manage, including responses and prompt payment to suppliers and subcontractors
- Close out process (no punch list items, warranty documents, as-builts, operating manuals, tax clearance)
- Communication, explanation of risk and documentation
- Ability to follow the user's rules, regulations and requirements (housekeeping, safety, etc.)
- Overall customer satisfaction and comfort with rehiring the contractor on the basis of performance
To be a high-performing contractor you must monitor the above critical factors. You should have your clients evaluate you on these eight items after every project. They should rate you from one to ten (ten being the best) on each question. You should seek to achieve at least an eight on every item. The items that you consistently receive tens on are the items you should promote in your advertising.
Why? Because you will be attracting clients that place high value on the items you perform well. When you match or exceed their expectations, you will receive high grades along with additional work and/or referrals.
It was said earlier that you have to prove your ability through action instead of words. Use testimonials to do this in advertising,. In essence, let your happy clients speak about your past performance, not you.
Your advertising copy should demonstrate your expertise, and then let clients provide the proof that you do what you say. By demonstrating your expertise, you build a relationship with the prospect-something you can't achieve when attempting to sell them.
For example, there is a high-end men's clothing store in Philadelphia, PA, called Boyd's. Their most successful ad was one where they simply told men how to buy a suit. The only mention of the store was the address and phone number at the bottom of the ad. Therefore, if your emphasis is on timely delivery, list five to ten things that should be done to insure projects are delivered on time. Then, add a quote or two from past clients on how you delivered a critical project on time. Their endorsement demonstrates your past performance.
Poor advertising or advertising that is misdirected is expensive because there is no payback. However, when you incorporate your advertising into a company-wide marketing concept, it's no longer an expense-it moves into the investment category. To achieve great advertising results, follow this simple step-by-step approach:
- 1) Understand what you do well.
- 2) Seek out clients that value that skill.
- 3) Know the client's expectations.
- 4) Target clients with proof of your performance in their areas of expectation.
- 5) Deliver as promised.
- 6) Start hiring more people to handle all the new work.
A final bit of advice, don't try to be everything to everyone. While you should be good in all eight areas, focus on the one or two items that offer the greatest potential for your company. This allows you to deliver a more focused and powerful message. If you are performing well in all eight areas, the word on the street will be that you are a great contractor and you will get more than your share of prospects contacting you. However, if you are considered the expert on scheduling, you will get nearly all the projects that have a tight schedule, often at a premium price.
If you follow this step-by-step approach, your advertising budget will be well spent.
Construction Business Owner, June 2006
