Effective Inbound Marketing Strategy for the building and construction industry

In this short guide, we discuss the strategies and tactics that you should be considering in 2024.

Let’s start by asking you a question…

How did you find this article? At a guess, you searched on Google for something like “construction industry marketing” or maybe you clicked on one of our LinkedIn posts? Perhaps you already know our agency, and a well-written email piqued your interest?

For years, the sales model employed by businesses and manufacturers in the construction industry has relied heavily for sales on face-to-face relationships with specifiers, merchants, contractors and other partners. But times are changing rapidly, and the businesses that grow successfully in the next few years will need to have a much stronger emphasis on both their brand message and digital experience.  And just as our own campaign drew your attention to this article, we can help your marketing team create an effective and sustainable digital marketing strategy.

Let’s talk the 95:5 Rule

In B2B, it’s generally accepted that only 5% of your potential market is actively looking for a supplier or partner at any given time. The other 95% either aren’t aware of your company, haven’t connected your brand with their project needs, or simply aren’t ready to engage just yet.

Demand generation campaigns are all about building long-term brand equity. Each time you activate lead generation efforts, your combined efforts will incrementally increase your sales potential.

Demand Generation in Action

Here’s what this looks like in practice:

  • Blogging: Focused on construction and building trends, challenges, and innovative solutions.
  • SEO: Optimising your website for relevant searches.
  • Content Marketing: Craft case studies showcasing your expertise, product range,  and share technical expertise through the use of white papers on relevant industry topics.
  • Social Media Marketing: Connecting with architects,  contractors and installers on the platforms they use.
  • Industry Events: Attending in-person or online events to build brand awareness and network.
  • Intelligent data sources: Pulling from trusted data sources to understand who is interested now and might be in the future

From Leads to Clients: Lead Generation

Here’s how to nurture those leads into high-value prospects:

  • Gated Content: Offer exclusive e-books or webinars in exchange for contact information.
  • Paid Search & Social Ads: Reach a wider audience searching for building and construction services and products.
  • Email Nurturing: Educate and build relationships with leads through targeted email campaigns.

The Marketing Tech Stack

A robust marketing automation platform like HubSpot or Pardot, integrated with your CRM (like Salesforce), is essential. These platforms streamline data flow, manage key activities and workflows, and allow you to create landing pages, email journeys, and manage paid advertising.

Know your audiences inside out 

A deep understanding of your target audience is crucial. Analyse existing customer data and create audience profiles (personas) that define goals, challenges, and preferred communication channels. Artificial Intelligence can be a helpful tool in creating detailed buyer personas.

You can find out more about how we create data driven AI personas here.

Planning for Success: Building Your Marketing Strategy

You need to find a B2B marketing agency who specialises in the construction industry. They need the credentials and expertise to plan strategically, create first-class content, plan your media, and produce innovative creative ideas. Get buy-in from your senior management, product teams, and sales teams.

The right agency will create templates for emails, landing pages, digital ads, and social media posts. They’ll also establish automated workflows that nurture leads with relevant construction-specific content.

Launching your campaign 

The right agency will help manage your media budget and ensure the frequency and relevance of content is exactly right for your audience. Creativity and high-quality content are crucial – strategy alone won’t win contracts.

Keep testing! The Power of A/B Testing

A well-organised marketing system allows for A/B testing of ideas and content. This helps determine which strategies resonate best with your target audience.

Think creatively!

Creative thinking and high-quality content are essential to standing out from the competition. A knowledgeable and creative agency partner can be invaluable in these areas.

A bit about us

Cite specialises in working with brands in the building and construction sectors – we’ve been doing it for over 20 years after all. 

We work with construction companies of all shapes and sizes. Some are the big, familiar names like Saint-Gobain, Knauf and Sika, but there’s also an awful lot of smaller specialists.

Because we understand the challenges that your sector faces, you can be sure that when you’re ready to push ahead, we’re going to be able to move quickly.

Our approach is to unify your brand strategy, user experience, and performance marketing efforts. This translates to comprehensive support throughout the entire marketing funnel. We can assist with everything from developing a strong brand message to crafting compelling website design and content, and implementing data-driven marketing campaigns to maximise your return on investment.