[16-20] The Details – Twenty Low-Cost Ways To Market Your Company

This is the fourth and final sequel to the post “Twenty Low-Cost Ways To Market Your Company”. This post further explains the points 16-20 of the article: Getting to know our trades, attending builder shows, utilizing your local home shows, belonging to organizations, and continuing education.


16. Visit with your trades

Almost everyone uses at least a few of the trades.  Your tradespeople make your business work.  For some contractors who are 100% sub-contracting, it is the most important part of their company.

A good relation with a trade can last a lifetime.  You need to understand their importance and let them know that you appreciate them and their good work.  If your treat your trades well and pay them on time, you’ll get great performance.  They’ll make your jobs a priority.  They’ll show up on time and do their best work for you.  They’ll follow the company rules.  And they’ll treat your clients with respect.  Get to know them.  Take them to lunch every once in a while.  Get to know their families.  The payback is huge.

17. Attend trade shows like the International Builders’ Show and the Remodeling Show

I know that I’ve mentioned this several times before, but that’s because I really believe that these shows can build your business.  Their value lies in the education you receive from seminars, learning about products and getting to the know the product reps.

Don’t think of these shows as an expense.  Put a few thousand in the annual budget for conferences.  Or you could sit tight at your office and hope that your company will grow without putting in the effort it deserves.  I can testify that these conferences will pay you back many times over.  Over the last thirty years I’ve been to hundreds of shows and conferences and I always come out ahead.  You’ll be a better planner, a better leader, and a better salesperson. Now you’ll be the smartest remodeler in town.

18. Set up a booth at your local Home Show

I don’t know what it’s like in your town, but in my experience there is not much competition here.  Very few builders and remodelers actually set up a booth and tell people about their superior services.  Many specialty contractors will set up a booth, and honestly, many of them have a more tangible product to sell than general remodelers.  A general remodeler is always selling the intangible, the dream.  You have your reputation, your image and whatever photos or videos you have collected over the years.  It is up to you to present all these in a way that will catch the potential client’s (PC’s) attention.  Photo display boards, brochures, your favorite products, written testimonials and videos will make a good impression.  Builders and designers have a real hill to climb.  We have to sell what we in the south call “a pig in a poke”.  We sell something that doesn’t even exist yet.  No wonder that we have to be such great salespeople.
For those who don’t want to set up their own booth, for whatever reason, here’s what many people do in our remodeler’s council.  They set up a big fancy booth for the Remodeler’s Council, put out a few tables with cards and videos running, and work that booth.  Everyone takes turns running the booth, usually two or three at a time.  This has garnered a lot of business for our members, at no cost at all.
So budget a few hundred dollars and a long weekend on your feet, and you have the potential to make thousands of dollars in profit.  At the very least, attend the show and talk to as many vendors and trades as possible.  That in itself can be very good marketing.

19. Get on one or more boards outside of your field

We all attend meetings where we are “preaching to the choir”.  We go to our association meetings, and pow-wow with our builder buddies.  This is usually our comfort zone and we’d like to stay there.  We are with people who understand us and have similar backgrounds.  Unfortunately they won’t be sending a lot of business your way.

Join the Chamber of Commerce and go to their meetings.  At Chamber meetings you are not only with business people who aren’t in your business field, you are with professionals who can afford and need your services.

Be on board of directors that aren’t related to your business. These might be a preservation group in your town, or be a part of a commission that is part of the city government.  Don’t overextend yourself.  Get on boards that meet no more than once a month, and that don’t overburden you with duties.  You still have a business to run, and that is your main focus.  These boards can be a lot of fun, and you get to meet people you never would have met.  Your network just keeps growing.

20. Read trade journals and magazine articles about your trade

Contractors of choice know a lot about their industry.  That’s because they are immersed in their trade.  They read and study and discuss building all the time.
In today’s world there are numerous trade magazines and journals that will keep you up to date on the latest products, trends and building methods.  Subscribe to a few magazines and read them.  Many are free and most are delivered electronically now.  The Journal of Light Construction is one of the best hands-on magazines on the market.    Here’s a good starting place to get some great publications.

Thanks for reading these 20 tips to improve your marketing plan.  If you want business in today’s marketplace, these tips will definitely work for you.  They work in any economy.  Carry out all 20 of these marketing tips and you will be the contractor of choice in your community.

I’m sure you have some ideas and tips of your own.  Please share them with all of us by leaving a comment or two on RemodelerBiz.com.  Thanks and good luck.