4 Essential Email Marketing Tactics for Construction Companies TWEET ME
CONTENTS 05 Introduction 07 So Why Start with Email? 08 Target Your Audiences 10 Structure Your Content 11 Time Your Content 12 Fine-Tune Your CTAs 14 Conclusion 2 EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION Created by Hopkins from the Noun Project
Introduction Construction companies are notoriously slow to adopt digital marketing tactics and strategies that are considered standard among other verticals. In fact, based on a poll from McKinsey & Company, construction is one of the least digitized industries to date. Even during the build process, there tends to be an unusual disconnect between construction and digital. The majority of construction companies still rely on word of mouth and paper layouts to communicate projects, leaving room for error and inefficiencies. Although the construction industry may be slower than others to implement digital tactics, the world around us is rebuilding itself with technology at its core; suggesting that construction, too, is on the brink of a massive industry shift. Digital is coming for you, construction, whether you re ready or not. This e-book will help your construction business prepare for the inevitable. We ve broken down the four components you re going to need to make a smooth transition into one of the most cost-effective digital tactics to date: email marketing.
SO WHY START WITH EMAIL? Let s say you have a brand-new website that impeccably highlights your portfolio, but you re still not seeing much organic traffic. Although your website might be updated, optimized and fully responsive, it s highly unlikely that prospects are going to just stumble upon it. Email marketing, although frequently overlooked, is one of the most powerful, cost-effective methods for connecting with a broad audience and driving them to take action. As powerful as email marketing can be, creating an effective email campaign doesn t happen overnight. It takes time to lay out a decisive, organized plan that best complements your brand. In this e-book, we ll walk you through four major tips that will give your emails the edge to succeed. Let the nurturing begin. 1. TARGET YOUR AUDIENCES 2. STRUCTURE YOUR CONTENT 3. FINE-TUNE YOUR CALLS TO ACTION 4. TIME YOUR CONTENT 4 EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION
#1 TARGET YOUR AUDIENCES The first step to a successful email campaign is to target the right audiences with the right content. Tempting though it may be, you should avoid enrolling every email address in your database into the same campaign. Not only will this tactic be ineffective at garnering new business, it ll also tarnish your brand name, making it synonymous with spam. For example, dumping a contact from a new apartment complex into a cookie-cutter email program that promotes renovations would be highly irrelevant and ineffective. However, placing that same contact into a light touchpoint email program would effectively maintain the relationship, making it more likely that they d go to your company for future expansion plans. 5 EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION
So how do you build qualified email lists? There are a few solid, cost-efficient ways to grow organic, segmented email lists. Through things like social media, quizzes, and industry events you can capture those who are most interested in what you company has to offer depending on their stage in your marketing funnel. Social Media Pushing content such as blog posts, downloadable content, and infographics though social media will encourage your network to associate your brand with thought leadership. Social media is a quick and easy way get people interacting with your site, whether it be through clicking on a recent article or downloading an ebook. Just make sure that all of the content you re pushing has a strong call to action, either to access the content or to continue receiving it. Create a Quiz Industry Events Another way to generate emails is to attend a construction networking event. Whether it be a conference, trade show, seminar, or networking night, connecting face-to-face can make people more comfortable with exchanging emails. If you go this route, make sure they know they re being added to a specific email campaign or newsletter so that they can anticipate touchpoints from your company. Paying for a booth at one of these events can make it even easier to break the ice with prospects especially if your booth is interactive. Figure out common questions your prospects may have and design a quiz to give them customized answers. Whether it s a custom quote builder or a quiz on building codes in their area, make sure it s something they can t resist. The catch is that once they reach the end of the quiz, they must submit their email address in order to receive their results. 6 EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION
#2 Structure Your Content Once you ve compiled a solid email list, it s time to build out your content. It s important to craft your emails thoughtfully, as coming off even slightly sales-y can cause recipients to unsubscribe. The best approach is to address your prospects casually, mention a new project or event, or offer them an easily digestible piece of content that is highly relevant to their needs. Engaging with prospects without pushing your services will work to position your company as an industry thought leader. Not only will this motivate prospects to open and read your emails, it ll also present your company as both knowledgeable and helpful. These casual, yet insightful touchpoints will help get your name out to a list of qualified prospects and collect a loyal following. Try These: Hey Prospect I saw this article and thought of you We recently began a new project that has seen huge success so far, check it out here Check out our latest case study about how construction is increasing sales We ve gotten a lot of feedback about this blog post about modernizing the construction business, what s your opinion? 7 EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION
#3 Fine-Tune Your CTAs A hugely important, yet often overlooked piece of every successful email marketing campaign is a call to action. A strong call to action is bold, compelling, and clear. It shows your audience what action they should be taking next and what that action will result in. Different CTA styling, language, and placement work for different campaigns. The best way to determine what will work best for your brand is to test relentlessly. Sometimes calls to action have better impact at the beginning of an email, others work at the end. Experimenting with various fonts, colors, and text sizes will help you to identify exactly which design and verbiage works to your advantage. 8 EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION
Studies suggest that buttons are the best CTA methodology. Don t use memes, gifs, photos, or anything else that might even slightly confuse your prospect. You should also be direct with your call to action text; a simple Download Here, or Click for More Information button will suffice. If possible, you should also aim to create a sense of urgency through your email and CTA. Design your copy in a way that makes your audiences think I need this piece of content before it s too late to take advantage of it. Without this sense of urgency, your prospect might be inclined to postpone the action, leading them to forget about it altogether. DOWNLOAD NOW CLICK HERE SUBSCRIBE NOW 9 EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION
#4 Time Your Content Finally, we arrive at email frequency. Similar to your calls to action, sending frequency should be tested to determine exactly what works best for your business and resonates most with your audience. While there isn t one perfect standard for how often you should be sending touchpoints to your prospects, try not to send them so many that you fill up their inbox. 45.8% of subscribers flag emails as spam because they are emailed too often. 10 EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION
In contrast, huge stints of time between email blasts might cause subscribers to forget who you are. Be active in your research before and after you send out an email blast. How many people clicked through? Unsubscribed? These statistics will help you adjust your content, timing, and overall approach for the next one. Do not despair if you don t see immediate results email marketing is a trial and error process, especially at the start. If you re unsure of where to begin, signing up for your competitors email lists can give you a better idea of common industry standards for email timing and frequency. However, at the end of the day, it s all about what your prospects want. Giving your audience the opportunity to determine for themselves how many emails they would like to receive through an email preferences page can work wonders. Some of your prospects might really like the content you re pushing, others might not have the time or patience to be swamped with a daily email on construction updates. 11 EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION
IN CONCLUSION When building an email strategy, don t be afraid to show off what makes your construction business unique; from its culture to the signature accents that are associated with your brand. Construction marketing is only just beginning down a digitally-oriented path. The sooner you dive in, the more time you ll have to get comfortable with digital tactics before your competitors catch up. Take full advantage of this time to test, explore and hone in on a unique digital strategy that will showcase your brand and propel your company forward. 12 EMAIL MARKETING TACTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION
About Boston Interactive Boston Interactive is a digital marketing agency that combines custom online strategies with emerging technologies. With success stories in higher education, legal, financial services and more, Boston Interactive delivers measurable user experiences and increases lead generation through web, mobile, social, SEO, and paid search campaigns. For more information or to schedule a FREE consultation Call (617) 241-7977 or visit bostoninteractive.com SOME OF OUR HIGHER EDUCATION CLIENTS 529 Main Street, Suite 212 Charlestown, MA 02129 BostonInteractive.com