Construction Industry Marketing Challenges – WDS

Marketing in the construction and renovation industry faces specific challenges, such as lack of planning and seasonality. Companies often focus on active sales, neglecting the potential of strategic marketing. It’s crucial to create a plan where marketing and sales work hand in hand.

I got to exchange thoughts on this topic with Kyösti Raiskinmäki who has plenty of first-hand experience on how to do great marketing for home improvement and renovation companies.

If you’re uncertain what you should focus on during your peak season and how to optimize your off-season marketing activities to ensure higher sales in peak season, listen what Kyösti has to say 👀

Who is Kyösti Raiskinmäki?

Kyösti Raiskinmäki is a marketing expert with over 10 years of experience. For the past eight years he has worked at WDS.

He’s currently leading customer accounts and shaping marketing strategies.

Raiskinmäki is a strong believer in doing systematic marketing and building a great brand. He sees paid campaigns as a tool, and not the only vehicle for success.

WDS – Marketing Agency

WDS is a Finnish marketing agency specializing in growth-oriented SMEs. They offer comprehensive marketing services nationwide, supporting clients with

• Strategic planning
• Customer acquisition, and
• Brand building

Its vision is to be the Finland’s most sought-after company for growth-oriented companies.

Main Challenges in Construction Industry’s Marketing

Raiskinmäki mentions two main challenges he’s seen over the years when working with construction and renovation companies.

Challenge #1 Marketing Is Not Seen as Investment

According to Raiskinmäki, there’s often too much focus on growing a company through active sales. Everything marketing does is seen as just being supporting to sales instead of being an independent strategy.

– If marketing isn’t done, measured and reported on properly, it’s very hard to get a company to invest in it. It might feel too risky to invest if you’re unsure of the outcomes, Raiskinmäki explains.

Too often, marketing is seen only as an expense instead of focusing on it as a strategic channel that’ll create value in the long run.

– Because marketing takes some time to generate results, there’s hesitation in putting money in developing it properly. I think marketing should be seen as a strategic channel that enables growing one’s business, he continues.

Challenge #2 Not Seeing the Full Potential of Brand Building

The lack of a long-term strategy, aka not seeing the full potential in investing in brand building, is a key challenge for many companies, especially in the construction industry. Raiskinmäki has seen that companies might have a business strategy, but completly lack a marketing strategy, which causes them to approach marketing as a series of isolated campaigns rather than a continuous, planned effort.

– The problem with having only a tactical approach is that it isn’t scalable. You might get great results with one thing, but you can’t replicate that. If you always have to start each campaign anew, it’s a waste of resources, Raiskinmäki clarifiies.

This short-term, tactical approach limits growth and makes it difficult for businesses to scale their efforts or build brand value over time. Without a clear, long-term strategy, companies struggle to maintain consistent marketing performance​.

Understanding Two Levels of Leads

Every business owner wants to get phone numbers to people that are ready to buy.

However, that can’t be the only thing marketing is aiming at.

Raiskinmäki mentions two types of leads:

1. Sales Leads: These are direct inquiries from customers who are ready to make a purchase, often referred to as “hot leads.” Sales teams typically prefer these leads because the potential customer is already in the final stages of the decision-making process, or “ready to buy.”
2. Marketing Leads: These leads are collected earlier in the customer journey. The focus is on engaging potential customers who aren’t yet ready to purchase but could become sales-ready over time with nurturing.

This approach emphasizes that businesses need to consider the entire customer journey, not just the final sale, to generate sustainable growth​.

– Customer journeys typically start online and without speaking with sales. Companies needs to internalize this and make marketing that supports this, Raiskinmäki underlines.

Role of Customer Trust

Reviews, references and case stories play a huge role throughout the whole customer journey in the renovation industry.

People want to make sure they’re getting their money’s worth, and will spend a lot of time searching for social proof. Raiskinmäki has noticed this as well, and emphasizes that certain case stories work better than others.

– Celebrity stories work really well in all stages of the customer journey. They can be the thing that gets consumers to be aware of a certain brand and they have also generated hot sales leads, Raiskinmäki says.

With social proof, the most influential thing is being relatable to the potential customer. Influencers and celebrities tap into this very well. We aspire to be like the people we look up to. That’s why what they endorse, we’re likely to buy.

Another aspect that heavily influences the relatability is the location of the reviewer, and the exact service they’ve bought.

– Everyone wants to know what their neighbor has bought and what was the experience like, Raiskinmäki adds.

Where to Use Social Proof

1. References section on your website
2. As copy on landing pages
3. Paid ad copy
4. Newsletters
5. Sales offers
6. Social media

Raiskinmäki underlines that social proof is a great tool at all stages of the customer journey.

– It’s crucial to add case stories and testimonials to all stages of marketing, not just the awareness stage, Raiskinmäki says.

How to Do Great Marketing for Construction Companies

Raiskinmäki offers great insights into how marketing can be done successfully.

Align Marketing and Sales

Effective marketing requires close collaboration between sales and marketing. Both need to track customer acquisition data and adjust strategies accordingly. This ensures that leads generated by marketing are high quality and ready for sales.

– Breaking the silos between sales and marketing is beneficial for both teams. Both teams aim to bring in revenue, so they should work together on it, Raiskinmäki says.

Lead Generation and Customer Journeys

Lead generation is not just about advertising but supporting the entire customer journey. Marketing content must engage potential customers before they’re ready to make a purchase. The best results come from utilizing multiple channels, including websites, social media, and email marketing.

Seasonality

In construction, demand is highly seasonal, impacting marketing strategies. Raiskinmäki emphasizes dynamic budgeting, so marketing resources are allocated effectively during peak seasons. Off-season, businesses can focus on development activities such as website optimization and brand enhancement.

– Optimize your website and processes during the off-season. That way, you can safely invest money in paid advertising during your high season and expect conversions, Raiskinmäki adds.

Building a Brand

Brand building is a long-term effort and a cornerstone of marketing. A strong brand increases credibility and helps attract and retain customers. Strategic branding enhances the efficiency of marketing efforts in the long run.

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