Let’s forgo modesty for a moment. You and your team are outstanding. You build exceptional, elegant homes. You design interiors that capture the client’s personality and suit their lifestyle. You supply windows and doors that are energy efficient and beautiful. Whatever it is you do, you do it with great skill and professionalism. Great! Now what? Now you need to let people know. Marketing is, if nothing else, telling your story of expertise in a clear and compelling way. 

Easy. Well… not really. For many companies, marketing sucks. It can feel like you don’t know what you are doing, and it’s hard to find someone who does. But with a few marketing basics under your belt, it is manageable – and effective.  

Basics of Marketing 

Build a Compelling Brand 

You’ve heard it before: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it…” Your brand and marketing strategy captures and conveys the why. Marketing is, at its core, storytelling. Every element must contribute to the plot, so to speak, and engage the audience in the brand’s story.  

To create a relatable brand, and to appeal on an emotional basis with consumers (people buy on emotion and justify with logic), you need to strategically develop and incorporate: 

• A clear brand and message. There should be no ambiguity: your message conveys who you are, what you do, who you do it for, and why you do it. It is a clear and compelling reason why your audience should choose you. 

• A strong logo, colors, and other visuals that align with your brand and allow you to connect with your audience. Think of Nike: that distinct swoosh instantly says it all, even if you never lace up a pair of Air Max 270s. Consistency across these assets is key in creating a cohesive brand that resonates with your target customers. 

• A strong anchor statement. If people don’t buy what you do but rather why you do it, your anchor statement gives them the reason. It is a short statement that tells your brand story and provides clarity.
  Learn more about the why and how of anchor statements. 

Build an Effective Website 

A great website is one of your brand’s most valuable assets, and this is true whether you do most or all of your business in person. It allows you to build a strong online presence, convey important information to your audience, and establish legitimacy. People expect that the companies with whom they do business (or with whom they are considering doing business) have a website at the very least. And, since many of us start our search for answers – whether finding the best plumber in Westfield or the latest trends in windows – online, it can help broaden your reach to new customers. 

So, what is an effective website? If features: 

• Easy and intuitive navigation 
• Clean visual design that is user-focused 
• Mobile-friendly or mobile-first design 
• High quality, authoritative content 
• Compelling home and “about” pages, including accurate and up to date contact information 
• Branded elements (e.g., your logo, brand color palette, font, etc.) 
• Strong and clear calls to action  
• Speed (any microsecond of delay in loading increases your “bounce rate”) 

Putting these elements together into a cohesive, compelling website is one of today’s most important marketing basics.  

Consistent Message Across All Platforms – and Within Your Company Culture 

Who are you? It’s an essential question that you are answering as you move through the basics of marketing and in developing an effective strategy. It’s also what your audience wants to know. When you present one face in person, another online, and yet another among your employees, it creates confusion at the least and makes you seem disingenuous at the worst.  

A consistent presence is critical in building and maintaining relationships – whether or not you are a mega chain. Without that vital element, any foundation of trust you have worked to establish erodes. Your message, your images and visuals, your language and tone… all of this needs to be consistent across all platforms, from print to digital to in-person. People should receive the same experience with your brand no matter where and how they interact with you. 

Integrated Strategy 

We have touched on digital marketing avenues but it is just as important to incorporate other channels into your strategy. Depending on your brand and goals, this can include print, video, photography, promotion, in-person, experiential events, and follow-through on lead generation and capture. There is no one-size-fits-all marketing approach, but rather one that is customized for your unique needs. 

Check out our guide, 9 Steps to Effective Marketing In the Design and Construction Industry, to learn more.  

Analysis and Optimization  

Is your marketing strategy bearing fruit? Is it leading to measurable gains in terms of your key goals and objectives? Don’t guess. Know. You can pull relevant data from individual platforms (e.g., Google, Facebook, Instagram) or use software to track aspects like website users, sessions, traffic sources, engagement, click through rates, and more. From this, you can glean insights: what’s working? What’s not? What if you change the messaging on an ad or revamped the call-to-action button? Once you have the data and insights, you can work on optimizing your campaigns.  

Connect with the Clients Who Matter  

The basics of marketing may not seem so basic when you’re striving to meet key business-building goals. This is why we created Haven, to meet the unique needs of design and building industry professionals – and to help them build companies that are as strong and enduring as their clients’ results. 

Connect with our team and experience the Haven Difference for yourself.