Marketing is crucial by Terry O'Mahony

Marketing is crucial by Terry O'Mahony

It’s highly probable that when you first became a construction related professional, tradesperson or entrepreneur you were probably working in a business owned and run by someone else.

At that time, you probably also thought your technical knowledge, capability and effectiveness of your profession or trade was all you really needed to master to become successful.   In other words, your technical skills would be the keys to your future lifelong earnings, career, or business success.  And, over time, prospective clients would hear about you, seek you out and repeatedly shower you with interesting and profitable jobs or projects.
Possibly at some point you, or perhaps with others, you decided to go into business.  You then rented an office or workshop, had phone and data lines installed and leased some computers and other supporting business equipment.

That done, you and your small ‘band of brothers’ started to attend networking events and make cold calls on likely prospects.  You probably had to hand out all kinds of information about how you were the to be best in your chosen field.  You may also have ‘purloined’ a few clients from your previous company and placed a few adverts here and there.

Why?

Because you needed all those in your niche to pay attention so that they would hopefully beat a path to your door!  But did something happen that you didn’t expect!

Even though you built a great little business for yourself, and probably one of the best in your field…people didn’t beat a path to your door!

But why?

Because one of the hardest things about being in business is to get people to buy from you rather than from someone else!  It’s crucially important that every business owner and senior decision maker must learn that you’re not actually in the business you think you’re in.

You’re not in the architectural, project management, structural engineering, specialist contracting or materials supply business as much as you’re in the business of… MARKETING YOUR RANGE OF SERVICES OR PRODUCTS!
No matter what sort of business you’re in, no matter what you deliver, first and foremost you’re really in the Marketing of your Business!

So, what does this mean?

Well, it means you must upgrade your knowledge, thinking and planning.  You must realise that you are a ‘Marketer’ first and a provider of services second.  Acceptance of your duty as a marketer is paramount.

In fact, the most successful and progressive professionals associated with the construction industry would agree, it’s the only way to scale up, grow and develop your business and gain success.
Let’s face it, and you can probably bear witness to this, in any business…and yours is no different…the best marketers always seem to win!  It’s a fact; it’s always been true and will always be true.

But let’s not kid ourselves it’s equally true that no matter how fantastic and effective your marketing is, it can’t and will never make up for poor performance, substandard service, and poor results.  This simply means you must not only work to be the best marketer in your space, but you must also become the best architectural practice, contract lawyer, electrical engineer, and fit-out contractor as well.

Normally, the second part of this equation is usually the easiest aspect to master.  As you continue moving along your business growth path, you’ll quickly learn there are just two ways to market:
  • TRADITIONAL–which is usually ineffective, wasteful, and expensive, which leaves you feeling stressed and disillusioned!
  • PROVEN-which means your marketing is planned, client focused, response-oriented and cost effective, which leaves you feeling successful and rewarded.

About the author

Terry O’Mahony, M.Sc, MCIOB, Construction Leaders Club

Terry has significant leadership and business management experience within the construction, property and investment industry. He graduated with an MSc in Construction Project Management and has been a member of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) for several decades. Having started his career with a national building contractor, he went on to hold several senior management positions in the industry in a career that spans over four decades. During the past forty years Terry has been engaged in the strategic growth, marketing and selling of goods and services within the construction industry. He has worked in a variety of businesses including small, medium and large national construction businesses, managing business and teams to deliver multi-million pound projects.

Terry is a highly experienced and respected ‘Business Growth Coach, having been the principal Midlands-based construction growth coach and consultant on the government’s accredited ‘Growth Accelerator’ programme.

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