Are Your Contracting Skills Hurting Your Marketing?

One of the interesting "side effects" of becoming a contractor is that you learn how to do so many things with your hands. All too often you don't just learn how to install flooring and then stop there. At some point you pick up how to hang the windows and doors, how to install the roof and even how to build the whole darn house. Building things is a valuable skill and you contractors seem to be teeming with value. At every turn you'll find a contractor's website advertising a service such as roofing or deck building in the name, but upon closer inspection you'll discover that the services don't end there. You can also get drywall, electrical work and remodeling too.

It makes sense. You can do it, you want people to know about it, because you just want to build. You don't care what, so long as people need something built you want them to come to you. You are appealing to the masses in your marketing. Is that a bad thing? Let us weigh the pros and cons.

Pros and Cons of Mass Marketing

• Pro – You get to showcase ALL of your skills and expertise, which means more opportunity to get a client. They are bound to need something you offer.
• Pro – More people to market to which means, again, more opportunity to get a client.
• Pro – In terms of time, since less market research is required your marketing efforts won't require a lot of attention.

• Con – You and every other contractor out there. What I mean is MAJOR COMPETITION.
• Con – Did I mention the competition?
• Con – Seriously, this space is crowded. What are you offering that every other contractor isn't? Well...nothing at this point.

So how do you make generalized mass marketing work for you? If you have an established brand, this type of marketing is good at getting your brand in front of people. Once you are established your brand is recognized and sits somewhere in everybody's mind until they are in need of your services. This takes time and dollars, but it is one of the reasons big brands stay big brands. For the up and coming, perhaps a different method is necessary.

When you limit your marketing to a specialization, you are essentially ignoring all of your other services in favor of a single expertise. That means if you are a plumber that also does HVAC and flooring, you aren't going to tell people in your marketing about anything other than your plumbing services. Your website will be filled with nothing but information about plumbing.

But how will I get HVAC clients? Roofing clients? Pool installation clients?

In terms of marketing, this may seem like a great sacrifice....at first, but there is a magic to dominating a niche. How about that pros and cons list again?

Pros and Cons of Niche Marketing

• Pro – Marketing dollars will go farther because your keywords are less competitive and your target audience is more focused on your specific niche product.
• Pro – With lower levels of competition in smaller, more focused markets you have the freedom to set premium prices.
• Pro – With a precise and well defined niche service your website will rank highly and convert better.

• Con – Your target audience is much smaller.
• Con – If your niche for your specialty is TOO small, it might have little competition for a reason (so don't get so laser focused that all you offer on your site is custom concrete retainer walls....but then again...you'd probably still do ok).
• Con – This means you have to REALLY get to know your target market. What they desire and what they will pay for.

So the answer to what type of marketing will work best is a little less simple. It Depends!

It depends on your budget, your size and the time and resources you can dedicate. Mass marketing will take more money but less time, and will only work well with established brands. Niche marketing shrinks your potential client pool and limits your service offerings (in your marketing anyway), but your conversions will improve, your rankings will be stellar and your marketing will in turn be more effective.

About Footbridge Media

Since 2004, Footbridge Media has worked exclusively with contractors just like you to help them achieve their goals. Your success is our business.