The building and construction industry (the ‘Industry’) is a unique and vibrant sector. These are the businesses that shape the spaces we move around in; the spaces where we raise our families, the spaces where we earn a living and even the green spaces we use to relax in.
The Industry, despite its seemingly limited appeal to the masses, is a very personable business, relying on referrals and repeat business, rather than expensive marketing campaigns, to connect and engage with their customers.
Recently, however, there have been growing rumblings, particularly in the Sydney property market, of a market decline. A shortage of affordable housing and an increase in high-rise apartments that don’t appeal to the young-family demographic. Most first home buyers and renters cannot currently find suitable housing in the locations of their choice.
What does the decline in the Sydney market mean for the Industry?
There is an undeniably deep connection between the Sydney property market and the local Industry which is hard to ignore, especially now when the shortage of affordable housing is putting the squeeze on the local property market and, by default, the Industry.
On the flip side of this, though, is an opportunity. An opportunity for the sector to explore alternative options that go beyond traditional methods of business practise and take a more innovative approach to their marketing that will enable the industry to bypass the shortcomings of traditional marketing and expose them to a platform of customers beyond the referrals and repeats.
International construction companies have already embraced digital marketing that’s being driven by their business’s growth and development plans. But, there’s no reason for a local SME not to have just as effective a digital marketing strategy that will level the playing field between the bigger and smaller companies and broaden the potential customer base beyond the confines of their geographical location.
Social media and digital marketing are not necessarily the marketing platforms of choice for the Industry. After all, theirs is a serious industry where safety is of paramount importance and errors can cost lives! However, digital marketing is not a frivolous pursuit either and can be tailored and customised to suit the ethos and strategy of any industry, even one as complex as building and construction. Effective digital marketing is the potential escape-hatch from the declining property market. An effective digital marketing strategy that appeals to a younger demographic, a demographic of potential clients who conduct large portions of their affairs (financial and otherwise) online, will be crucial to untying the knots that bind the building and construction industry to the declining property market.
Your clients are out there, just not necessarily in the spaces where you would have traditionally found them and, partnering up with a digital marketing agency that understands both the intricate world of SEO, algorithms and key customer engagement, and the unique demands of your sector can help improve your profitability, increase your market share and find and engage a whole new client-base. Now is the time to leverage the benefits of digital marketing to expand your business’s reach.
Building and construction is your business – let your Digital Presence be ours!
