With over a quarter of a million firms, construction is a crowded industry. To succeed as a company, you’re going to need to distinguish yourself from the masses.
Developing your business distinctives and communicating them well is a long process, but one of the best ways to start is to look at your strengths and then amplify them. What can you focus on, highlight, and build on for future growth?
As you identify what you are best at, you’ll be able to build a business strategy around it. It will open up opportunities to specialise, and that’s one of the most profitable ways to stand out.
A few simple questions will get you started:
- What are you good at?
- What are your proven strengths?
- What are your ‘perceived’ strengths (What do other people think you are good at? If you’re not sure, ask around!)
You’re now refining your business around its biggest strengths, but don’t forget to look into what you want to grow into as well, what you aspire to be. You want to build a financially sustainable business, so look at where you can turn a decent profit. And you want to make sure that will be rewarding and fulfilling work, the sort of thing you’d be happy to do more of.
That leads to a second set of questions:
- What kind of work do you like doing?
- What kind of work has the best margins?
You’re looking to work out what and where your best business is, the sort of work you really want. It’s only then that you can work out where that business if going to come from, and start planning accordingly.
This business focus is essential to the work of marketing. Knowing what kind of business you really want will make it easier to develop a cost-effective marketing strategy. It will point to the right markets for your skills, and highlight the marketing tools that you need to break into that market.
A growing, thriving construction business is one that has identified its strengths, and built around them to specialise in what they do best.
If you need a helping hand with your marketing, get in touch today. Download our Really Useful Guide to Construction Marketing - and if you’re a member of the CIOB, you can read it as part of your continuing professional development.
