Today we have a post contributed by M.Pierce, Founder of MyBootprint and ShoeMatters – two websites that strive to help people choose the right footwear for their job.
As with nearly any profession around the world, more building contractors are turning to the internet to do their research and interact with their distributors, purchase materials and find and contact new clients. Research found that a third of the building product distributors asked claimed that 50% of their sales were online.
Another survey from 2015 found that more than half of contractors use the internet for their research for work.
So with the increasing digitalization, if you want to attract contractors online, you must make sure that your brand is well established digitally and take up a more proactive approach on the various digital channels preferred by the contractors. A good balance of high-quality and efficient SEO, effective social media marketing and digital advertising should help grab the interest of potential customers for your products.
With the advancement of technology and the websites, mobile apps and other hardware and software, it is no surprise that people are becoming more demanding and their expectations for the services and products provided is growing. The same goes for building contractors. There are certain tips which you can follow in order to do that more successfully. Here are the four main ones which will help you reach to and win over more building contractors:
1. Take the time to study and understand the target customers.
Find out how big their businesses are, the number of employees they have, what their expectations are from their suppliers, where they get their information about different products and suppliers, and other information which can be useful when planning and actually initiating a personalized approach to each customer at a deeper level. The fact that you have taken the time and put in the effort to inform yourself and familiarize yourself with the specifics of their business, will impress potential customers.
2. Work on building long-lasting and stronger relationships with your customers.
Provide you customers – building contractors – and others with easy to reach and easy to use information about your products, the services you offer, any promotions, discounts and other news or relevant information about your company and its products. You can do that via various digital channels which are preferred by a growing number of people. Do that by regularly updating your Facebook page, your LinkedIn profile and other social media profiles. Make sure that you make your website mobile friendly, because the number of people using their mobile phones to access the internet is growing continuously. Also, add new blogs and other relevant information which can be of interest to your customers. Developing your own company mobile app or browser extension which is useful and easy to use can help customers stay interested and continue working with you in the future. You may consider sending push notifications or other reminders to your customers about specific products which interest them, discounts and others.
3. Ensure that your company is a reliable and preferred knowledge provider for your customers.
Building contractor rely on and are constantly in search of new and relevant information in regard to the building products, methods, innovations and anything else which will help them improve their work. Most building contractors want to remain competitive and preferred by investors by offering the latest and most competitive building solutions, products and services. This means, providing them with relevant information on your website and social media. Many contractors prefer video presentations of new products, so make sure you work on your videos and your YouTube presence as well. Once your customers know they can rely on you for new and useful information, they are more likely to return for more.
4. Make your way to the top in regard to the services provided.
Keep your website and social media profiles updated with the latest and most relevant product and price information, as well as all other information which can help the customer find the product they need and contact you easily. Also, add a FAQ or other online service for contractors to access in order to resolve issues they may have. If you provide sufficient and reliable technical support, and provide full product information, technical characteristics, dimensions, installation requirements and other relevant information. Again, videos with installation methods and other product information are useful and more likely to attract existing and new customers. Once your website becomes a valuable resource, you are more likely to keep your customers coming back and attracting new ones.
