7 mistakes you're making with your construction marketing (and how to fix them)
7 mistakes you’re making with your construction marketing (and how to fix them). You've built a solid construction business. You're turning over £500k, maybe more. The work's good, the clients are (mostly) happy, and you've got a team that knows what they're doing.
But here's the thing, your marketing? It's a bit of a mess.
Don't take it personally. We see it all the time. Construction companies that are brilliant at what they do, absolutely flying on site, but their marketing looks like it was put together during a tea break in 2014. And it's costing you money. Real money. The kind of money that could be funding that new hire, that equipment upgrade, or, dare we say it, an actual holiday.
So let's talk about the seven mistakes we see construction firms making over and over again, and more importantly, how to fix them.
1. You're winging it without a strategy
This is the big one. The marketing equivalent of turning up to a job without drawings.
We get it, you're busy. Marketing feels like something you'll 'get around to' when things quieten down. So you throw money at this and that when work slows, copy what your competitor's doing on LinkedIn, and hope for the best.
That's not marketing. That's panic.
The fix: You need a documented strategy. Nothing fancy, just a clear plan that accounts for your seasonal patterns, your ideal clients, and what success actually looks like. Define your target market properly. 'Anyone who needs building work' isn't a target market. 'Property developers in the South East looking for £100k+ fit-out projects', that's a target market.
Set a consistent monthly budget (with seasonal adjustments if needed), establish some actual KPIs, and review them regularly. Not just when you're desperate for leads.
2. You're talking to everyone (and reaching no one)
Here's a hard truth: trying to appeal to everyone is the fastest way to appeal to no one.
When your messaging is generic, 'quality workmanship, competitive prices, family-run business' you sound exactly like every other contractor. You're wallpaper. Forgettable.
The fix: Get specific about who you serve and what makes you different. Do you specialise in heritage restoration? Say it. Are you the go-to for fast-track retail fit-outs? Own it. Do you only work on projects over £250k? Be upfront about it.
The more specific you are, the more the right clients will recognise themselves in your marketing. And the wrong ones? They'll filter themselves out, saving everyone's time.
3. Your branding looks like it was designed by committee (in 2007)
We've seen it too many times. The website says one thing, the van wrap says another, the LinkedIn banner looks like it belongs to a completely different company, and nobody can quite remember what the 'official' logo is supposed to look like.
Inconsistent branding doesn't just look unprofessional, it actively erodes trust. If you can't keep your own house in order, why would someone trust you with their £2m development?
The fix: Create a simple brand guide. We're not talking a 50-page document, just the basics. Your logo (and when to use which version), your colours (actual hex codes, not 'sort of blue'), your fonts, and your key messages. Then audit every touchpoint: website, social profiles, email signatures, vehicle livery, site boards, uniforms. Update gradually, starting with the highest-visibility stuff.
Consistent branding increases revenue by an average of 23%. That's not our opinion, that's data.
4. You're invisible on Google (where it actually matters)
Quick question: when was the last time you Googled your own business? More importantly, when was the last time you Googled 'commercial contractors in [your area]' and checked where you ranked?
If you're not on page one, you might as well not exist. Harsh, but true.
Most construction firms we speak to have either never claimed their Google Business Profile, or they set it up years ago and haven't touched it since. Meanwhile, their competitors are hoovering up all the local search traffic.
The fix: Claim and complete your Google Business Profile. Properly. Add photos (real ones, not stock), respond to reviews (yes, even the awkward ones), post updates regularly, and make sure your name, address, and phone number are consistent across every directory you're listed on.
Then look at your website. Have you got location-specific pages for your key service areas? Are you targeting the search terms your ideal clients are actually using? Is the whole thing mobile-friendly? (Over 60% of local searches happen on phones now.)
This isn't glamorous work, but it's where serious leads come from.
5. You're not tracking what's working (so you keep wasting money)
'We tried marketing once. Didn't work.'
We hear this constantly. And when we dig deeper, it usually turns out they spent £3k on a random campaign, didn't track where leads came from, and declared the whole thing a failure when the phone didn't ring off the hook within a week.
If you're not measuring, you're guessing. And guessing gets expensive.
The fix: Set up proper tracking. At minimum, you should know:
Where your leads are coming from (which channel, which campaign)
How many of those leads convert to quotes
How many quotes convert to jobs
What your cost per acquisition is
This isn't complicated stuff, but you'd be amazed how many £1m+ contractors can't answer these questions. Once you know what's actually working, you can double down on it, and stop wasting money on what isn't.
6. You're all talk and no proof
Your website says you deliver 'exceptional quality' and 'outstanding service'. Great. So does everyone else's.
Here's what actually builds trust: proof. Real projects. Real results. Real clients saying nice things about you.
The fix: Invest in proper case studies. Not just a gallery of finished photos (though those help), but the full story. What was the brief? What challenges did you overcome? What was the outcome? Include before-and-after shots, video walkthroughs if you can, and actual testimonials from actual humans.
Visual proof is worth a thousand times more than polished copy. Show the work. Show the process. Show that you're transparent about budgets and timelines. That's what separates you from the cowboys. Read our blog on this here.
7. You're ignoring your best source of leads (your past clients)
Here's a stat that should make you think: it costs five to seven times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one.
Yet most construction firms spend 100% of their marketing effort chasing strangers and precisely 0% staying in touch with people who've already paid them money.
The fix: Build a simple system for staying in touch with past clients. This doesn't need to be complicated, a quarterly email newsletter, a quick check-in call, a Christmas card (yes, really). Stay top of mind so when they need work done, or when their mate asks for a recommendation, your name comes up first.
Referrals are brilliant, but they're unpredictable. You can't build a business on hope. Combine referral potential with systematic marketing and you've got a pipeline you can actually control.
Time to sort it out
None of these mistakes are fatal. But left unchecked, they'll keep draining your budget, frustrating your team, and handing opportunities to your competitors.
The good news? Every single one of them is fixable. You don't need to overhaul everything overnight : just start with the biggest gaps and work from there.
And if you'd rather hand the whole thing to someone who actually enjoys this stuff? You know where to find us.
