Fatrank Podcast

James Dooley:
So if I have a construction company and I want to increase the revenue, increase the amount of inquiries I’m actually getting in my business month on month, what do you recommend?

Kasra Dash:
So if you’re looking to grow or how to grow your construction business then I would certainly start off via search engine optimisation. Trying to rank your website and your properties online in Bing, in Google, in YouTube which is the second largest search engine that there is out there. Trying to get videos of previous jobs that you’ve done within the construction sector. Obviously construction is quite a broad term.

Kasra Dash:
So when people are saying okay I run a construction business, I would be trying to say okay but what is it that you do? Is it building houses? Is it just building extensions on houses? Is it building and constructing school playgrounds? Is it construction of actual modular buildings and stuff like that? So you need to start understanding okay I’m in the construction sector but what is it that I do? And then when you can start understanding what it is that you do and where you make most profit on, that’s where you should be advertising and marketing because you want more of the services that make you as a business the most money.

So it could be construction of roadways, rail, it could be anything. So I’d start with SEO. I’d then pigeonhole myself into being I’m the expert in this. And then from there I would be trying to get as many videos, images, testimonials, reviews and case studies put online as I can so I’ve got a positive brand when someone searches my name.

Kasra Dash:
Then with regards to generation of leads I would start by teaming up with a lead generation company. So over at FatRank.com if you go to the contact page on there, if you fill in the form, we work with a lot of different construction companies and do lead generation. We are very selective with who we work with so you need to make certain that you’ve got a sales team, generally speaking that you work nationwide and you look professional online so you have these testimonials and these reviews. So that if you were being compared to another construction company that people would go yes I would order whatever the product or service is that you’re doing from the company that is inquiring within FatRank.

Kasra Dash:
But I wouldn’t throw all your eggs in one basket. I would go out to two or three maybe other lead generation companies as well to get that consistent flow of inquiries coming in. And then I’d try to start looking at the sales funnels in making certain that the inquiries you’re getting are turning into orders and therefore into profit.

James Dooley:
But if I’m saying there get as many images and videos out there, should a construction company be looking to post daily on social media? Do you think social media could be a platform for a construction company to grow as well?

Kasra Dash:
So it might not. In construction again this is very broad. But let’s say for example if you’re doing driveways, that’s still under the construction umbrella. If you’re doing videos, setting up your actual camera and you’re doing a time lapse of you installing let’s say a block paving driveway then that could generate you some inquiries. But what it can also do is build up trust.

Kasra Dash:
So let’s say for example if you have a potential customer that has searched for block paving again and it’s against you and the competitor. And your competitor is doing all the social media, they have the reviews, they’ve got the videos. You’re probably going to lose that inquiry and you could be providing a much better actual service than your competitor, but because you’re not screaming and shouting about it online then you’re probably going to struggle with the actual converting and getting that traffic into a paying customer.

Kasra Dash:
Another thing just to touch on as well because you mentioned SEO, a good starting point is actually getting your website listed on directories as well. So you’ve got the likes of Yell, Yellow Pages, Yelp in America. In the UK you’ve got Construction.co.uk, TheConstructionIndex.co.uk. You’ve got certain accreditations as well I believe, Construction Line, CHAS, quite big. There are obviously respective companies in America that you can get listed on. Literally just do a quick Google on construction directories and you’ll be able to find a good list of where to get listed as well.

James Dooley:
Yeah.

Kasra Dash:
I mean there’s one or two other places like Checkatrade and a few other platforms like that. Builder, MyBuilder, TrustATrader. All those type of websites can generate you leads. You need to start looking at are the leads converting because a lot of time they’re not exclusive leads. They might be resold to five or six different construction companies. So at that point you need to start working out am I getting the return on investment which is the most important part.

So are you getting the return on investment on that. But business directories could work well. Paid business directories and stuff there. You’ve got PPC. My only issue it’s quite expensive. And then you’ve got traditional marketing like billboard ads, radio ads, TV ads, magazines. Again I don’t think that would do. For me personally it’s doing the SEO, getting that trust of the brand online and then maybe teaming up with some lead generation companies that will get the best bang for your buck for building out and growing a construction company.

James Dooley:
Definitely. If you guys do want to inquire with FatRank and see if your business actually qualifies, make sure to check out the link down below or go to FatRank.com.