Excavation contracting and operating your own earthmoving business can be hard yakka. As well as dealing with poor weather conditions, occasionally inconsistent workloads, working with contractors, and potentially large capital expenses for new equipment and equipment maintenance, you also need to market your earthmoving business.
While busy earthmoving small business owners may feel that they don’t have the time to grow their excavating business, marketing can be a key mechanism for success for your earthmoving and excavation small business. Strategic marketing is the foundation for long-term success as a business owner. In a similar way that insurance for earthmoving and excavation businesses can contribute to the longevity of your earthmoving business, likewise marketing can help sustain your earthmoving business for the long-term.
1. Maximise the effectiveness of your company website
Just about every business has its own company website these days – and for good reason. But merely having a company website isn’t enough; in fact, if your existing company website doesn’t provide a great user experience, it may actually be doing more harm than good when it comes to marketing your earthmoving business.
A well-designed website is a great way to advertise your earthmoving business and get excavation work. If your earthmoving business doesn’t currently have a website, it’s certainly worth creating one as soon as possible. If you already have a website, then your business may benefit from a strategic review of your existing company website.
Unless yourself or someone you know has website design and development experience as well as an understanding of digital marketing, it may be worth your while to engage a professional web developer or digital designer. Such qualified individuals will be able to recommend what needs to be done to make your company website a more effective marketing tool for your earthmoving business.
Some elements of your company website that you may look at as part of your website review may include:
- Navigation
- Visual design
- Content
- Web friendliness (technical SEO)
- Interaction (does it engage your audience?)
- Information hierarchy (is the most important information easy to find?)
- Intuitiveness
- Branding
- Conversion (does it compel visitors to enquire about your earthmoving services?)
2. Embrace the three golden rules of branding
Branding is an essential component of marketing your earthmoving business, but there’s a right and a wrong way to do it. The right way requires that you embrace the three golden rules of branding; that is clarity, conciseness, and consistency.
Clear, concise and consistent branding can elevate your company’s reputation and will help to deliver a unified and professional look across all of your marketing collateral and marketing activities. It’s important that you create a professional and consistent brand and look across every aspect of your marketing to ensure that your employees, company vehicles, and company earthmovers equipment are instantly recognisable.
While on the subject of branding, don’t be shy with the use of your company logo. A great company logo is instantly recognisable and memorable, so make sure you display it everywhere, from your company vehicles and business cards to your uniform (if you have use them), your website, signage, and all advertising material.
3. Create a referral program – and make it worth their while
It goes without saying that your earthmoving business could benefit from a marketing perspective by having an active referral program in place. You may already have a referral program in place, which is great. But in its current form is your referral program as effective as it could be?
If your referral program isn’t delivering the robust results that you want it to, you may consider increasing what you offer as a reward for referrals. You can get creative here – you needn’t be limited to offering nominal discounts on your services as a reward for referrals. Perhaps try something different, such as inviting referrers to your corporate golf day, or treating them to dinner at a five-star restaurant. You also may consider creating a reliable affiliate program to raise awareness about your earthmoving business.
4. Network at every opportunity
A critical part of being a successful small business owner is networking, so it may be worth your time and effort to do just that if you aren’t already doing so. You may participate in events held by organisations such as the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia or the SME Association Of Australia.
While you may already be an active member of an industry specific organisation such as Allied Earthmovers, it can be enlightening and advantageous to also engage with small business owners from different backgrounds and industries.
5. Deliver great work, every time
Perhaps the most important marketing tip for earthmoving small business owners is to deliver great work and great service that delights your customers, every time.
You are only as good as your last job, which means that regardless of the client or the earthmoving job you have been tasked to deliver for them, it’s important that you meet their expectations, if not exceed them.
6. Is your earthmoving business built for the long-term?
As you devise the marketing strategy for your earthmoving business, you may also consider earthmoving insurance to reduce the risks to your business. Whether you are a sole trader, self-employed business owner, or an earthmoving contractor, you may benefit by reducing your risk with the following earthmoving insurance:
At BizCover we help earthmoving businesses compare competitive quotes for insurance for earthmoving and excavation businesses fast online so they can get the covered and get on with their day without any drama. While BizCover gives you the power to buy business insurance online in 10 minutes, we’re always up for a chat. Call us on 1300 920 864 to discover how we can help your business.
