How do you market your business?

Q: Between social media, print media, bill boards and word of mouth, there are so many ways to advertise your business. What strategies do you find most effective?

Firm: Carl Banks
Principal: Banks’s Building Services
Location: Oamaru
Staff: 6 employees, 2 apprentices

In my ten years of business, I’ve found that the best advertising strategy is building good-quality houses and maintaining good relationships with your clients – that’s what leads to good referrals. 

Most of my business comes from word of mouth and in a small town like Oamaru, positive recommendations are worth more than anything.

Even though referrals account for most of my work, I think it’s important to keep advertising to ensure that influx of new customers keeps coming. It’s worked well for me over the years; I’ve always managed to keep my guys busy.

I’ve tried most forms of advertising, including newspaper ads, direct mailers, phone book listings and radio, although I find it’s often difficult to determine which methods are the most effective. I did find that the direct mailer I sent out didn’t have the impact I anticipated, whereas radio often brings in a few people.

Firm: Generation Homes Tauranga
Principal: David Mansel
Location: Tauranga
Staff: 6 admin and marketing employees, 50-60 contractors

When we started the business in Tauranga in 1997, there were only two of us – myself and Graham Hockly. It was always based on the show home concept, which we believe is an integral marketing aspect, as it allows customers to get a feel for size and layout. Reading plans isn’t that easy for most people; show homes take the hassle out of the equation.

We’ve grown extensively over the last 16 years – expanding from Tauranga to Hamilton and spreading throughout most of the country – and so has our advertising strategy. While show homes are a key component, we also advertise in magazines, online, on billboards and radio. With more customers researching businesses online, we have also developed a comprehensive social media strategy.

Our best marketing medium is word of mouth referrals, which account for over 50% of our builds. To ensure that continues, we need to deliver the hassle-free experience our customers have come to expect.

Firm: Salamander
Principal: Charlie Bailey
Location: Mount Wellington, Auckland
Staff: 7 builders (including both directors), 2 apprentices

It’s a bit strange, but we haven’t really had to advertise since I started the business ten years ago – all our work comes from word of mouth. I learned early on from my building mentor that you’re only as good as your last job, so always make sure to do a good one and people will talk positively about you. Turns out he was right.

Obviously, when I first started out as a one-man band, I didn’t have that track record, so I opted to advertise in the local newspaper and that seemed to work well. But since about a year into it, the phone has kept ringing so I haven’t needed to market my business.

However, I do think it’s important to have a website. Almost half the calls I receive are from people who say “I’m a friend of such and such and was just having a look at your website”.  While word of mouth is good, knowing you have an internet presence seems to reassure people.