Marketing vs. Branding: What Role Each One Plays for Your Construction Business?

When you own a construction business, there are a lot of things to think about. In many instances, it can be hard to keep them straight. There are two major concepts that are interchangeably used together, branding and marketing. When put into work, these two concepts contribute to driving revenue and making sales for your business.

But what is marketing? What is branding? What role does each of these terms play in your construction business? This blog will fully explain these two terms, their roles, how they relate to one another, and their significance to your business. We also share some beginner-friendly tips on how to do branding and marketing for your business.

What are Marketing and Branding?

Before we jump to the major differences between branding and marketing, let us first define these two:

Marketing refers to the processes, tools, and strategies you use to promote your services, product, and construction company actively. Think of marketing as the actions you need to take to connect with your clients and get them to avail your services and products.
On the other hand, branding is the marketing practice of proactively shaping your brand. Branding is about defining who you are as a company. It is your values, mission, and what makes you unique and special. It is your fundamental brand elements, such as your website, logo, and branding style.

If marketing gets your target audience engaged with your company, branding is what keeps these people coming back for the years to come.

Unique Roles of Branding and Marketing

Alright! Now that we have defined marketing and branding let us talk about their central roles in your business.

Though marketing is being used to promote your construction services and product, branding is helpful when shaping your construction brand. You need strategies for both since marketing and branding have different goals and results.

1. Marketing drives sales, while branding drives loyalty and recognition.

At the core, many marketing strategies (think of advertising, blog content marketing, SEO, and more) are meant to drive results. More often than not, the results of these marketing strategies are trying to drive and achieve – has to do with sales.

This is great! If you want your construction company to succeed, you need first to drive sales! However, branding takes a different course and more of a long-term approach. Branding is not the solution if you are looking to drive more sales. But it is the best solution yet if you are looking to build brand recognition, foster customer loyalty, and drive positive brand sentiments, which are all important. At the end of the day, all of these will significantly impact your ability to drive more sales in the long run.

2. Marketing will get your client’s attention, while branding is more of a way to keep your customer’s attention.

You are in a sea of intense competition. So, if you want to make waves and get the attention of your clients, construction marketing is an absolute must. But once you already get the attention of your target clients, you should have something that will keep their attention intact. This is where branding enters the scenario.

People, especially your target audience, want to partner with businesses with brands they can trust and believe in. In a nutshell, you all need to have the right marketing tactics to set your construction brand apart from the intense competition. It is branding that will help you foster a relationship with your customers, creating a long-term business connection and keeping them turning to you.

3. Branding comes first, while marketing comes second.

In the grand scheme of owning a construction business like yours, branding always comes before marketing. And there’s a reason for it! You cannot market a brand if you have not designed it yet! So, before you even think of putting some marketing strategies in place, you have to focus on your branding and ask the following questions to yourself:

What do you want to bring to your marketplace?
Who are you as a brand?
What is your mission? What are your core values?
How are you going to share that with your target clients?

Only when you have answers to these questions will it begin making sense to you the importance of marketing to your business. Take note that once you have branding in place, you will better understand who you are, who your clients are, and the most effective ways to connect with them. Overall, this can result in building a marketing strategy that helps you drive sales and increase more sales.

4. Marketing tactics come and go, but branding is forever.

For as long as you are trying to make your construction business successful, you are going to need to market your business consistently. But these tactics you may use to market your company can be temporary.

Every marketing strategy will be going to have a beginning, middle, and end. That is why branding is quite different. No matter where you are in your construction business, you will always be hustling to define who you are as a company, reshaping your brand’s perception with your target audience, and fostering a much deeper, more meaningful relationship with your target clients. And as your client grows and evolves, you will also need to grow and develop your branding right alongside it.

5. Branding has a significant impact on your teams as it does on your clients.

Your team will be responsible for developing and implementing your marketing strategies. However, outside of it, they are not the ones to be significantly impacted by your marketing. But when it comes to your branding? It is an entirely different story.

Your branding has a profound impact on your team as well as on your clients. And like you have your clients believe in your brand to partner with you, so do your people or employees. When you create a brand that your team believes in, they will be more passionate about and committed to their work. They will work harder, push themselves, and bring their best ideas to the table. As a result, your construction business will thrive.

Tips on Branding Your Construction Business

When it comes to branding your construction business, there are a few techniques you must aim to follow:

Focus on what makes you unique: What will make you stand out is one important thing you should consider when branding yourself. Never allow your brand to have the same qualities as the companies within your sector. If you take the same approach as them, your brand will never thrive and stand out.
Create a visual brand: Your brand is comprised of a lot of things. It is the visual design that is considered one important element of all. Visual branding can be applied to various facets of your marketing – your construction website, marketing materials, etc. The point of your visual branding is to convey relevant ideas and help your target audience retain a much clearer picture of your brand in their minds.
Be consistent: Always make sure you are consistent with your branding. Keep the same tone because that is very important. That goes for other detailed elements too. For instance, on your website, the colors you will be using should be the same shades to apply to other areas related to your brand. Web development and design can give you a more consistent theme for your website. There is no reason for you not to invest in it.

Tips for Marketing Your Construction Business

Focus on your specific services and products: Try not to be so general with your construction marketing. Rather than working or running an advertisement that says, “Avail construction services from [name of your company],” go for marketing services instead that effectively market your services and products.
Use compelling Call to Action (CTA): Another practical marketing tip in mind is that you must always use CTs. By including CTAs in your content, you easily imply what you want them to do to your target audience, providing them with the most persuasive CTA they cannot ignore.
Harness Multiple Strategies: There are many ways you can promote and market your business online. In many cases, it is generally great to use various marketing tactics together to reach your entire audience widely. Using more than one marketing strategy can help expand your digital influence, driving up your sales and revenue.

Take Your Business to the Next Level with ConstructionMarketing.io

Now that you understand the unique roles and differences of marketing and branding to your business, it is time to upgrade to the next level!

But are you still unsure about going about marketing and branding all by yourself? Go partner with us! Here at ConstructionMarketing.io, we know what it takes to drive a killer branding and marketing strategy! Get started with our digital marketing services. Our service offerings include SEO marketing, Keyword Research, Social Media Management, Web Design, Custom Blog Articles, Google My Business, and more!