If you've based your branding efforts on hunches, and you're hoping for a bit o' luck, you’re not the only one. But it's frustrating to throw random efforts (and budget) at the wall, only to watch your brand messaging and marketing efforts flatline month after month.
The reality is, construction companies with thriving brand recognition have founded their approach on something far more powerful than luck—a thoughtful, consistent brand strategy. A successful brand identity is rooted in a thorough understanding of your audience and retains a clear brand voice across all marketing channels.
So, uncross your fingers and schedule that 4-leaf clover hunt for another day—it's time you planned a no-nonsense brand strategy.
Why you can't just wing it
If you don’t have a brand strategy, you’re (sadly) not alone. Sources say that while 95% of businesses have a brand positioning statement and guidelines, only 1/4 of them enforce their branding rules. They’re hoping their brand personality stays consistent and relatable, without taking any steps to make it so.
But an effective brand strategy is vital to your business. 76% of consumers would rather buy from a company that they feel an emotional connection with, and brand messaging connects them to your company. When your marketing materials include consistent branding, you'll:
👉 Strengthen your investment: Haphazard branding weakens your impact and dilutes customer trust. Tighten your brand equity strategy to make sure every dollar spent reinforces your messaging and long-term value.
👉 Save time: A scattered branding approach creates redundant tasks and clunky, time-wasting processes. Streamline your internet branding with a plan that keeps your team in lockstep.
👉 Improve your reputation: When you’re working with a plan, it shows. You’ll look more polished, giving your professional reputation a lift and encouraging customer loyalty.
Clarify your unique identity
Why does your brand exist? What values do you want your customers to identify with your brand? Your brand's behavior on social channels, in emails and newsletters, and on your website should always reflect that original value proposition.
Think about what your company stands for—you might be a family-run business, or maybe you're backed by decades of construction expertise—and write down the core values that benefit your clients. A strong brand strategy is built on your values and mission statement, informing the language, visuals, and channels you use to connect with your audience. From there, you can extend your brand vision across every piece of content.
Define your target market
Ultimately, a comprehensive brand strategy revolves around your target audience—your existing customers and the new customers you’d like to attract.
We’ve already detailed how you can “Nail Down Your Dream Clients” in a blog published by Buildertrend, giving you a comprehensive overview of defining your target audience. Use it as a guide to creating insightful user personas that will inform your overall branding and digital marketing strategy.
Audit your branding elements
Once you know what you want to say, it's time to see whether you're actually saying it consistently. Check that every sentence, every CTA, and every social post reflects your values and fulfills the brand promise you've made in your mission statement.
Run the numbers
It's tricky to measure whether your branding has struck a chord with target customers, and it can take months or even years of repeat business to see leads become loyal customers. But don’t switch it up too soon, or you’ll risk appearing wishy-washy before you have the chance to build that long-term loyalty. Instead, track these metrics to be sure you're consistently telling your brand story.
Audience sentiment
A strong brand evokes emotional response, so you'll want to measure the emotional perception of your brand with tactics like:
- Social listening: Monitor mentions, reviews, and discussions about your brand across social media and forums.
- Sentiment analysis: Analyze customer comments, reviews, and social media mentions to determine positive, neutral, or negative sentiment trends.
- Customer feedback & surveys: Conduct Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys or open-ended feedback forms to find out how your audience sees you and feels about your brand.
- Brand reputation monitoring: Track ratings and reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, or industry-specific review sites.
Brand recognition
This determines whether people recognize your company and associate it with your core values and services. You can measure brand recognition with:
- Brand awareness surveys: Ask potential and existing customers if they recognize your brand or recall specific messaging.
- Search volume & direct traffic: Monitor how often people search for your brand name and how much direct traffic your website receives.
- Social media mentions & hashtags: Track how often people mention your brand organically without tagging you.
Long-term loyalty
As your branding efforts evolve, it's important to measure whether customers stay engaged with and advocate for your brand. Watch these metrics over months a nd years:
- Customer retention rate: Track how often you book new projects with the same clients.
- Engagement metrics: Monitor email open rates, website return visits, and social media interactions over time.
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Calculate how much value a customer brings over their entire relationship with your brand.
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measure how likely customers are to recommend your brand to others.
12-month brand strategy
Here’s a rough sketch of what your brand image strategy might look like over the next 12 months:
Months 1-3
If you've never written a brand storytelling framework, develop one now. It’ll guide your content with a narrative that resonates with your audience.
Then you'll want to conduct a brand audit to ensure that your messaging, visuals, and tone are consistent across all of your website and social platforms. Take an honest look at your website and refresh the colors, fonts, imagery, and messaging to align with your brand guidelines and create a cohesive experience.
On social media, refine your profiles to reflect your brand values and personality. Launch a monthly newsletter that conveys the same, and commit to publishing 1-2 blogs per month which you can promote in your newsletter—each written in your brand voice.
Months 4-6
Keep writing blogs that reflect key elements of your brand voice, visual identity, positioning, and purpose. Integrate SEO-driven keywords in a natural way that prioritizes storytelling, insights, and thought leadership.
Share behind-the-scenes content on social media accounts, and use your newsletter to nurture relationships, offer industry insights, and deliver content that aligns with your own brand.
Months 7-9
Now's a good time to audit your website for pages that aren't performing well, refining them to reflect your brand development.
Harken back to your brand's purpose with community initiatives—like collaborations with other businesses, charitable or industry events you've attended, or testimonials that showcase your fantastic customer experience.
Keep talking about your brand on social media, but share industry news, too. You can also start to experiment with video stories or polls that engage your audience. Send email marketing campaigns to segmented lists based on the types of projects you've completed with them, the date of your last communication, and the size or budget of the project. Tailor the language slightly to each group to align with their needs and preferences while staying true to the brand identity you’ve developed.
Months 10-12
Assess how well your brand strategy has resonated with your audience—use surveys, direct feedback, and the engagement metrics we’ve described above to understand what’s working. Then, refine your strategic branding as you plan for the next 12 months.
You might pay to boost high-performing content on your social channels, and invest in brand-building campaigns. It's a good time to start planning exclusive content, too, like ebooks and guides that only your most loyal customer base can access.
Don't forget to let your customers know you appreciate them! A good brand strategy includes saying "thank you" in a heartfelt way that's in line with your company's values.
Luckily, we can help! ☘️
If all of this sounds overwhelming, don’t worry! We’re brand marketing strategy experts, and we’ll plan your path to brand story gold. 🌈🪙 Let’s get started!