Sep 03, 2019

What Digital Transformation Means for Marketing in the Construction Industry

Digital transformation has had an impact on almost every single industry throughout the past decade, including the construction sector.

Today, digital technologies are incorporated into most everything we do, from processes and systems to marketing strategies and everything in between.

But, despite the evolution of digital in the construction industry in almost every way, it has still lagged behind other sectors that have fully embraced it.

This slower adoption rate is beginning to pick up speed, though. Now, we’re teetering on the edge of disruption, with the last few years making up for the lack of progress in many ways.

The construction industry has seen a rapid adoption of powerful technologies, including BIM, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, big data, 3D printing and more — and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

How Digital Transformation is Affecting Marketing

Marketing in the construction industry has undergone some significant changes in the past few years.

Traditional strategies like print advertising and typical mass media approaches have been swapped out for more data-driven strategies that incorporate automation, personalization and AI.

It’s now easier than ever to measure the success of a campaign and to create deeper connections with customers. This provides construction companies with a better understanding of what their audiences want and need, and gives them the power to serve the right content at the right time.

As a result, marketing ROI has increased.

Let’s take a look at some of the digital transformation trends that are blossoming in the construction industry and how they’re being incorporated into marketing strategies.

1. Mobile-Friendly

A study from Deloitte found that over half of all respondents check their phones within the first 15 minutes of waking up. We’re essentially glued to our hand-held devices all day, and they’re the tools we use to do pretty much everything, from shopping and list-making to checking emails and social media.

This shows just how important mobile devices are in everyday life and why you need your website and marketing strategy to be mobile-friendly.

The majority of consumers carry out searches on their mobile devices, which means if your website isn’t optimized for them, you’ll miss out on customers.

Mobile-friendly construction website example

2. Big Data

We now have access to more data than ever before.

These tools let us automatically store and analyze customer information, giving you powerful insights into typical purchasing behaviors.

You can use this information to build customer profiles, including what makes your audience tick and what turns them off. As a result, you’re able to create a marketing strategy that’s built on facts rather than guesswork.

Big data provides the chance to link together all sorts of information, including sales details, the browsing history of prospects and past purchasing behavior.

For example, you might use the analytics from your website to recommend relevant content to visitors that have already engaged with certain topics.

Additionally, we’re seeing more use of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the construction world.

This is essentially where physical devices (like wearables and equipment) are embedded with software and are connected to a digital network. They can exchange data, giving construction companies real-time information about their customers and the chance to respond in-the-moment to capture prospects when they’re in “buy mode”.

3. Artificial Intelligence

AI is infiltrating pretty much every industry.

Not only does it make relentless and time-consuming processes much quicker, but it can predict certain behaviors and create responses based on them.

As a result, it’s significantly changing the way companies market to their customers. We’re seeing more and more construction brands using insights and analytics to fuel their marketing strategies, and AI is aiding this in many ways.

AI incorporates a number of technologies, including machine learning, deep learning and computer vision, all of which provide help with analyzing big data and extracting the right information so you can respond in the right way.

4. Chatbots

Capturing the attention of prospects is difficult, particularly when there’s so much competition out there.

This means that, once you’ve got potential customers on your site, you need to be able to engage them right away.

If they’re in “buy mode”, they’ve got their wallet ready and are raring to go. But if they have any objections that aren’t answered right away, they will go somewhere they can get those questions answered immediately.

This is where chatbots come into play.

Construction website chat bot example

They allow you to interact with your customers in real-time to answer any questions they have at that very moment. As a result, you’re able to tackle any objections and push them closer to the sale without risking them moving on to your competitors.

We’re likely to see more and more chatbots popping up over the next few years, with construction companies integrating simple bots that are preloaded with workflows and the answers to frequently asked questions.

It’s Time to Embrace Digital Transformation

The most successful construction companies understand that, in order to stay ahead of the game, they need to constantly evolve with the times.

Digital transformation is here to stay. So, if you want to succeed, it’s important that you are constantly adapting to the continuous changes to meet customer demand and create a better buyer experience.

Related articles:

Digital Advertising Tips for Construction Companies

SEO Tips for the Construction Industry to Get More Qualified Leads

Looking for something specific? Check out our blogs on these topics:

Industry

Marketing Technique

Ready to talk with the experts in B2B marketing?
Request a free proposal.