4 ways to win new customers during COVID-19

It’s true: The world is topsy-turvy at the moment.

Even as we find ourselves in the midst of a truly unprecedented situation – one that shifts by the minute – not everything should be in flux. The best businesses will always keep customers at their core. This includes customers you haven’t even met … yet.

Now isn’t the time to give up on landing leads. The best construction companies will do quite the opposite. Instead of settling, you should get equal parts creative and strategic in finding fresh ways to break through all this “new normal” noise and land yourself a parade of projects.

Many are still looking for new homes, and home renovations are on the rise as families spend more time indoors social distancing. That’s good news for contractors of every type. The only question left is: How do you win some of this business?

You’re in luck. We’ve got the know-how to help you turn this potential downtime into “major business growth” time. Even if you can’t start on projects due to local government guidelines, you can still land new jobs so business is more than booming once given the green light.

Just say ready, set, go to these four ways to win new customers during the COVID-19 crisis:

1) Make content king

Content as king isn’t a new concept in the world of marketing, but right now, its royal status holds more weight.

Good content creates brand awareness and establishes you as a thought leader in an otherwise saturated market. This has the potential to generate new leads and increase sales as more prospective customers become exposed to your company.

However, pushing typical salesy content won’t win you the crown. Instead, focus on creating messaging that’s unique to your business, authentic and filled with SEO keywords (this will grab Google’s attention as well as new customers’ eyes).

Also playing to your advantage is the fact that people are more plugged into their devices than ever as life has slowed down.

So, what kind of content should you be pushing during a pandemic? Blog posts with helpful tips on what to look for in a builder during COVID-19, reports arguing why a remodeler is more than needed for that next DIY project, marketing emails and podcasts aplenty, videos showing how your team is still working from home shared on social media – the options are truly endless.

Speaking of social media …

2) Get savvy on social media

Chances are you can connect with your next best customer without ever leaving your sofa. That’s the power of social media.

It gives you the opportunity to meet leads somewhere they spend hours upon hours a day. In fact, the use of social networking sites is on the rise as people are logging in to stay connected and informed.

Across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, you should create a construction social media marketing strategy to reach customers with messages that matter most right now. Or, if you really want to get trendy, take to Tik Tok. This newer video-sharing app could be great for showing off your team’s culture or builds in progress.

Just remember – social media is still content, and authentic content reigns right now. Don’t shove ads down their throat. Use these platforms to learn more about customers, ask their preferences and establish lasting relationships.

3) Follow up to level up

Not everything that’s in the past should stay in the past. Take past customers for example. A big part of building a loyal customer base is keeping the ones you already have.

They already know and (hopefully) love you. Now it’s time to get them to come back for more. You might not have had the time to send follow-up emails before, but here’s where you could use a slowdown to your advantage. Whether you completed a laborious ground-up build or a quick room renovation, if that experience was positive then it’s worth following up to see if that customer has any upcoming needs.

Think of it as a simple check-in a few months after a job is completed. The customer will be impressed that you emailed or called, and it could lead to more business with them.

Moreover, these relationships could lead to more happy customers through referrals. That’s what we call a win-win.

4) Go digital

The ongoing shift to a digital customer experience just hit fast forward. Nowadays, the top construction companies have taken their business operations online – it’s time you follow suit.

That’s where construction project management software like Buildertrend comes in. Going digital allows you to continue servicing customers even though they’re staying home. This starts with features that help you master the pre-sales process. From sending automated email marketing campaigns to acting as the one place to capture and close all leads to building estimates and proposals, our powerful platform does it all.

Once a customer commits, there are even more tools to make the construction process faster, easier and all around better.

Our Customer Portal acts as your clients’ single source of truth. It’s here they can go to communicate with you, make selections or payments, sign agreements, check out the job schedule and more. In a time where face-to-face meetings just aren’t possible, this allows you to still provide customer service that goes above and beyond – and then some.

Bonus tip! Get Buildertrend on your side

With the spread of COVID-19, construction professionals around the globe are rethinking ways to run their businesses. However, if you keep customers (even potential ones) at the center of all your choices, you’ll lay the foundation for success.

The best way to do that is being backed by Buildertrend. Our all-in-one software for builders and remodelers helps digitize lead management – and every other step of the construction process. Start with a demo today!

Together, we’ll win more customers, tackle more projects and make it through this stronger than before.