The building season is in full swing, but as you complete contracts, don’t forget to advertise. You don’t want to complete one job, only to find out that when it is over you are out of work. For a Utah General Contractor, the best advertiser is past customers. Marketing needs to be a consistent business activity. In and out of season, you need to be making potential clients aware of you and what you can do for them. Advertising can be expensive, but there are inexpensive forms of advertising that are highly effective. Word of mouth advertising is one of the traditional forms of marketing that is popular even with the advent of social media. Past customers are a great form of advertising for three different reasons: authority, niche, and the human touch. Authority When a company is new, they have to establish that they are an authority in its field. This isn’t always an easy thing to do and it takes time. There are no shortcuts to building a reputation. References are one way to prove that you are a qualified general contractor. If a previous customer tells friends and family that they know a contractor who provides quality work, it establishes your authority and lends credence to your other marketing efforts. Niche Effective marketing includes establishing a target market to pursue. Customers in this target market will know others in this market. This is a form of targeted advertising that will continue long after your other campaigns are over. People talk, and if they are happy about a particular service or product they will let others know. This is true even years after the service is complete. Human Touch People want to do business with people. Even with the advent of the Internet and virtual services, people still crave the human touch. When someone needs work done, a satisfied customer often says “I know a guy. . .” they don’t say “I know a company that. . .” This helps establish the human touch that customers want. Every project is a possible referral, and a general contractor needs to treat every customer this way. If you make every effort to make sure the customer is happy, they will remember you. These customers will think of you first the next time they need work done. They will also mention you when those they know say they need work done. This free form of advertising will keep you busy long after your other work is complete, and may even be able to keep you busy year round.