The construction industry is embracing digital transformation at a scale that’s never been seen before. In terms of both logistics and marketing, the landscape is evolving at a rapid pace. When it comes to managing referrals, affiliate marketing strategies are helping to break new ground for lead acquisition.
In an increasingly competitive environment, it’s imperative that construction companies continue to seek out innovative ways to generate leads at a time when consumer behavior can be more challenging to anticipate.
Affiliate marketing offers a relatively low-cost strategy where businesses can allow their clients to become effective salespeople, sharing their positive experiences and delivering trustworthy insights in an impactful way.
Referrals can help to generate a stream of prospective clients who immediately trust the level of service your firm provides. According to the Association of Professional Builders’ 2024 SORCI Report, 48.7% of builders rely on referrals for more than half of their sales, while it’s estimated that only one to three referrals are required to secure a contract, highlighting the high conversion rate for referral leads.
But how can you use construction affiliate marketing to turn your happy clients into winning spokespeople? Let’s take a deeper look at how digital transformation is helping to unlock the potential of referrals on an unprecedented scale:
Use VR and 3D Modeling to Get Visual
The average B2B buyer’s journey involves consuming an average of 13 pieces of content before making a purchase, and it’s for this reason that your construction firm can benefit from becoming part of the conversation by ramping up your use of multimedia content.
Resources such as blog posts, videos, emails, and eBooks can all work wonders in boosting your appeal to leads, but your affiliated clients can also play a significant role in building greater exposure.
As an easy fix, you can add a ‘share this’ button to your content so that clients can share it across their network, but technology can go some way in boosting your content-based lead acquisition.
In the construction industry, your portfolio is your biggest selling point, and virtual reality and 3D visualizations allow firms to market projects far and wide online.
By allowing leads to immerse themselves in designs or projects that are underway, the technology can enable them to experience your work as if they’re physically present. By sharing this technology with clients and encouraging them to share your digital copy surrounding their projects, you can build an effective virtual CV that’s broadcast directly to your client’s network.
Use Automation Technology
Automation tools are making the task of gaining and curating client referrals easier than ever. The technology can even use everyday operations to create a more comprehensive referral program by uniting the strategy with invoicing.
By personalizing your invoices using dedicated software, it’s possible to add tailored call-to-actions (CTAs) for clients with each invoice you send.
This can make your invoices an intuitive component of your affiliate marketing program. For instance, you may decide to place a discount code, cash rewards, gift cards, or any other incentive for clients who are willing to become part of your referral program and leave a positive review.
These reviews could then be used as a key social proof throughout your marketing materials as a means of reinforcing your trustworthiness.
Tailor Your Referral Strategy
While word-of-mouth remains a key means of construction marketing, this can be replicated online with the help of satisfied clients who are incentivized to leave positive feedback publicly or on social media channels.
Whether you offer discounts, gifts, or deals on future projects, creating an appealing referral strategy is an imperative part of boosting your marketing credentials online. While automation tools like ReferralCandy can help to automate your program, it’s worth looking at how to tailor it to the needs of your clients.
One existing strategy used by ToolBarn allows its affiliates to promote products catering to various segments within the construction industry, from power tools and safety equipment to building materials and machinery.
The referral scheme pays commissions for affiliate content, which can range from product reviews to instructional videos for tools or comparison guides aimed at prospective clients. Adopting a similar approach could see your clients rewarded for reviewing your performance on projects, introducing new audiences to your areas of expertise, and highlighting some of the technology your teams use on-site.
Keep Communication Channels Open
Of course, there’s no better way to create a functional referral scheme for your construction company than to deliver an outstanding level of service for all clients. Building strong relationships with clients can be an excellent way of introducing them to your affiliate program and will likely help them to be more receptive to helping with your exposure.
With this in mind, it’s not only essential that you foster a strong and conducive working relationship with your clients, but you should also keep your communication channels open even after your project has been completed and all workers have packed up.
Utilizing cloud-based construction management software means that your firm can benefit from frictionless collaboration tools with clients and maintain an easy line of communication.
One of the easiest ways to get more positive referrals from clients is to simply ask for reviews. Using construction management systems, it’s easier than ever to get in touch with the right personnel to build client advocacy. You can even reconnect with old clients using the software to potentially expand your access to positive referrals even further.
