The construction industry will tend to lag tremendously behind the rest of this country and perhaps even the rest of the free
and modern World when it comes to technology.? I?d love to know what percentage of construction organizations even have websites.? I did a back of the envelope survey about ten years ago and I think it came in around 10%.? Granted, that was ten years ago, and I just built my first Friendster profile, but still, 10% is pretty pathetic.
*Incidentally, Friendster turned down an offer to be bought by Google in 2003 for $30 million which is evidently one of the worst choices in business history.? I don?t really know why because they were recently bought for $100 million by some company in Malaysia.? But while they are now more of a site for games and things, they were the pioneers of Facebook and got kinda hosed in the whole deal.? But hey, $100 million ain?t the end of the World. *
I think architects and engineering firms are a little more progressive when it comes to technology than contractors, but this may be for good reason.? Construction services has long been a word of mouth type industry.? I?m not exactly sure why, because this could easily apply to other industries, but for some reason, people feel more comfortable with a referral from a trusted source.
Mark Buckshon, who writes the Construction Marketing Ideas blog, wrote an article last year about the three biggest construction marketing mistakes.? One of them was, of course, lack of web presence.? I?ve found this to be true, but I don?t think many people are looking for construction services by doing web searches.? Rather, they are getting referrals or talking to people, and then looking up the companies online.? So the web presence, in my opinion is a last minute check to make sure the company has all their ducks in a row.? So yes, its important.? And a good website can definitely set you above those that are less savvy in the web department. Could it change?? Yes, and I would like to be on the forefront of that.? Will building owners and developers eventually look for construction services through online searches and forums?? Perhaps, but until then, let?s just get some good, quality websites up.
As far as social media goes ? I just throw my hands in the air.? Anymore, I can?t keep track of Facebook, Twitter, et al.? It?s just too much for me with all the other stuff going on.? I actually provided some commentary on this back in 2011 and there was? some spirited commentary on both sides of the fence.? So I guess my opinion is that it won?t hurt and could draw people to your site and maybe toss your info in the direction of other potential clients.? So by all means, get a Facebook page and Twitter account.? However, I don?t think Friendster will help you out too much anymore.
Since most of us are busy running companies (and sometimes writing blogs), we may not have the wherewithal to create websites and update our twitter feed every thirty five seconds.? Luckily, there are companies that do this and better yet, some of these companies specialize in the AEC industry.? A specialty in AEC is, in my mind, a necessity when it comes to selection of a marketing consultant or really any service provider for that matter.? The AEC industry is at a minimum, an anomaly and at a maximum, a planet from a different universe.
One of these companies is NuCitrus Technolgies based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.? NuCitris provides website development and social networking services as well as software services and application development.? I recently met with Julia Markow with NuCitris and she explained these services at length.? NuCitrus is trying to work mainly with small and emerging companies and even more specifically, those who are members of the AEC industry.
Source: http://www.constructonomics.com/blog/2012/10/29/web-presense-for-the-aec-industry/
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