Marketing for Non-Marketers: How to Promote Yourself, Your Business

If you’re in business, working in a business, or building a business, properly leveraging your marketing will put you leaps and bounds ahead of your competition. 

But where do you begin? 

Regardless of if you’re an individual or a business owner, the following tips and tactics can help you strengthen your personal or business brand. 

Some of these may be easy for you to knock out in a few minutes, while others may take more time.

Update your online business (and personal) profiles
Here are a few common ones to get you started: LinkedIn, Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor, Better Business Bureau, NRCA.  

Don’t forget to look for some of the less obvious locations where your company information could be located like your local chamber of commerce, trade associations, and company descriptions sent to trade shows. 

If you’re a contractor, you may have a profile listed on the website of a manufacturer. 

A quick Google search can help fill in the gaps for where your outdated company or personal information is located.

And don’t forget to update your logo and photos.
 
Know your target audience
This is the most often overlooked but incredibly crucial piece of good marketing. 

Who are you talking to? Who are you targeting? Why? 

Without this information, you’re taking a shot in the dark at crafting any marketing materials and messages. 

Are they a homeowner or a commercial business? What average job size are you looking for?

Once you’ve identified who your target persona or ideal customer is, take a few minutes and put yourself in their shoes. 

Do they spend their days in an office or on the road? How do they make decisions about their roof? Are they responsible for multiple roofs? 

If you walk into their office or location, what magazines are sitting on their desks? Write down your findings. It will help guide your marketing decisions.
 
Review and update existing marketing materials
First impressions matter. 

Are you ashamed to send leads to your website? 

Can you even find that faded, outdated brochure showing that beautiful roofing project you did in 1995?

Or maybe you don’t have any marketing materials at all. 

What information will your prospect need to know to confidently decide to work with you? 

Take the time to review all your materials through the eyes of a potential customer, and make updates accordingly.
 
Update your elevator pitch
Yes, the elevator pitch isn’t dead. 

We all need to have one for ourselves or for our business. 

If someone asks you who you are and what you do, what will you say? 

It may seem obvious, but take thirty seconds to write a pitch for yourself identifying who you are, what you do, and what value you bring to the table.

Get help if you need it
If you’ve been saying “we really need to update our website” or “our brochures are terrible” for over a year, and no action has been taken, it’s time to seek outside help. 

Marketing comes in all shapes and sizes, from strategists to copywriters to social media experts and full-service agencies. 

Choose one that’s right for you and your business, and has a background in roofing, building envelope, or construction.

Regardless of if you’re a small business owner, estimator, or sales, we’re all responsible for how we position and brand ourselves and our companies. 

Keep in mind that doing something is better than doing nothing at all, and every little bit counts. 

Taking the time to review and invest in effective marketing will yield significant ROI in both direct and indirect ways.