What sets your company apart from the competition? What makes you the top choice in your field when it comes to being selected for the job?

What sets your company apart from the competition? What makes you the top choice in your field when it comes to being selected for the job?

In the July and August issues we will be examining the leaders of many different fields of work related to the construction industry. I will be profiling companies who are setting themselves apart from the rest based on:

• Technology
• Skill & Experience
• Employees
• Desire to be the best
• Awards and Industry Recognition
• Ability to get the winning bid

If you are at the top of construction industry for your field I want to share your story. In the A Look at Industry Leaders special issues you can participate several ways to tell the story of your company or yourself. You can sponsor the article with a targeted ad showcasing your company, if you purchase a ¼ page ad size or larger I will provide you matching editorial space with an interview with you, key members of your team and even your clients.

You can have a two page profile or larger done that you approve from content right down to the layout. The feature could be your with the purchase of a minimum 1/3 page ad or I can work with you to create it at no cost by working with the different suppliers and trades in your field. I will only be accepting limited companies per trade and industry specialty per issue which means space is limited.

If you wish to participate please contact me by email chase@cnrgp.com or by phone 905-228-1151.

Testing, testing and more testing...

This past month I launched a few new marketing tests to generate additional revenue and stumbled on some great topics of interest for my clients and readers of the paper.

First initiative was the launching of a special “Hotels and Lodgings Directory” in the Ontario Construction Report. The idea was generated from a relationship with a great client last year that spent several thousand dollars of their marketing budget to promote a group of hotels. I was given a copy of the group of hotels that were all a part of the advertising efforts and made sure they got their free subscription to the paper as an advertiser each month, but not to solicit them.

The client did not renew their advertising contract this year as they had moved to a larger online focus, but I was left holding the list of names of the people who participated in the co-op advertising a year before. Through a series of discussions with Mark Buckshon, the publisher and owner of the paper, we launched the Hotel Directory online in April with three contract hotel advertisers and I started to target the list of co-op advertisers from last year and generated $1,500 without picking up the phone. I will be following up this month with the rest of the list of co-op advertisers from last year and then start researching additional leads. Some of the revenue lost from the client not renewing has been recouped with very little effort.

Next up for new editorial themes was the launch of “Young Leaders” and the “Roofing Industry” in the June issue. Both are being tested to see if we can add them to our 2011 media schedule and so far they have both generated response for guest columns, interviews and advertising.

As the summer progresses, I will be looking to test out a few new editorial themes and some specialized directory marketing for our “Service Provider Directories” in both the GTA and Ottawa papers based on the larger groups of companies per listing. Will these earn $1,000,000 in one month? The answer is no, but each dollar will contribute to the expansion of our publications.

GTA Construction Report May 2010

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Online Publishing from YUDU

Ottawa Construction News May 2010

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Online Publishing from YUDU

Ontario Construction Report May Issue

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Self Publishing with YUDU

"We don't need to do sales, we do bid work only!"

I am currently working a major association profile and I have been taken back by a few comments from some of the members who say they do not need to do sales or marketing because they only do bid jobs.

One of the contacts said we get all of our work from winning with the lowest bid. If I had known the person better I would of said that logic is like trying to row a boat with only one oar. You will only end up spinning in circles and what happens if you lose your one oar?

What if tomorrow bid jobs disappeared and getting work relied completely on having relationships and connections, what would happen to these one trick ponies?

Survival in business means being able to adapt, test, fail and adapt again. You must be able to have a few different sources for work/revenue no matter what you do. Funny thing is some of the contacts fail to realize they are doing sales and marketing as part of being a member of an association like they are. Now the question remains are they passive members who pay their dues each year or are they active? Do they volunteer or attend events? Do they us the instant connection and common ground they have with all the other members? I hope so.

Ideally these contacts should divert 5% of the revenue generated from their bid jobs to being active members of an association, sponsorship of events and yes evening putting together a targeted marketing plan for web, print and direct mail.

Did you used to do only bid jobs in the past? If so did adapt and what caused you to change?

And the winner is.....

It is almost time to announce the winners of the 2009-2010 Ontario Construction Report Readers Choice Awards and all the finalists are calling trying to get the results early!

In the June issue of the Ontario Construction Report we will have a special section recognizing all the winners and finalists from across the province in our most popular and most voted on Readers Choice Awards yet.

Their is no cost to entire your company into the awards and we will work with you to provide lots of great editorial coverage to celebrate the recognition you deserve. The nominations for the 2010-2011 Awards should be up and running in August so get ready to nominate the great companies you work with or even your own. If you want to get a leg up on the nominations you can send them to me now at chase@cnrgp.com