Construction Marketing Secrets: 80/20 Rule and CMA Lists

This is the post you won’t want to miss. Once monthly, the Construction Marketing Blog will share Construction Marketing Secrets that may come from our editors or consultants, from a member or construction industry luminary, or from a relevant vendor. But it will be enlightening. Please be sure to Retweet, Share and Bookmark these posts.

Without further ado, the Pareto Principal, named after an Italian economist and more commonly called the 80/20 rule, is a business term most often referencing that 80% of sales come from 20% of customers.

In my career, I have often extrapolated this concept to marketing and business development, identifying the largest prospects in a segment or market or list, that will drive the majority of the sales opportunities. Or the top 20% will drive 80%. This concept is helpful in marketing as human nature would have marketing and sales spending equal amounts of time on tiny prospects, and not lavishing attention on huge prospects that can drive your bottom-line.

The Construction Marketing Association website Resources Page has a Databank available to members only, with dozens of lists and thousands of prospects by segment. Top construction firms. Top Architectural firms. Top hardware retailers. Top homebuilders. Top remodelers. Top plumbing contractors. Top electrical contractors. Top electrical wholesalers. You get the picture.

We call these different segments verticals. You can take the 80/20 a step further with some analysis to determine which 20% of verticals drive 80% of your sales. With this info, prioritize your vertical market development.

Note that both these concepts of focusing on top customers or top verticals are more relevant than ever, with smaller marketing budgets, less staff resources, etc.

So what can a construction marketer do with these valuable assets? Why market! Create a database. Qualify locations, decision makers, influencers. Professional telemarketing can be powerful. Send emails. Snail mails. Float a blimp above headquarters (just wanted to make sure you’re awake). Develop sales support tools customized to humungous prospect needs for your product or service. Case studies. White papers. Proposals. You get the picture.

The bigger the potential sale, the longer the sales cycle. Or if the sale is project-specific, what is timing of project milestones? All in a database. With communications notated.

Big is beautiful when it comes to customers and prospects. Prioritizing marketing resources and tactics on top customers and verticals will help you and your company succeed in this difficult economic environment.

There it is, our first Construction Marketing Secret. Surely you have a twist on this, so share it with a comment below. And email your best secrets to the editor (Editor@ConstructionMarketingAssociation.org). Its a long wait till next month. So don’t keep this post a secret!