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Learn to Sell Print to the Construction Industry

Are you printing for the construction industry? If not, you should really consider expanding your client base into this billion-dollar market. The American construction industry’s expenditure is currently $1,293 billion dollars. In fact, construction businesses spend on average 13% of their budget on marketing This includes print products such as business cards, flyers, signage, and more. The graph below shows a forecast of the total spending for the construction industry in U.S. dollars.

construction industry expenditures graph
Source: Statista

It’s best to first understand that there are many types of construction businesses that have different printing needs. This article will go over some of the biggest categories and what you can sell to them.

Construction Businesses That Order Print

Small Construction Contractors

Small businesses generally don’t spend a lot of advertising, often only 1-2% of their total revenue, so it’s important to target them with only the essentials of print marketing. For this reason, basic “starter kits” that include business cards and yard signs are a good sell. You could even offer them car magnets, which are becoming increasingly popular among small contractor businesses.

Larger Project Management Companies

These construction companies don’t just build. They also manage multiple projects and juggle a lot of responsibilities at once such as demolition, financial analyses, and site acquisition. Companies that manage projects need materials that help them stay organized and demonstrate professionalism. Presentation folders, brochures, forms, and stationery help them show their clients that they are organized and can be trusted to do a great job.

Residential Construction Companies

Residential construction companies work on projects that range from government-sponsored community projects to high-end custom luxury homes. Your average home building business requires printed materials such as floor plan printouts, portfolio booklets, blueprints, and signage. Luxury home builders will want their promotional products printed on premium stocks with specialty finishes, including linen stock, silk lamination, and metallic foil.

Construction Industry Print Products

From business cards to Coroplast signs, many print products are important to construction companies. Rather than focusing only on the physical design of print products that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, most construction companies also want practicality. Products that are not as prone to wear and tear are more efficient and useful for these companies. Below is a list of a few products that are commonly used in the construction industry.

Business Cards

Business cards are a great networking tool that every industry should have, including construction industries. Consider durable business cards, which are waterproof and resistant to tears. With durable business cards, vigorous work that is done in a construction environment will not cause damage the way it will to a standard business card.

Roll Labels

Building with the use of manufacturing equipment requires the utmost care in order to keep a safe working environment for everyone. Industrial labels are a necessity that is useful in the construction industry, and roll labels can be used for packaging and as warning labels for proper product handling. Polyester labels, in particular, are suitable for heavy-duty use.

Coroplast Signs

One of the most common products used in outdoor work environments, Coroplast signs are a must-have in the construction industry. Every construction site needs clear signage to highlight hazardous work areas as part of the safety protocol. Durable and waterproof, Coroplast signs are ideal for outdoor use, where most construction sites usually take place. 

Brochures 

Construction companies use brochures to provide their clients with important information about their services. A brochure can pack a lot of information into a small compact space. Depending on the purpose of the brochure, they may want a particular type of fold, which can range from a simple half fold to a complex 8-page fold.

Booklets

Booklets showcase a construction company’s portfolio in a professional and appealing way. They are also popular products for displaying floor plans, architectural plans, and community development plans. Depending on the use of the booklet, it can be only a few pages long or a very thick booklet with many pages.

Flyers & Posters

Don’t let the product names fool you. Blueprint sheets, floor plans, and community planning diagrams are essentially flyers and posters. It’s an important point to keep in mind when selling print to the construction industry. They may not be familiar with print product names, so instead of asking if they’d like to print a poster, ask if they’d like large printouts of their project floor plans, and show them a sample.

The construction industry is a great market for print businesses looking to expand their client base. It’s an industry that continues to grow and order print products for their marketing and organizational needs.

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Haidan Dong

Haidan Dong

Content Strategist at SinaLite

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