Building a marketing strategy to scale a construction business

Practical marketing guidance for a consultancy in the construction industry

The challenge: Marketing that matches expertise

A construction consultancy approached me with a clear goal: to grow their business, reach new clients, and make the most of their skilled team in quantity surveying, design, and bid management.

Like many B2B service businesses, the firm faced common challenges:

• Potential clients weren’t fully aware of the full range of services, leading to missed opportunities

• Existing clients weren’t always maximising available services

• Marketing activity was inconsistent across channels, reducing engagement

• There was no clear, credible market positioning that reflected the team’s expertise

  
  

The founder wanted a practical strategy that would drive growth without over-complicating things.

My approach: Creating a practical, actionable plan

I started by reviewing historical performance, speaking with staff to begin gathering customer insights. A market review helped identify opportunities.

The strategy addressed key challenges with practical steps:

• Refining positioning: Defined core values, differentiators, and the firm’s role as a strategic partner and thought leader

• Social media guidance: Trained the team to use LinkedIn effectively for brand awareness and lead generation

• Lead scoring and prospecting: Implemented a sales framework to prioritise opportunities and accelerate the sales cycle

• 12-month content plan: Create a structured content plan with consistent themes across blogs, email, and social media

• Website brief and agency benchmarking: Developed a brief to be used in a pitch process and evaluated agency pitches.

  
  

The results: Confidence, consistency, and growth

The firm gained a differentiated market position that highlighted their technical expertise and strategic insight, helping them be seen as trusted advisors rather than just service providers.

Marketing improvements included:

• Structured LinkedIn activity to share relevant content, engage peers, and generate leads without feeling self-promotional

• Streamlined prospecting using the lead scoring framework

• Consistent content delivery through a 12-month plan that aligned all marketing activity with the new positioning

• Website readiness with a brief and agency assessment to ensure the site reflects strategy and supports business development

  
  

The team now has a practical, integrated marketing approach that aligns with business growth goals, giving them confidence to engage clients effectively and scale operations.

“Cannot recommend Nat and the Sharp Thinking service enough — thorough, detailed, and going the extra mile.”

— Ben Webb