ForConstructionPros.com

You already understand the value of well-known business building techniques such as a professional image and good service, setting customer expectations and meeting them, and getting referrals.

Now you are looking for ways to jump to the next level. You can expand your business exponentially using the powerful principle of relationship marketing.

Marketing is not just advertising. Marketing is everything you do to promote your business, from networking to your website to sending Christmas cards to past customers. Relationship marketing includes all the ways that you use relationships to promote your business. For a concrete business, this means partnering with other professionals who can help you build your business.

Who are these professionals? This depends on your business focus. They could be custom home builders, general contractors specializing in retail up-fits, architects specializing in restaurant design, or, in the case of concrete countertops, kitchen designers.

Let's take the example of custom home builders. Your community probably has a chapter of the National Association

Marketing is the art of reaching potential customers to tell them about your product and your company. If you have to reach homeowners directly (beyond public relations), you need to spend a lot of money to reach a lot of people. You're faced with Yellow Page ads, postcard mailings, home shows and the like. These marketing venues are costly, not very targeted and not very convincing.