5 Ways to Use your Trade and Construction Vehicles to get more clients.
In our (humble opinion) branded vehicles are one of the BEST marketing decisions you can make in your Trade and Construction business.
Even if your vehicles aren’t branded up just yet, you understand the importance of these in your business…
✅ Brand Awareness on the road.
✅ Professionalism when you turn up to meet clients.
✅ Quickly identifiable on site.
✅ Making that all important first impression.
(That you never get a second chance to make).
✅ That then helps conversion.
Have these bad boys designed correctly, high quality vinyl fitting and keep them clean and you have an investment that will last you years.
Paying for itself over and over again.
But there are a number of tricks you might be missing to get the most out of your vehicles.
To get them doing the heavy lifting for you when it comes to marketing your business.
And I don’t want you to miss out.
So take a look at these 5 ways to use your Trade and Construction Vehicles to get more clients.
And see how many you can tick off…
1. Park your Trade and Construction Vehicles in Prominent Places.
Let’s start with the easiest one.
And probably most overlooked.
Where you park your vehicles, matters.
Of course you need to think about security and safety, first and foremost.
After that, think business.
After all.
Your branded vehicles are 24/7 advertising for your Trade and Construction business.
Let me give you an example.
⭐️ Steve is a client of ours and runs a successful flooring company in North London.
He supports his daughters who play football at the local playing fields every week and has done for years.
These playing fields are huge.
There are DOZENS of football matches going on there every Sunday morning.
As well as DOZENS of rugby matches at the same time.
There must be thousands of people on this field every single week during season.
Steve has a specific Ideal Client.
Domestic families in this particular area of North London.
Now.
Steve could do what everyone else does and drive the family car down there to go and watch her.
But he takes the (extremely well branded) van.
Why?
Because on that field are hundreds of his Ideal Clients.
Parents. Homeowners. In the local area he serves.
He knows that this is a FANTASTIC place for his vehicle to do some advertising for him as his Ideal Clients are there every week supporting their kids.
Just like he is.
Plus, he is going anyway, so it really is no extra effort on his part.
He knows that if people see his vehicle enough, as and when they have flooring needs the likelihood that they are going to think of his company (whether they know him personally or not) is pretty high as they see his van each week in the car park.
The sweet spot being that those Ideal Clients (again - whether they know him or not), given that his van is there every week, are also going to presume that he is a parent of one of the kids or involved with the games and activities that commence there.
Of which they’d be correct.
Which instantly builds up a certain level of trust as they position him as ‘just like them’.
He's an active, family orientated parent too.
So who are they much more likely to think of and give a call to first when looking to update the flooring in their home?
Steve of course.
But here is the really smart bit.
Steve turns up early every week.
Why?
Because he bags the one space in the car park right next to the entrance to the field.
Meaning every single person that enters and exits – sporting families, dog walkers, local joggers…
Every single one of them walks right next to Steve’s van.
Genius.
Another example.
⭐️ Glenn is a client of ours and runs an Air Conditioning company.
He too has a very well branded fleet of vehicles for his business.
Glenn lives on a busy road.
Thousands of cars, vans and lorries drive on this road every day.
He also happens to have a large drive in front of his house.
Glenn could park the vehicle on the front of the drive and just drive straight on.
But he doesn’t.
What Glenn does is park his vehicle on the front drive, side on.
Yes, his drive allows for it but he makes a conscious decision every day to give his business brand the most exposure at all times by parking this way.
So that the side of his van runs parallel to the road.
This means his logo and vehicle design is front and centre for not only every passer-by walking but for every car, van or lorry to see – in full glory.
You literally cannot and will not miss it.
24/7 advertising at its finest.
Proud of you Glenn.
Final one.
I’ve been going to networking meetings for over a decade now.
I must have been to hundreds of these – nearing on the 1000 mark – over the years by now.
There should be a medal for this. 🏅
During that time, I was a member of a group that met weekly.
It was held at a Golf Club – which as you may or may not know, can have certain restrictions in place for businesses who hire their venues to make sure they accommodate their Golf Club Members.
One of which was a parking restriction.
From a brand stand point, the Golf Club asked that every week all the Networking members parked towards the middle and end of the car park (as we would be arriving at 6am but often not leaving until 10am) to leave space for the Golfers who would be parking around 8am.
Whilst we were still in the meeting.
Not a problem.
A bay was allocated in the middle of the car park and from that point on, we were allowed to park.
⭐️ Here's where I’m going to introduce Flooring Steve again.
(He’s totally nailed how to market using his vehicle and parking as you can see).
Steve would be first to arrive every single week.
Why?
Because he’s obsessed with being incredibly punctual?
No.
Because Steve wanted to grab that first parking bay.
Why?
Because he knew that every single person – members, visitors to the meeting, and the golfers themselves – who would drive into the Golf Club would see his branded vehicle graphics first (unblocked by any other van) in all its glory.
Which they did.
Now.
Team the sighting of this epic vehicle in the car park, meeting the ever-professional Steve in the meeting, with his matching branded workwear on, handing over his well-designed business card and delivering an informative presentation.
What do you have?...
50+ people bowled over by a Trade company that they now won’t forget when they think about their flooring needs in the future.
No ’cowboy trade’ here.
Every box ticked. ✅
First impressions nailed.
His branding now imprinted in everyone’s minds.
A company you would feel safe and confident in referring.
And parking his van in the right spot played a part in this chain of brand success.
Nice one Steve.
(Incase you’re interested in seeing what Steve’s Vehicle looks like. Designed by yours truly.)
2. List your main services on your Trade and Construction Vehicle
Designs.
Having your logo and phone number (maybe a website) on your vehicle is not enough if you want your vehicles to do the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing in your Trade and Construction business.
Let me tell you about the problem with this.
Your busines name is along the lines of ‘Henry Gable & Co.’
Your logo says ‘Henry Gable & Co’.
Your website address say ‘www.henrygableandco.com’.
Well.
If I see your vehicle on the road or parked outside my home or office, I have no idea what you do.
Your so called ‘branded vehicle’ is doing absolutely no advertising for you.
Yes, the name is now familiar in my mind.
But as I have no idea what you do, I will be carrying on with my day.
I may be in need of a roofing contractor for my office premises and that may be exactly what Henry Gable & Co offer.
But without this being advertised on your van, how am I ever to know?
First lesson.
Make sure WHAT you do i.e. Commercial Electrical Contractor, Domestic Roofer, Plumbing Supplies, is clearly visible on your branded vehicles.
But let’s take it one step further.
You run an Air Conditioning and Refrigeration business.
And I run a busy restaurant.
My Ice Machines are playing up.
Your vehicle is parked on my road most days.
Your office is nearby.
Ice Machines are quite a speciality to fix.
You fix them.
But as far as I’m concerned you offer Air Conditioning and Refrigeration.
Why would I presume you fix Ice Machines?
Unless there was a service list of your vehicle perhaps.
Another example.
You run a fireplace company.
And your beautifully deigned branded vehicles are all over town.
I’m a homeowner.
And in the market to have my chimney lined.
I am driving right behind you in traffic.
You offer chimney lining services.
But on the back of your van, I just see the word ‘Fireplaces’.
I don’t need a fireplace.
So why would I presume you offer chimney lining as a service?
If I saw a short list on the rear of your van that said…
Stove Installations
Fireplace Installations
Chimney Camera Services
Chimney Lining
What am I likely to do?
Take down your number or memorise your business website and look to get in touch when I’ve stopped driving.
You can’t presume that our Ideal Clients know everything about our Trade and Construction business – just because you do.
Because we don’t.
BUT.
If we can clearly see that YOU offer a specific service that we are after because it’s listed on your branded vehicle for all to see, we are much more likely to get in touch. And your enquiries begin to go up.
So be clear.
Use your vehicles to upsell your exact services.
3. Promote your Social Media Channels on your Trade and Construction Vehicle Graphics.
Use your branded vehicles to grow your Social Media audience.
Be sure to list the exact handles of your business on the vehicles so we can find you easily.
HANDLES – the short cut addresses. E.g. Our Instagram Handle is @buildyourtrade.
Here's two reasons why.
🟡 REASON 1
Your Social Media Handles on your vehicles are great for the folk that see you on the road whilst driving and need to take a mental note of a contact detail, for when they stop.
Websites and email addresses can be tough to remember (.com or was it .co.uk?).
But a short Social Media Handle is often what drivers can remember to search for later and begin making enquiries with you.
🟡 REASON 2
An Ideal Client may see your vehicle on the road.
They may be thinking about a loft, some gardening maintenance or re-tiling the bathroom for the future.
Whatever it is that you offer in your Trade and Construction business.
They are not in the market right now to buy.
Yet are doing their research.
🚚 If your vehicle graphics are promoting your Social Media handles and your Ideal Client starts with social before Google, then they are likely to start following your page as a way of ‘marking you’ in their minds to revisit when they are ready to buy.
How many times have you seen a product online you are thinking about buying.
You follow the page so that you can be reminded and updated about their offering.
Then after seeing them ‘pop up’ on your newsfeeds multiple times over weeks or months, you enquire or make a purchase?
Same thing here.
💻 By using your vehicles to promote your social platforms, you are inviting ‘interested potential Ideal Clients’ into your world and then given the opportunity to ‘pop up’ on their devices over the course of the future to be that ‘go to Company’.
Without listing these details on your vehicle, people may presume you don’t have them.
Or they will try looking for you but will have difficulty finding you if your Social Handle is not the exact same as your business name.
Check out all you need to know about setting up your Social Media handles here.
4. Grab Attention by using Images on your Vehicle Graphic Designs.
According to the Department for Transport, there are 1,548,000 vans registered to companies on the UK's roads.
Wow.
That’s a whole lot of vehicle competition for you right there.
With thousands of vehicles on the road in the areas you want to grow your business, how on earth are you going to get eyeballs on yours as a way of working towards getting more clients?
Images.
That’s how.
Another FUN FACT for you.
⚪️ Did you know there are 2.5 million white vans in the UK? That is 1 White Van to every 24 members of the UK population.
White vans very much go unnoticed on UK roads.
In a branded sense.
There are so many that unless we are actively playing a game of ‘Count the White Vans,’ most of us don’t pay much attention to them.
What DOES turn our heads however is vehicles that stand out (for the right reasons).
And using imagery within your vehicle designs can help do exactly that.
Take a look at a couple of vehicles we designed for our clients.
Both these vehicles came to us as ‘white vans’.
They left as anything but.
Here’s what adding imagery did to their Trade and Construction brands…
✅ Set them apart from ‘white van man’ stereotypes.
✅ Stands out on the road from other vehicles…
✅ …thus gets more attention.
✅ Explain exactly what their business is/does, quickly.
✅ Grabs attention where text can be missed
✅ Shows an example of their actual work!
If that isn’t enough for you, I’ve no idea what is.
5. Use Sub-Contractor Vehicles to advertise your Trade and Construction business.
Now this one is a smart one.
And not many companies do this.
Of course you understand the value of having a branded vehicle on the road.
As your 24/7 advertising platform.
Parked in all the right places.
One vehicle alone can be a game-changer.
When you have a fleet, you are 5X, 10X or even 50X’ing the amount of visibility and advertising for your business right?
But smaller Trade and Construction businesses may not be at the stage of managing a fleet just yet.
Though how great would it be for your business to have more branded vehicles on the road showcasing your brand?
Here's an idea we’ve seen Trade and Construction companies we know work around that…
💡 If you have a trusted sub-contractor that regularly works for you and owns a unbranded vehicle, why not offer them the opportunity to have their vehicle branded up as you.
They receive a one-off fee as a thank you, and you get another branded vehicle on the road.
Helping you with the heavy lifting 24/7.
Nice.
This won’t work for everyone.
Only you know the working and personal relationships you have with your team.
But as a win-win starting point, it’s definitely one to consider.
5 IDEAS TO USE YOUR TRADE & CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES TO GET MORE CLIENTS RUNDOWN:
1. Park your Trade and Construction Vehicles in Prominent Places.
2. List your main services within your Vehicle Graphics.
3. Promote your Social Media Channels.
4. Grab Attention by using Images on in your Graphic Designs.
5. Use Sub-Contractor Vehicles to advertise your business.
🛠 Need a little more help nailing your Trades and Construction Brand?
Course you do.
First. Let’s work out where you are with your brand.
Got 3 minutes?
Take our Trades Quiz to discover how you score with all things ‘Off The Tools’.
We have heaps of tips, tricks and hacks for your Trade and Construction business in our cheat sheets, videos and ideas waiting for you on the other side… i.e., your results page.
So you can improve your score.
And BUILD your business by NAILING your brand.