Effective marketing strategies and the Nigerian construction professionals

Abstract

All the economic sectors are facing keen competition for survival and sustenance; and the construction industry is not an exception. Many construction professionals face difficulties in selling their services due to failure to embrace marketing concept. Effective marketing strategies had been established to improve the growth of professional services in the competitive environment; therefore this paper examined the existing marketing strategies with the aim of determining their level of usage and effectiveness among Nigerian construction professionals. Six marketing strategies were identified for assessment by the consultants and contractors. These were location of firm, promotion, professional - client relationship, professional contract, marketing mix (4 ps) and research. The result indicated that the level of awareness of marketing strategy is low among the construction professionals surveyed despite the fact that they believed it is very essential in improving productivity. Professional - client relationship and professional contract were ranked very high as popular and effective marketing strategies. The paper concluded that the most popular and effective strategy was professional - client relationship followed by professional contract. However, marketing mix was the most preferred strategy with other strategies ranked high. Effective marketing strategies will result in profit increase, awareness creation, professional appreciation by the public and introduction of new attractive professional development. Key words: Construction, marketing, professional, strategy.