Guerrilla Marketing in the Construction Business

Like many other New Hampshire companies, Belknap Landscape Company serves multiple constituencies.

Residential Waterfront Property Turf, Plantings and Tree Care Services
Commercial Landscape Maintenance Accounts
Irrigation Customers
Low-voltage Landscape Lighting Customers
Snow Management Services, primarily to area Commercial Property Owners and Management Companies
Design -Build and Site Work Services for Property Owners and area Builders...

Here's a look at how a number of different efforts came together to provide a low cost, high impact message to a targeted group of New Hampshire builders and contractors. Maybe there are applications in your business. Maybe similar efforts will help you cut through the clutter so your prospective clients think of you 1st...

We go to the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce 2010 EXPO Oct 21 from 3-7:30 to engage the local Chapter (LRBRA) of the statewide Builder's Association (HBRANH). We arranged for a room within the Expo for the LRBRA business meeting and for a courtesy presentation by DES on the Comprehensive Shoreline Protection Act or CSPA.

All 75+/- local Chapter members - local builders who could consume our landscape design and site work services - were invited and the HBRANH posted it on the State Association's website for all to members see, some of which are bound to attend. Thereafter, our company will be on the LRBRA board of directors, providing more consistent visibility.

Meantime, Belknap Landscape teamed again with a local supplier, Appletree Nursery of Winnisquam, NH to decorate the Chamber EXPO, obtaining a Sponsorship at no cost (together we have decorated dozens of non-profit events this year). Appletree is bringing 30 foil-wrapped mums, cornstalks & pumpkins and BLC has 20 bales of hay and an bunch more flowers & gourds, etc. headed over to the Opechee Inn to decorate the 2010 EXPO for the Chamber of Commerce.

Our signage, albeit small, will flood the Expo at the entrance, the registration tables and at the bars.

In turn, the Chamber gave us, at no cost, a 10 by 20 ft booth at the event as well, so we get to speak to the public about our 4-season landcare services. The booth is so big we offered to share it with the builder's association members. They loved the booth offer, the provision of the room for the business meeting and the DES presentation so relevant to many builder-members.

Related, we are in the Granite State Builder magazine - the media voice of the statewide Builder's Association (HBRANH), both the hard copy and the digital version - again this quarter on:

Page 8 - a prior Press Release on storm water mitigation at the Messer St Boat Launch in Laconia (with the NH Lakes Association and Laconia High)

Page 53 - our free business card sized ad (w/ Link) is in the Build NH Trade Conference Show Guide, which we received in return for volunteering at the Nov 2 to 4 Build NH Trade Show at the Grappone Ctr in Concord.

The Show Guide, with a detailed schedule of events, will be distributed to all attendees (estimated 1,000+).
Each attendee will also receive a Show Bag on which the Belknap Landscape logo will show.
Each Show Bag will contain a Belknap Landscape StoneMakers decorative concrete brochure.

Belknap has the exclusive rights to distribute and install StoneMaker's sculpted concrete products in Grafton, Carroll and Belknap counties. Through efforts like those described above we are telling builders and contractors about this low cost, quick turn-around solution to creating attractive hardscapes for homes and businesses.

These efforts give Belknap Landscape's design-build, architectural masonry and site work capabilities additional exposure among area builders & contractors. Hope it helps some!

Dale