We all hear the term “big data” thrown around a lot these days. Since people talk about it so much it must be really important, right?Companies like Google are making hundreds of millions of dollars a month serving ads that use a vast database of behavioral data. Unfortunately, knowing all of this doesn’t help you figure out how “big data” can actually have an impact on your construction dealership’s bottom line.

“Big Data” has become a nebulous term that is difficult to define, let alone apply for most businesses

The real question you need answered is “how can big data help me reach the construction industry?” There are probably hundreds of ways to use data to improve your marketing to the construction industry, but here are 3 that will get you started.

1. Target by type of equipment they purchase.

It is so easy to spend thousands of dollars reaching an audience that will never be interested in your product. If you sell backhoes and you are marketing to a large group of people that include buyers who are only looking for front-end loaders you just wasted a lot of time, effort and money.

• Target By Brand

Do you know what construction equipment brand the audience you are marketing to prefers? This information could obviously help you market to potential customers who have already shown an affinity for the brand of equipment you sell.  But what if you were to create a  marketing campaign highlighting the advantages of your construction equipment brand over your competition that was targeted only to prospects who purchase another brand’s equipment? You just opened up a whole new market to sell to simply by leveraging quality data.

• Target by Exact Models Purchased

Targeting by brand is a great start, but why not get more specific than that in your marketing efforts? If you know that your best customers tend to prefer a certain year, model and make of construction equipment, target an audience that is most likely to become your new favorite customer. Blasting out emails, direct mail and other forms of advertising can be effective and those forms of marketing have their place. But if you want to reach an audience efficiently you need to target just those people who are actually currently shopping for the equipment you sell.

2. Use Replacement Cycles to Time Your Marketing Efforts

Your sales team is probably really frustrated when they talk to a prospect and discover that that potential customer just bought a lot of equipment that is lower quality than what you sell for a higher price. Even if that prospect agrees that it would have been smarter for them to purchase new equipment from you instead of your competition, the time to make that decision is past. Call back in five years.

Reaching the right audience is a great first step, but reaching the right audience at the right time is what will make the biggest difference.

You (or at least you should) know the average life cycle of the equipment that you sell. If front-end loaders have a typical life cycle of five years, wouldn’t you want to market to potential customers who bought front-end loaders approximately five years ago? It seems obvious, doesn’t it? But if you don’t have access to the data you need or if you didn’t even know that data was available, these types of ideas may not have ever crossed your mind.

3. Target Purchasers of Used Equipment to Market Repair Services or Replacement Parts.

Anyone who has purchased used construction equipment knows that sometimes you get a great deal, and sometimes you find out that an expensive part needs to be replaced much sooner than you were hoping. If you sell replacement parts for a certain piece of equipment, try targeting those who recently bought a model or brand that has problems with that part more frequently.
You can also reach an audience that has a fleet of equipment that consists mostly of aging and/or used products. If you are trying to market repair services or replacement parts to the construction industry don’t waste your money reaching prospects who have shiny new fleets that won’t be interested in your services.

The combination of brand affinity, age of fleet, and new vs. used purchases can result in your marketing ROI skyrocketing almost over night.

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