The first measure of marketing: How good are your products and services?

Concrete Construction, April, 2003 by Jim Peterson

* The worksite is left clean each day.

* You return phone calls the same day.

Service after the job has ended:

* If you are the owner, you periodically check on some finished projects to make sure the results aren't a surprise.

* You visit completed jobs to anticipate and schedule for problems that may arise.

* Within reason, you take care of minor fixes, even those that are not your fault, without arguing for a change order every time. Sometimes the meetings, debate, and paperwork aren't worth it.

* You collaborate with your estimating and construction departments about chronic problems. Can better planning eliminate or reduce some of these problems?

* At the end of each job, you ask your client, `"What can we do better next time?" Put your customers' suggestions into action.

* You return phone calls the same day.

Your Web site, brochures, direct mail, and other pure marketing efforts should support your great product and service. Without the great product and service to back it up, your marketing efforts will quickly be exposed as a sham and prove futile. Great service is an integral component of great marketing!

--Jim Peterson is founder and president of ConcreteNetwork.com, a Web site serving the concrete industry. He is also a principal in High Grade Form, a foundation contractor located in Riverside, Calif.