How A Construction Project Manager Can Use Ecommerce To Sell Their Services

Construction Project Manager ecommerce

Construction has come a long way. Ecommerce has made it so much easier to buy the products and services you need. Construction project managers are starting to take advantage of eCommerce to sell their services to construction companies.

But some are struggling to get ahead. This is because the competition is quite stiff. They want to use the internet to reach new corners of the market. But you cannot get ahead by simply creating a social media account and hoping that construction firms will stumble upon you by accident.

You have to take advantage of all the tools that eCommerce has to offer to set yourself apart. Once you succeed, you might be surprised by the level of exponential growth you will experience.

What Can eCommerce Do For Construction Project Managers?

Before you can make effective use of project management eCommerce, you need to understand what it can do for you as a project manager.

At its core, the field injects convenience into the efforts of the project manager. eCommerce allows project managers to do their work from any location around the world. They can hire contractors, review their daily reports, and process transactions all without leaving the comfort of their home. This is on top of saving money by eliminating the middleman when it comes to selling and renting equipment.

This applies to construction firms as well. They can identify, investigate, and hire project managers for their construction projects with the press of a few buttons. eCommerce makes the process of engaging and collaborating with these professionals very easy. Not only does it enhance productivity but it eliminates waste.

What Does a Construction Project Manager Do?

There is no point in extolling the benefits of project management eCommerce when you don’t even know what a construction project manager does.

A construction project manager is expected to oversee the entirety of a construction project. They are supposed to participate in every stage of the undertaking from beginning to end. They act as a bridge that connects all the stakeholders.

They ensure that your site has all the contractors and subcontractors it needs. They manage the procurement process, using the available resources to acquire the supplies needed to complete each stage of the project.

You will probably see them in the design and planning phase. They have to weigh in on the timelines and schedules. You also need their input during the budgeting process. They will provide guidance on issues regarding resource allocation.

Naturally, they have to monitor the construction project in your absence, documenting every step and using their leadership skills to make sure that the various teams are coordinating successfully to achieve their goals.

As you can see, they do so much. If you have project management skills, there are plenty of construction firms that require your services. The key is to make them aware of your existence.

How To Become a Project Manager?

The path to success as a construction project manager is long, and it involves the following:

1). Education

You have to go to school. You need to prioritize areas like construction management, civil engineering, and project management during your studies. Information Technology is also important.

2). Training

If you can acquire the relevant degrees, you will eventually secure an apprenticeship at a construction firm. This isn’t the only way to hone your skills. However, an apprenticeship pulls you into the industry. You can study and pursue your apprenticeship at the same time. You can also become a construction project manager through the apprenticeship alone.

3). Experience

Your apprenticeship will give you the work experience you need to get better jobs. But if you skipped the apprenticeship, you can gain some experience by working on small projects. They will bolster your resume.

Starting A Construction Project Management Business

Some project managers survive by operating as individuals. But in many cases, you are better off starting a business. You have a higher chance of landing lucrative contracts, especially if you have a solid team of professionals working under you. Starting a construction project management business is no different from starting any other business:

1). Plan

You need a business plan. The plan has to define your specialty. Some project managers work in residential construction. Others prefer commercial construction. Some project managers oversee construction projects from the ground up. Others do remodeling alone. You also have those that focus on additions.

Identify your strengths and use them to find your niche. If you have a large business that employs several project managers, you can afford to do a little bit of everything. But if you don’t have employees, narrow your focus.

2). Office

Get an office. You can work out of your home if you want to save money. But your clients require a proper business address and a business phone line. They need to know where to find you if the need arises.

3). Money

Like most businesses, you need funding, not just to meet your administrative and overhead costs but to also pay for your eCommerce strategies.

4). Registration

Don’t forget to complete all the legalities associated with your business. That includes figuring out your firm’s legal structure, registering the business, and getting a Tax ID, to mention but a few.

5). eCommerce

Once your business is in place, you can open a project management eCommerce site. Most people use the internet to find the professionals they need. Your company needs a website. Otherwise, people won’t find you.

You cannot survive as a construction project manager without getting the word out. The easiest way to get the word out is to join the internet because everyone uses it. Make an effort to build your presence.

Don’t expect your project management eCommerce site to succeed overnight. Take the time to create an attractive and professional website that is easy to navigate. Once the website is live, promote it. Once people know that you exist, they will start flocking to your online wing.

Growing Your Project Management eCommerce Platform

Once you have an operational construction project management business and your eCommerce platform is up and running, there are steps you can take to raise its visibility, including:

1). Keywords

Keywords are very important. These are the words and phrases that people use when they search for products and services online. In your case, you need to identify keywords connected to the construction and project management industries. For example, if you do Project Management California, you would need to have those keywords everywhere on your website, on your social media, on everything to let Google know what you do and where you are.

Once you have identified these keywords, you can use them to create content that will drive traffic towards your project management eCommerce platform. At the end of the day, your objective is to raise your brand’s rank in Google’s eyes.

The higher you rank, the higher you will appear in Google’s search results, the easier it will become for people to find you. This is what you want. You want your platform to be the first thing people see whenever they search for construction project managers.

2). Platform

If you haven’t constructed your site yet, you need to decide whether you will build a website or use a prebuilt portal. Resources like Magento and Shopify can build your website for you. Custom eCommerce sites are popular.

You can tweak the design in any way you want. The same thing goes for the functionality. But this option takes longer. It also requires a certain amount of technical knowledge. If you don’t have the money to hire a professional web designer and you don’t know anything about constructing websites, you should consider using a prebuilt site.

They are quick and easy to deploy. You can get your website up and running almost immediately. If you already have a traditional brick-and-mortar project management business and you need to sell your services over the internet immediately, a prebuilt platform allows you to do just that.

3). Professional Help

If you have a website, you are encouraged to hire an expert to maintain it. If you have the money, hire several experts. You need a graphic designer to make regular tweaks to the look, an IT Manager that can solve problems that arise, and writers that will fill the website with content.

As a construction project manager, you don’t have the time to manage your website. Construction project management is time-consuming work. If you don’t hire help, your project management eCommerce site will develop glitches and errors. You should leave it to your experts to make incremental improvements to the platform and to keep it running.

4). Competition

Look at your rivals. If they are succeeding while you fail, find out what they keep doing right. If they keep failing, learn from their mistakes. This is crucial for project managers that are new to project management eCommerce.

Look at your competition’s website. Consider their content on social media, the way they interact with their audience. Learn everything you can. The easiest way to get ahead in this field is to outperform everyone else. You cannot outperform your competition without looking at what they have done

5). Money

You need money. Some people can get by with social media marketing strategies and web development tools that do not require any financial investment. But if you want to land all the lucrative clients, you need to invest in your eCommerce site.

That means paying graphic designers to build a decent platform, buying high-quality content, and keeping an IT expert on your staff to prevent your website from crashing. It also means paying for ads on Google and social media.

If you want to go the extra mile, invest in flyers and billboards. You don’t have to limit your promotional tools to the internet. Google Ads are all well and good but some people are more likely to respond to advertising on television.

Enhancing Your Project Management Ecommerce Brand

One of the easiest ways of increasing the traffic flowing to your website is to enhance your eCommerce brand using the following steps:

1). Niche

You shouldn’t focus your attention on the entire project management industry. You need to set your brand apart by associating it with a particular niche. The visitors to your site need to know you for excelling in a specific field.

This will enable you to attract customers with jobs for which you are best suited. Construction firms want to know that the professionals they have hired are experts in their area. Once your brand is known for a particular specialty, the clients that operate within that area will come calling.

You can find your niche by either basing it on your strengths or figuring out what the majority of your clients want.

2). Social Media

Many companies have a website, a Facebook account, and nothing else. They think that those two platforms are enough to elevate their standing on the internet. But such thinking is wrong. You need to use every social media platform on the internet to market your brand. That includes Twitter, Instagram, and so much more.

Naturally, your target audience will determine the corners of the internet you frequent. For instance, construction firms are more likely to look for project managers on LinkedIn than on Snapchat. But that shouldn’t stop you from placing ads on Snapchat or any other social media platform that people use in significant numbers.

The point is to increase awareness about your brand. You never know who might require a project manager and which one of the many social media platforms they frequent.

3). User Experience

Make your online platforms relevant. They should be helpful. It isn’t enough to make them easy to navigate, though that is an important factor. Fill them with content that will educate your visitors on what you do and how they can secure your services.

Their experience should be so pleasant that they are encouraged to talk about your brand to the people they know.

4). Visual Content

Visual content is very important. Don’t fill your websites and social media platforms with long lectures detailing the work you do. Add pictures and videos. More importantly, publish video content that features real people, possibly even yourself.

People need to know that your business has real human beings behind it. The presence of real people in your content will make them more responsive to your message.