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By Steve Schultz

From writing newsletters to preparing staff for key presentations, architects, engineers and contractors are finding that having a professional marketing firm is no longer a luxury.

"Number one, using marketing and public relations helps create awareness," said Jeffrey J. Remsik, president and CEO of Milwaukee-based Bottom Line Marketing & Public Relations. "Second, effective public relations can educate target audiences about the value of working with that business in the industry. That awareness prompts people to call or write, or include them on the lists for RFPs and RFQs they wouldn't know about."

Though the goal of any public-relations effort is to land more construction jobs, building a marketing program doesn't have to break the bank. According to marketers, the key is to create credibility outside the company by having a business highlighted in sources such as trade journals, where potential clients - and competitors - will take notice.

That's where marketing and public-relations firms lend a hand, even if it's only to work on a quarterly newsletter.

"A newsletter has editorial credibility and can be sent to a target audience on a regular basis," said Brett Murphy, who operates Milwaukee-based Communicators for such clients as Roman Electric Co. "As long as it provides content that has some type of value to customers and prospects, it does not need to be all that complex. It's kind of like someone doing sales calls between sales calls."

Though a newsletter is cheaper than a Web site or even radio commercials, contractors aren't always the best to write about their own work.

"Having an outside firm is valuable for the perspective they bring to the AEC industry," said Karen Plunkett Muenster, vice president of Plunkett Raysich Architects. The firm works with two outside consultants, including Bottom Line. "Our industry is often looking too closely at our own projects that we're not aware what's happening in the corporate field. It's myopic."

Contractors "may have in-house capabilities and marketing ideas, but they are not necessarily able to write about it," added Kathy Gaillard of Mueller Communications Inc., which works for HNTB Corp. "We try to digest the technical information and spew it back in a way that's plain and simple for people who may not know the technology. They can be too close to the project, and we can try to look at it from a fresh perspective."

Advising key personnel on how to make a sales pitch can be more crucial than crafting printed material. A few minutes before prospective clients can make all the difference.

"In typical sales, you have five minutes and spend two or three minutes about who you are, and less on what they need and how it can be done," Remsik said. "Getting your name out there and then talking to personnel about their presentations can solve that problem."

So how do you find the right consultant? Talk to peers and check with construction organizations, marketers say. The effort is worth it, according to David Cullen, vice president of Janesville-based J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc., which works with two such firms.

"If you're in the public/private sector you have to have integrated marketing," Cullen said. "If you submit an RFP, how does it appear? How do you respond when you have an interview? You need to have a Web site, newsletter, press releases, promotional materials and bios about people at a moment's notice. We're not too proud to try to use consultants. We realize that we don't have the expertise."

"But it influences how people view information about Cullen," he said. "... you hear from people who say, 'I saw you're working on that project,' or 'I saw someone got promoted.' "

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