In short
A construction marketing package is a monthly retainer that joins up the work that wins contracts: positioning, a website buyers can check, case studies, director visibility, ads and a tender pipeline. In the UK a freelancer on one channel is usually a few hundred pounds a month, a generalist retainer typically £1,000 to £3,000, and a specialist construction partnership from around £1,500, plus ad spend. Our Preferred Contractor Programme is £2,500 + VAT a month for civils and construction, and the Booked Solid System is £1,500 + VAT a month for trades, both on a 12-month minimum term. Judge any package on cost per tender opportunity and per won contract, not the fee.
On this page
- The quick answer: what a construction marketing package costs
- Typical UK marketing agency cost ranges
- What’s in a construction marketing package
- What affects the cost
- What a good retainer should include
- What usually costs extra
- How to judge whether the cost is worth it
- Red flags when comparing prices
- Questions to ask before you sign a retainer
- Agency versus in-house
- Set a budget before speaking to agencies
- Where to go next
A construction marketing package is a monthly retainer that pays for the joined-up work that wins contracts, not a menu of channels. In the UK, expect a few hundred pounds a month for a freelancer on one channel, £1,000 to £3,000 for a generalist retainer, and from around £1,500 for a specialist construction partnership, with ad spend on top. Ours is £2,500 + VAT a month.
This guide sets out what should be in a package, what each tier usually buys, what costs extra, the red flags, and how to tell whether the spend is paying back. We sell one of these packages, so I have kept our own prices to the published figures and tried to be fair about when a cheaper option is the better call.
The quick answer: what a construction marketing package costs
We publish two programmes, and every price we charge is on our pricing page:
- Preferred Contractor Programme: £2,500 + VAT a month, for civils and construction firms.
- Booked Solid System: £1,500 + VAT a month, for trades businesses.
Both run on a 12-month minimum term with a six month break clause tied to specific deliverables. Ad spend is separate and paid straight to the platform. We don’t publish a bigger tier, so if anyone quotes you a “premium” SMC package with a different number, it didn’t come from us.
Typical UK marketing agency cost ranges
Price depends on scope, the agency’s experience and how much they take off your plate. These are typical bands, not fixed quotes, so treat them as a guide. They match the bands on our construction marketing services page.
| Tier | Typical monthly cost | What it usually includes |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | A few hundred pounds and up | One channel, run part-time. Good for a single focused job, gaps between skills, no cover if they are busy |
| Generalist retainer | £1,000 to £3,000 | A website plus one or two lead channels, managed and reported. You often pay for their learning curve on construction |
| Specialist construction partnership | £1,500 and up, plus ad spend | A joined-up system: positioning, website, SEO, LinkedIn, case studies, ads, CRM and reporting, run for your sector |
Our own programmes sit in that top tier.
What’s in a construction marketing package
A package for a contractor should cover the route to a contract, from being findable to being shortlisted. Use this table to check any proposal, ours included.
| Part of the package | What it should do for a contractor |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Decide which clients, frameworks and main contractors to chase, and why they should pick you |
| Website | Pass the check a procurement team runs before it invites you: sector pages, case studies, accreditations, ESG and social value |
| SEO | Put you in front of buyers researching a capability or a region |
| Ads | Targeted Google and LinkedIn campaigns aimed at the people who award work, not consumer volume |
| Content and video | Case studies written for evaluators, director posts on LinkedIn, a company film |
| CRM and follow-up | Every tender, framework date and relationship in one pipeline, so nothing sits in one person’s inbox |
| Reporting | Shortlists, tenders won and revenue you can attribute, not only clicks |
If a proposal leaves out strategy or the CRM, you are buying activity rather than a pipeline. Our tender guide covers the eligibility side in more depth: construction tender marketing.
When I scope a contractor retainer, I don’t start with channels. I start by finding out why the clients you already have chose you over the next firm on their list. That answer shapes the positioning, the case studies we write first and the buyers we target. It is why the Preferred Contractor Programme opens with a strategy day, and it is how we started with PKB Civils.
What affects the cost
Two agencies can quote very different numbers for what looks like the same brief. The price usually moves with:
- Scope. One channel costs less than a full system across website, search, ads and follow-up.
- Sector knowledge. A specialist who already understands construction wastes less of your budget learning.
- How much they do. Strategy and reporting only is cheaper than a team building and running the work each month.
- Your starting point. A weak website or no tracking means more setup before anything performs.
- Ad spend. Most retainers exclude the money you put into Google, LinkedIn or Meta. That sits on top of the fee.
What a good retainer should include
Before you sign, you should know exactly what the monthly fee buys. A good retainer covers:
- A clear scope of work. What gets done each month, in writing.
- The channels being run. Website, SEO, paid ads or marketing implementation, named specifically.
- Honest reporting. Enquiries and won work, not just clicks and impressions.
- A named contact. One person who knows your business and answers when you call.
- Ownership you keep. Your website, ad accounts and data stay yours if you ever leave.
For a contractor, a normal month on a retainer should look something like this:
- New or updated case studies from recently completed schemes
- Posts for your directors on LinkedIn, aimed at the clients and supply chain teams you want to work with
- Website and SEO updates, including accreditation and certificate changes
- Ads managed and adjusted against the contracts you are targeting
- The tender and framework pipeline reviewed in the CRM, with renewal dates flagged
- A report and a call that covers shortlists, invitations to tender and won work
The reporting call is where most retainers drift. Rankings and traffic are useful signals, but they aren’t the thing you are paying for. I’d rather tell a client plainly that a quarter moved the right numbers but hasn’t yet produced the invitations they want than dress up a traffic graph.
What usually costs extra
Retainers rarely include everything. Budget separately for the things that commonly sit on top:
- Ad spend. Ad spend sits on top of any fee and is paid straight to Google or LinkedIn. For construction clients we usually recommend £1,000 to £2,000 a month, split according to the contracts you are targeting.
- One-off builds such as a new website or video production, unless the package includes them. Ours builds the website and a 2-minute company film into the 12-month term.
- Paid tools and software, including a CRM or booking system.
- Accreditation and membership fees, such as your SSIP scheme or the Common Assessment Standard. These are paid to the scheme, not the agency.
- Extra campaigns outside the agreed monthly scope.
Ask what is included and what is not, so the real monthly figure is clear from the start.
How to judge whether the cost is worth it
The monthly fee is the wrong number to fixate on. What matters is whether the work pays for itself. Judge it on two figures:
- Cost per opportunity. Total spend, including the fee and ad budget, divided by the qualified enquiries or invitations to tender it produced. This tells you what a real opportunity costs you.
- Cost per won contract. The same spend divided by the contracts you actually won. This is the number that decides whether the whole thing pays back.
If a £2,500 a month partnership brings in one extra contract worth far more than the annual spend, the fee is not the point. Work out what a lead and a won job are worth to you first, then the maths becomes simple. Our guide on how much to spend on marketing helps you set that number.
Give it long enough to judge. Construction buying cycles are long, and frameworks refresh every few years. PKB Civils, a civil engineering contractor, booked £850k of new business from marketing within the first two years, moving from relying on the directors’ networks to a marketing-driven pipeline. The full story is in the PKB Civils case study.
Red flags when comparing prices
A low quote is not always the cheaper option. Be cautious if you see:
- Vague scope. If you cannot see what gets done each month, you cannot judge value.
- No sector proof. If they cannot show results with construction or trades businesses, you are the experiment.
- Vanity reporting. Impressions and clicks with no view of enquiries or won work.
- Ownership traps. If the website, ad account or data would not be yours on leaving, walk away.
- Long lock-ins with nothing built up front. A minimum term is fair when the agency invests early, for example in your website or video. A term that only protects the agency is not.
- Every channel at once. A package that switches on social, ads, SEO, email and PR in month one rarely gives any of them long enough to work. Owners do the same to themselves when they try every tactic a peer mentions, and never learn which one would have paid.
- No mention of prequalification. If a pitch to a contractor never mentions accreditations, case studies for evaluators or approved supplier lists, it is a local-trade lead campaign with a new label.
We wrote more on this in why tradesmen get burned by marketing agencies.
Questions to ask before you sign a retainer
Put the same questions to every agency on your shortlist, so you can compare like for like:
- What exactly gets delivered each month, and what is a one-off?
- What is the total monthly cost, including ad spend, and what is the minimum term and break clause?
- Can you show a construction or civils client with real numbers, and can we phone them?
- How will you find out why our existing clients choose us?
- What will you report on, and how often?
- Who owns the website, content, ad accounts and data if we leave?
- Will you work alongside our marketing manager, if we have one?
Agency versus in-house
The choice is not only about cost. It is about what you get for the money.
- In-house gives you one person, one skill set and one salary plus tools and management time. Good when you have steady, predictable work to run.
- An agency gives you a team across channels for a monthly fee, usually faster to start and easier to stop. Good when you want the whole system built and run without hiring for every skill.
Many construction companies use an agency to build the pipeline, then bring parts in-house once it is steady. We compared both routes in hiring a marketing person versus an agency.
Set a budget before speaking to agencies
Walk in with a number and you keep control of the conversation. Before you take any calls:
- Decide what you can spend each month without straining cash flow.
- Split the fee from ad spend, so you know the true total.
- Know what a job is worth, so you can judge cost per won contract.
- Agree how you will measure it, so you can tell in a few months whether it is working.
A clear budget also filters out agencies that will not fit before you waste time. For the full picture, see the top UK construction marketing agencies, the best marketing agencies for tradesmen and the 2026 marketing plan every UK trades business needs.
Where to go next
Cost is only half the question. The other half is whether the spend has a realistic chance of paying back, and that comes down to scope, sector knowledge and honest reporting. Work out what a won contract is worth to you, set a budget you can hold, and judge every quote on cost per opportunity and cost per won contract rather than the headline fee.
If you want to know where your own marketing stands before you talk to anyone, start with our free Website & AI Readiness Audit. It reviews your website, your Google presence and whether AI tools can find and recommend you, with a 90-day plan. If you are already comparing agencies, book a call and we will tell you plainly whether the Preferred Contractor Programme fits, or whether something smaller would serve you better this year.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a marketing agency cost for a construction company in the UK?
It varies with scope and the agency. A freelancer running one channel might be a few hundred pounds a month. A generalist retainer typically runs from around £1,000 to £3,000 a month. A specialist construction partnership that joins up website, SEO, ads and follow-up usually starts around £1,500 a month and up, plus your ad spend. Our Booked Solid System is £1,500 + VAT a month for trades and the Preferred Contractor Programme is £2,500 + VAT a month for civils and construction.
What should be included in a marketing retainer?
A good retainer should cover a clear scope of work each month, the channels being run, reporting tied to enquiries and won work, and a named point of contact. Ad spend, one-off builds and paid tools usually sit on top. Ask what is included before you sign, so there are no surprises.
Is a marketing agency worth it for a construction company?
It is worth it when you have capacity to take on more of the right work, a margin to reinvest and a clear idea of what a lead and a won contract are worth. Judge it on cost per opportunity and cost per won contract, not the monthly fee. If your pricing, follow-up or website are weak, fix those first.
Should I hire in-house or use an agency?
A single in-house hire covers one skill set and one salary plus tools. An agency gives you a team across channels for a monthly fee, usually faster to start and easier to stop. Many construction companies use an agency to build the system, then bring parts in-house once the pipeline is steady.
What is the minimum term on a construction marketing package?
It depends on the agency, so get it in writing before you sign. Ours is 12 months for both programmes, with a six month break clause tied to specific deliverables. The reason is that most of the work, including the website build and the company film, happens up front and in the first six months, then SEO, LinkedIn and case studies build month on month.
