(MBA) and Housing Industry Association of Australia (HIA). Today, REP Building focuses on building brand new custom homes for clients, with values ranging from $500,000 to $3.5 million. They also occasionally develop and build their own projects. When it comes to both types of projects, the company primarily works in established residential markets in Canberra and the surrounding areas. According to Robert, clients within that niche choose REP for a variety of reasons. He believes the main reason, however, is their ability to build trust with clients. “Marketing yourself as a builder can be difficult,” he says, “because it’s all about convincing people that you’re going to do what you tell them you’re going to do. The only way to do that is to build trust.” “So we build trust by being consistent,” he emphasises. “We’re consistent in our dayto-day running of the business. We’re consistent about the way we present ourselves on site and social media. For example, we don’t show ourselves on a construction site one day, and the next day we show a shiny finished project. We purposely don’t do that. We want prospective clients to have a realistic picture of what they’re going to get. We want them to trust us.” It’s only through building trust, Robert explains, that the company can truly differentiate themselves from their competitors: “It’s very difficult to market how we’re different when everybody is saying the same thing. Everybody says they build quality. Everybody says they are trustworthy. Everybody says they are loyal. Everybody says they are the best builder. You have to prove it.” FEBRUARY 2024
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