7 Ways to Build a Concrete Reputation, Cast a Solid Client Base and Grow a Construction Business

1. Make Your Customer Service THE Number 1 Priority

When building your team, it’s important to make sure that they have the right skills; the balance of the right construction skills and dealing with customers. It really is critical to grow a construction business that your team can offer ‘Customer Delight’

Your clients will remember the work that was done for them. More importantly, they will remember how they were treated during and after the project. Building a team who will give customers 110% respect, patience and understanding will give you a raving fan and a FREE sales person for life!

2. Work Your Niche

There are many different areas within the construction industry. What area do you truly specialise in? Which area do you stand head and shoulders above your competition in? Do you shout about how good you are in that area? One thing is for certain, you are the only business owner who will brag about you being the best in your speciality! Be it brickwork, joinery, landscaping, painting or decorating, make sure that your voice is louder than your competitors to grow a construction business. Even if you’re a general building contractor, you can still offer a more broad spectrum of services while branding your company as ‘the best’ in the business doing X;Y;Z

3. Shout About Your Business From The Rooftops

You need to be sure you are always marketing your company. Getting your brand into the public arena and letting your prospects know how good you are at what you do is paramount. It is brilliant to be at the stage when all your work comes from referrals, Word of Mouth but this will not happen over night and needs to be initially developed with a clever marketing strategy. A strategy which will help you grow your business.

4. Cover your Asset.

Your constrution company needs insurance. Your construction company needs the right insurance, especially when working with heavy machinery and electric tools is a daily requirement. Make sure you’re covered when it comes to public and employee liability as well as Public Indemnity if you so need it. It is so easy now to get the right insurance in place, just a few clicks. It’s also just as easy to forget to put the right insurance in place.

5. Stay Involved.

There are two parts to this.

First, it is important that you stay available to your clients. Our industry can be confusing at times for those who are not involved on a regular basis, so you may need to answer questions or give updates to your domestic clients more than you would to your commercial clients.  Either way, the more time you set aside to listen to their questions, challenges, queries and concerns, the more comfortable they’ll feel in engaging with you or recommending you to a friend.

Second, be visible. Visit your projects on a regular basis. We know that you cannot be everywhere at once, but it’s important that both your customers and your team know that you will be calling on site regularly. This will also show to your customers that they are a priority of yours and that your team need to be at their best at all times.

6. Don’t ‘Go Cheap’.

It might be tempting to go with less expensive materials after winning the project, but not at the cost of an inferior product. Remember, sometimes a quick saving now may mean a long fix later. Make sure that all your materials and plant are right for the job in hand. Two good examples could be;

Materials – investing in stainless steel screws might be a smart move when working on a location vulnerable to wet weather conditions. Customers may not be well versed enough in construction to know the difference, but they’ll certainly notice if things start to rust or break down;

Labour – using untrained ‘labour’ to carry out a job, instead of ‘time served’ tradesmen.

7. Organisation is the KEY – Plan to Succeed

Finally, keeping everything in order is crucial to running a smooth business. You need to maintain cashflow for all your jobs to make money. Robust bookkeeping and forecasting for EVERY project is mandatory to ensure you’re sticking to your budget as well as making profit at the end of the project.

This also means tracking how much time and energy you need to dedicate to every kind of service you offer. Set your daily default diary. This will prevent you from becoming a ‘busy fool’ and making sure that you give ALL of your clients QUALITY TIME

It might seem like more customers are always better, but that’s only true if it doesn’t require you to sacrifice the dedication you can give to each one.

With over 30 years in the construction industry prior to moving into full time coaching, I now work with construction company owners to help them avoid some of the pit falls that I’ve seen during that time. Click here to book a call and start to get your company growing without you being a busy fool.