Business owners are searching for many ways to drive more sales to their construction business, chasing another idea or marketing channel. But is your construction business marketable? It is highly encouraged to change your outlook from more sales to more customers. It is the very same thing, yet the approach is entirely different from the other. Customer experience is your ultimate reward, and the sales are eventually your bonus.
While marketing is mostly done online these days, that’s not 100% true for construction businesses. Though online marketing still plays a vital part in how construction companies are being discovered, the old-school word of the mouth lead generation has always been very effective.
Today, reputation is considered the most critical factor in running a successful construction business. In this blog, let’s discover the importance of prioritizing your company’s reputation and some practical tips that can help you maintain a strong and good reputation in the industry.
The Reputation of Your Company
Contractors and business owners are only as good as their last mistake. And so as their reputation. Unluckily, most people always remember errors and faults, and very few only can remember great work and successful construction projects. In the industry, these things happened frequently, and oftentimes clients will remember mistakes long after they have been remedied. At times, they can be unforgiving. And even when the price you offer is the cheapest, you still couldn’t get the project because your reputation is poor.
One error can undo numerous hours of hard work. That mistake might be caused by you or probably one of your workers. Clients, oftentimes, talk to each other and share their personal experiences. And a statement of a poor reputation quickly spreads. It is very important that all of your employees and crew know how essential it is to deliver a quality project within budget and on time, without environmental, disciplinary and safety breaches.
Reputation is a team effort, and everybody needs to understand how essential it is to portray the business in a good light, maintaining a good reputation in everything they do. A recent study has concluded that there are ten major elements that can be used to measure your company’s reputation.
- Ethics – the organization as a whole
- Financial performance – the construction firm is financially sound
- Customer focus – a commitment to customers/clients
- Staff – talented and skilled employees working for the firm
- Management – a well-managed business with a vision
- Leadership – An industry innovator and a leader
- Reliability – stands by its services/products
- Quality – the company offerings are consistent and high standard
- Emotional appeal – staff and outsiders feel good about the company
- Social responsibility – supports good causes
If your construction company maintains outstanding results in these tend areas, a good reputation is being assured.
What Makes a Good Company Reputation?
1. Deliver projects on time
Clients will pay a premium to partner with construction companies, which they know can deliver construction projects on time. For most clients, time is money. Hence, the sooner the project is completed and they can begin operating the building, the sooner they can gain profit.
Evidently, construction projects that are not finished on time will put clients into an inconvenient circumstance and cost them more money or additional expenses. No client ever wants to experience that. So, deliver your projects on time. Ensure to implement project management for construction so that everything can be laid out perfectly for you and your team, preventing any possible delays and conflicts from happening.
2. Being proactive and responsive
Clients always wanted to work with someone who is proactive and has a vision. You have to anticipate possible issues and must solve them even before they occur. With your client’s complaints, never ignore them. Most clients are sure very demanding, but always try to be accommodating as much as possible.
Being responsive means returning messages, giving inputs, making yourself constantly available for urgent meetings, submitting prices, revising schedules on time, and responding to queries promptly.
3. Do not overpromise and under-deliver
What kind of a contractor are you? How certain and honest are you as Project Manager to your clients? One of the issues that clients have been facing lately is when a contractor overpromises them. Providing dates and requirements that were all impossible to meet. And when such requirements aren’t delivered, clients will become very unhappy with the outcome.
4. Recognize and Rectify your mistakes
Any types of mistakes typically happen on your construction projects. And as much as you have planned and staffed the project properly and done the whole thing the right way, any form of conflicts arise. And when such issues arise, the company is immediately judged on how everyone involved resolved the problem.
Construction mistakes are a widespread occurrence and can be significantly costly for the company and everyone involved, mainly the clients. Hence, the last thing you want to deal with is additional costs.
That is why you have to start automating specific tasks, especially the administrative ones using tasks management software. This will save you tons of time but also helps in minimizing expenses and, of course, the chances of human errors.
5. Quality
Quality workmanship and the materials used are essential to avoid incurring additional costs and give your construction company a reputation for delivering high-quality projects. Today, many clients are very much prepared to pay a premium to experience efficient construction services.
6. Use reliable equipment and tools
Equipment and construction tools that frequently break down slow your project, giving the clients a reason to speculate your services. Equipment and vehicles used in construction that is maintained regularly are a good advert for your construction company. Keep track of all your construction tools and equipment using inventory management software.
7. Safety
It is essential for your construction company to take safety very seriously. Some contractors are being banned from working for a few specific clients due to their poor safety records. Safety records are a basis and some clients generously give bonuses depending on the safety record on the projects.
Hence, project managers have to be strict and must not tolerate unacceptable safety practices because it will unfavorably impact their bonuses. Speaking of accidents, it does create work. Such incidents need to be investigated where the management and reports provide explanations are written. No one likes additional labor, particularly your client and his team! Fatal accidents might even result in losing someone’s job.
Clients always wanted to ensure that the company they pick has excellent safety records. That is why you have to do the right thing in order to acquire good safety records.
8. Professionalism
Always be courteous and professional in your dealings with any of your clients. It is effortless to say things during the heat of the moment that can upset clients. Several clients can bear a grudge against you and possibly become unforgiving, jeopardizing the chances of getting work from them.
Professionalism also extends to you and your team’s character, how polite and respectful you are, how early in arriving at meetings, how prepared and organized in many things. It includes the way you are seen as you treat your suppliers, employees, subs and generally carry out your business.
Take your professionalism to the next level by using subcontractor scheduling software. It offers powerful features allowing you to schedule multiple tasks, track and monitor your crew, and increase overall productivity.
9. Meeting the client’s expectations
It is crucial to meet the client’s expectations. You need to begin by letting clients understand things and other matters related to the project, ensuring that everything is reasonable. And most importantly, you are obligated to make them convinced that you and your team can deliver them. However, such things are more necessary to be discussed with your clients. It is to make sure that both of you have a similar understanding of what the finished outcome will look like, including the expected project costs.
It is imperative for a construction company to establish and protect the company’s reputation. If the reputation is good, it’ll help you in winning more and more projects. It is also important to ensure that project managers and your other employees understand the importance of having a good reputation and how their actions and performance significantly impact this aspect.
10. Invest in Construction Scheduling Software
If you wanted to escalate your company’s reputation, make sure to take advantage of using construction techs. Nowadays, many emerging technologies can positively affect your business’s bottom line. Imagine what your jobsite will be like these days without construction technology.
Because without these specialized software tools and mobile solutions, there’s no way you and your team can handle the complexity of tasks and activities. The latest software solutions today are designed to help you manage every aspect of your project. On top of that, such tools are cloud-based, allowing more seamless communication and collaboration and increased overall productivity.
The point is that advancements in new construction techs can drive your business forward, helping it thrive, even more, leading to a much better reputation.
Key Takeaways
You can’t simply do business for a long time without even sustaining a good reputation. As a matter of fact, the reputation of your business is crucial to its survival and will have a significant impact on your company’s bottom line. Also, remember that nobody ever wants to work for a company with a poor reputation.
