When you think about construction, on top of mind, you’ll think of heavy toolbelts, dented hardhats, loud power tools, and other items that signify a rough and messy trade. There is, however, a softer side to the industry that remains elusive to any on-site measurements and calculations. This is the magic that makes any profitable company around, an ingredient so critical that it can make all the difference to whether or not there’s even a project to show up to tomorrow morning.
We’re talking about the human element of construction; to be more specific, the client experience and its influence–both big and small, significant and subtle–on the nuts and bolts of managing construction.
Is your company checking all your client’s boxes, or are you too focused on your day-to-day operations to consider them? Satisfied clients are our trophies, and we must also acknowledge their impact on the construction business.
What Does Customer Experience Mean in the Construction Industry?
Client experience is the overall customer’s thoughts, feelings, and perceptions about the quality of a transaction with a business from its beginning to its end. A lot goes into creating a client experience, starting with the client’s identified expectations and the extent to which reality matches up with said expectations from the moment they first make contact with a company.
There are many variables at play, but there are two primary determinants of a positive or negative client experience:
- The people they interact with, and
- The quality of the product they receive.
Solid construction work delivered on schedule, within budget, and free of issues equals a high-quality product that will make the clients happy. In the same aspect, pleasant interactions with company staff who demonstrate genuine care, an ability to listen, and quick responses to a client’s reported need to go a long way in making their experience an overwhelmingly positive.
Why is Customer Experience Vital in Managing Construction Projects?
Even though customer experience is most often associated with fields like retail and food service, it is just as critical to extensive industries like construction. More than any other external factor involved, a client’s experience–how satisfied they are when all is said and done–can either make or break a construction company in the long term.
It may seem evident that “happy customers are good for the business.” Still, a closer look at that statement can help us deepen our thinking about how a good client experience is made and where to place it within the hierarchy of your construction business’ priorities.
Below are some reasons why a client experience impacts construction:
Happy Customers Turn into Loyal Customers
The more satisfied the client, the more likely they will hire you repeatedly. It’s a fundamental model of any business that a loyal customer is highly valuable and sought after, especially in a competitive industry like construction.
Besides increasing revenue, loyal clients add predictability to the uncertainty of managing a construction company by providing a steady income source you can depend on from one season to the next. Remember, your clients want to have a good experience in building their projects, and if you can deliver this, they will reward you for it by sticking with your company through thick and thin.
Clients Bring More Clients to Your Business
A satisfied client is also your most effective testimony and advertisement. There’s no PR more influential than word-of-mouth in marketing. When a client has a positive company experience, there is a greater chance of sharing that experience with others, whether through online service reviews, social media posts, or face-to-face conversations with family and friends. All of that free advertisement attracts clients to your business.
While the quality of your portfolio is your biggest asset, it can be difficult for clients to judge the credibility of a construction company strictly based on brand and personal impressions. That’s why good input from their trusted people and networks can make a considerable difference in their decision to go with a construction company.
Do you want to attract more construction business clients? The best place to start is by making sure that the next person who enters your office leaves with a satisfied smile.
Happy Clients Give You an Edge From Competitors
Nowadays, people have a long list of qualified options to get the services they want, and the construction industry is no exception. However, choosing which option to go with can usually feel like a risky guessing game, whether you’re a homeowner renovating a living room or a municipal government commencing a major bridge construction project.
A great way to eliminate some uncertainty from decision-making and differentiate yourself from the rest of the competition is to showcase the testimony of other happy clients who have nothing but good things to say about your company.
Clients Looking for a Positive Experience are Willing to Pay More
Construction can be an aggressive business. It’s no secret that a great way to win clients is to underbid the other contractors, offering the same scope of work for a reduced proposal. And while fewer zeros are very enticing for your clients, it’s common knowledge that you get what you pay for, and a cheaper proposal only sometimes equals a high-quality construction building. Customers are willing to pay a little more when they can rest confident in the knowledge that they’re in good hands and that their customer experience will be positive.
Client Satisfaction Reflects Your Company’s Performance
When a client is satisfied, it signals to you that you and your team are doing something right. The opposite side of the coin, of course, is that unsatisfied clients are obvious signs that you’re doing something wrong. By measuring your clients’ experiences, you can gain better insights into which areas of your performance are five stars and which could use some extra improvement.
How to Create a Great Customer Experience Gameplan for Your Business?
Now that you have acknowledged the importance of good customer service, here are some ways to implement it in your business.
Offer Customer Service Training
One of the biggest steps you can take is where you invest your company’s resources. If you don’t have an established customer service department, now is the perfect time to assemble one. Tweak your company website so it is more streamlined and user-friendly. Lastly, your construction crew management can be further improved with extra client service training to enhance their soft skills.
Keep an Open Communication
Another parameter for determining the quality of client experience is the clients themselves. Whatever approach you implement, it pays considerably to ensure that your company is easy to reach and that an online platform for back-and-forth communication is open between you and your clients.
At the risk of elaborating on the point, keep in mind that open communication serves both parties: the client wants a positive construction experience, and you want to deliver it so that they will keep coming back, spend more, and recommend your services to their peers.
Empower Your Construction Team
As much as you listen to your clients, so should you listen to your employees. In customer service, workers have a unique perspective on the operational problems that hinder a good client experience. Yet, all too often, workers on the job site feel disempowered to address clients’ immediate concerns. The outcome can be frustration and lower morale on both sides of the interaction.
A good first action to keep everyone content is to consult your workers about process refinements and improvements. The next step is to follow through on making changes as expressed. Lastly, empower your workers with the right tools, such as construction crew dispatch software, to address clients’ concerns in real time, wherever they are based.
Key Takeaway
A good client experience is sometimes overlooked in the construction industry. Still, the truth is that professionals rely just as much on their solid relationships with clients as they do on their solid buildings and portfolios. As easy for it to be overlooked, there’s plenty of solid evidence that supports the influence of the client experience. Happy customers will return to your business again and again. They post their reviews, which will attract more projects to your door, and they will pay more money as they come back for another job.
At the end of the day, you want your clients and team members to trust you to provide the best construction experience. Keep your promises by implementing construction scheduling software so your project stays within schedule and budget, resulting in efficient operations and completion.
Pro Crew Schedule is construction management software that can help you improve your processes, which in turn can improve your relationships with your clients and your team.
