As a construction company, you have the chance to build something amazing. But drawing in clientele can be a monumental task, especially when you’re still getting off the ground. Luckily, there are multiple things you can do to increase the likelihood of pulling in more business. As you think about these various approaches, consider your specific business’ situation and make decisions about marketing and business plans accordingly!
Rethink Your Price Strategy
Price strategizing for construction companies is constantly evolving. A lot of it you can’t control–like the price of materials. Still, make sure that you are consistently looking at your prices to figure out if there are ways that you could be more competitive. Of course, making your prices more competitive doesn’t always mean lowering your prices. For example, you might consider offering a form of package deal on a certain style of type of home if you get lower prices on those particular building materials, making this a mutual win for you and your customer. Similarly, you should remember that sometimes having lower prices might actually drive away some clientele who quickly think your work is lower quality, so adjust as much as your business can allow with lower and higher budget clients.
Be More Transparent
Being more transparent with your clients at every stage of the building process will make a big difference in the ultimate satisfaction of your clients. And, naturally, high satisfaction in clients contributes to the likelihood that you’ll get even more clients based on reviews and recommendations. While devoting more time and effort into being more transparent may seem like something without immediate pay-off, honesty between clients and contractors builds relationships of trust and confidence more than any other virtue. When you work on residential homes, having a good reputation among your clients will make a big difference when their friends see the work you’ve done for their homes and save your information for future reference.
Use New Materials
Using new materials can help your company be more appealing to various clients. If you have limited options that don’t adequately allow for specific clients’ desired home styles, they’ll inevitably go with a contractor who does have those options. As you figure out what new materials to add, do competitor research to figure out which materials tend to put other companies over the edge for clients. Understanding if there is a bigger market for certain styles of homes will help you figure out where you can expand.
Offer Sustainable Building Services
Another important step that you can take to help you be more competitive is offering sustainable building services. Increasingly, buyers hope to build homes with energy efficient appliances and other fixtures in order to minimize their negative impact on the environment as well as save money. For example, homeowners can save money by installing energy efficient windows and doors, or solar panels on their roof for sustainability. Providing some of these services to your clients will help put you above the competition.
Work With Other Contractors
Working with other contractors is a great way to expand your prospects and reel in more business. The best situation for you to combine efforts is when there are certain services your construction company is unable to provide efficiently and when another company provides those, or vice versa. For example, maybe you currently are a general contractor with limited expertise in large equipment operation. If you partner with a heavy construction equipment company, together you can consistently provide more services at a lower price to your clients than another, more limited company that continually has to find subcontractors. And, therefore you will draw in more customers.
Increase Productivity
Increasing productivity across your business is a great way to get more business because it means you’ll be doing more business faster. As you think about how to increase your productivity, there are a variety of things you should look at. Perform a careful self-analysis of all the steps of your company’s different processes. Are you slow getting permits? Do you have specific teams that take longer to do their parts? Does it take a while for your clients to choose their materials? Depending on your particular situation, you might want to provide a more streamlined and straightforward approach—as it relates to picking materials, you could create standard fliers for clients regarding different kinds of materials to choose from, and the pros and cons of each. Never settle for procedure, but constantly evaluate and reevaluate ways you can streamline your productivity for a faster and more thorough turnaround!
Expand Into Different Markets
One of the best ways to see growth in your construction company is to look into different markets. If you are currently focusing on residential contracts, maybe it’s time to look into some commercial real estate contracts. Making this shift can seem challenging at first, so it’s important that you don’t get too in over your head. Think about the biggest challenges you envision facing with a broader market and try to limit those. For example, if you worry about not having enough equipment to get between jobs efficiently, focus on a specific geographical area.
Get Awards and Accreditations
In addition to adjusting some of your strategies like your approaches to different markets, you should also focus on getting visible awards from various agencies. This can look differently depending on the current state and stage of your business. But having a home you built featured in something like the Parade of Homes will make a big difference in getting the word out about your work and adding more credibility to your name. Also, seeking out various third-party accreditations and different stamps of approval is another way to get more visibility and assurance of quality to your prospective customers.
Making the best decision for your company involves a lot of careful thought. Take the time to analyze your situation before deciding on a new strategy to implement. Making sure you understand your market and your capabilities will ensure that any new strategies will have the highest possibility of succeeding.
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