Market Customers with One Word
The word is simply “experience.” Yes, brand experience is a common term in the retail, restaurant, and other consumer markets, yet it still applies to construction. Think about what you do when you have a good experience as a consumer – you tell a person or two. When you have a bad experience, you probably tell 5 to 10 people. The same holds true in construction, and the stakes are a lot higher. In construction, we’re not talking about $5 burgers and $50 shirts; construction costs are in the millions, and a prospect can take years to nurture.
Think about your clients and prospects’ experience with your company. When they drive by a construction site, do they like what they see? Is their experience with your project management team missed calls, ignored emails, blown deadlines, constant work change orders, and sloppy craftsmanship – lets hope not. If so, you’ve lost that client for good. If it happens to multiple clients consistently, any good business developers you have will leave too because they’re spinning their wheels trying to bring in new clients for the company and the company itself is forcing them away.
As a construction marketer or business developer, you need to know about the client experience on your jobs, and you should have a say. A bad experience in this industry is a slippery slope that is near impossible to overcome.