Unique Ways to Differentiate Your Construction Company

Regardless of the industry, a company needs to showcase its differentiation points to set it apart from the competition. It’s important to showcase why your company is a good fit for potential clients and why existing clients should buy from you again and again. Successful differentiation helps you shine over the rest of the pack. As discussed in our last blog, no two construction companies are alike. This begs the question, how can you differentiate? Here we dive into two specific areas that create endless opportunities to set your construction company apart.

Focus on People

We started here on purpose because “people” are the foundation of strong differentiators. We also started here because this basic concept is often overlooked and misunderstood. So let’s get started by going back to the basics.

Your clients are companies or organizations. Dictionary.com defines a company as “a number of persons united or incorporated for joint action, especially for business”. Dictionary.com defines a organization as “a group of persons organized for some end or work”. You can quickly see that both are a group of persons. This makes all of your clients, potential or existing, a group of persons. Your clients are real people - not a building in an office park.

Your clients’ organizations are made up of individual people. Each with different roles and responsibilities. Understanding and identifying those roles is key to effectively setting your company apart in a crowded marketplace. Who are the decision makers? Who influences decision makers? Your arsenal of differentiation must positively impact all the decision makers and influencers. What motivates the CEO or CFO and what can I do to positively impact them? How do I positively impact the VP of Facilities & Development? Going through this exercise for all your clients will enable you to find patterns and ways to differentiate your company among your “group of persons”.

Tip: Over the next month - every time a client is discussed or thought about, mentally identify the names of all key stakeholders in your mind. Drive a habit of thinking of your clients as a group of people and then build ways to stand out based on these people.

Deliver a Top Client Experience

The construction industry has a unique unleveraged characteristic. On a single project, a construction company has the benefit of working with its clients for many months (and oftentimes years). These long client engagements provide an opportunity to deliver a positive and memorable client experience.

Client experience is the complete interaction between your company and your client over the full duration of the relationship. More specifically, it is your interaction with each decision maker over the duration of a project. Avoid thinking of interactions with a company - instead think of interactions with people. Additionally, avoid the temptation to define your client’s experience as a series of touchpoints. Client experience is a continuous interaction over a long duration. The construction industry has a unique opportunity because this duration is oftentimes measured in years.

It is true that decisions are made with both sides of the brain. This is true for your clients as well. The left brain focuses on data and facts while the right brain focuses on emotion. The right side of the brain is often forgotten when considering sales strategies and customer retention approaches. Build a unique customer experience to unleash your client’s right brain. This will drive happier clients and more repeat clients.

Standing out from the crowd becomes less daunting when you focus on people and then deliver a unique client experience to those people. The possibilities are endless. Reap the returns by delivering a remarkable client experience to individuals (not companies).

Still looking for other ways to stand out from your competition? Download our infographic to learn more.