Owning a construction company, and being the one to call the shots and map your future can be incredibly rewarding. As a business owner, you also get to take pride in all the milestones and goals your company achieves. But perhaps the construction company has reached the point where growth is warranted, and it’s time to expand. What can you as an owner do to help ensure the expansion goes smoothly and is a huge success? Here are some useful tips you may want to apply.
What Exactly Does an Expansion Mean?
Before taking any initial steps it’s important to have a plan and clarify what expansion means to the company. Will you be opening new offices, offering new services, hiring new staff, or expanding into a new market, or is expansion defined in some other way for you? The more specific you can be, the better formulated the plan will be.
This is also a great time to do some market and client research making sure what you’re offering is in demand, you’re priced competitively and you can offer something unique from other construction companies.
Are You Prepared to Make a Monetary Investment in the Company?
The expansion will also come at a cost in terms of money. To invest and help the construction company to grow a monetary investment will be necessary. If you don’t have the funds available you can look into other means of financing. Some great options can include:
- Get a partner that brings in capital
- Business loan
- A business line of credit
- Find ways to cut costs
- Ensure all outstanding bills/invoices have been received
It’s like the saying goes – you have to spend money to make money and that is certainly true when a business is trying to grow.
As for what the money will be spent on it could be such purchases as tools, equipment, trucks/vehicles, new hires and so forth.
Do You Need a Bigger Office Space?
If your construction business is currently working out of a small office, it’s time to assess if that’s still wise. If you’re planning to hire additional staff – both construction crew and administrative staff – the chances are you’ll need a bigger space. Because finding commercial rental space can be difficult depending on the town/city, you want to start the search as early as possible.
Revamp Your Advertising Plan
This is also a great time to reassess your current advertising efforts and examine if they are getting the results you need. As a company grows it’s only natural that their marketing campaign will need adjustments. If you had been relying on traditional advertising tools, try looking into digital marketing. Digital marketing is ideal for companies that have a tight budget and want to expand their reach, connecting with potential new customers/clients in different locales.
Paid advertising such as social advertisements, PPC, and SEO are the kind of things that a company such as Rsmconnect.com can offer its clients. If you’re serious about growing and tweaking your advertising plan, then it makes sense to outsource to professionals who can provide insight, knowledge, and experience. This means you don’t have to tackle advertising it in-house with dedicated staff.
Don’t Let Customer Service and Satisfaction Slip
One mistake companies, not just in the construction industry but any industry, can make while they grow is to let customer service and satisfaction slip. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and focus on growing and getting new clients, but if you’re not making sure the current ones are satisfied you risk negative word of mouth and the ability to build a loyal customer base.
There are a few keys to making clients happy, which are:
- Checking in with them, asking if there are any problems or concerns
- Listening to them and making them feel heard
- Ask what else you can do to make them happy with the project
- Offer competitive pricing
- Stick to the quote and when not possible, discuss with the client what the issues are
- Ensure you stick to the initial timeline, or as close to it as possible
- Keep a clean and professional worksite/job site
- Prioritize safety on the site
It’s Usually a Combination of Techniques That Succeeds
The fact is that there is no secret to success and no simple way to expand a company. Instead, it’s about properly reading the market and client base, ensuring the services you offer to continue to remain at a high-quality level, and making strategic moves that not only benefit the company in the short but also the long term.
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
