Some of the hardiest entrepreneurs are those in the construction industry. Contractors manage countless services and supply chains. Suppliers navigate fluctuating prices, availability, and demand for their products. Projects are long-term, and timing of completion can be subject to the weather. Everyone in the construction industry sticks it out through market downturns by carefully analysing historical patterns and preparing accordingly.
If you are considering expanding your construction business, you need to make sure you have all the elements for success lined up before diving in. This will ensure a smooth transition into new services, customers, territories, or product bases. Using an ePOS system will give you the tools you need in order to make accurate assessments and informed decisions about your next move.
1. Evaluate Your Resources
When growing your construction business, ensuring you have the resources you need in order to manage the work you take on is the first step. You do not want to get dirt deep into a project and realise you don’t have enough equipment, supply access, or labor, to finish on time.
If you use an electronic point of sale system, you can harness the power of analytic tools to make projections about expansion needs and costs. This will help you decide if the new work-load is profitable, and if you are prepared to handle it.
2. Acquire Funding
After you evaluate your resources, you may find you need to make a significant financial investment to support your expanded business. Most banks require a portfolio showing your company’s historical financial performance, current and past jobs, and inventory of equipment and supplies. An integrated ePOS system will make it easy to compile a portfolio showing the data you need in a clear, simple manner.
3. Marketing and Branding
Do people recognise your company? When they think of the service you provide, do they think of your brand? If not, then it is time to start creating a uniform message. You want potential customers to associate your company with your products and services, and the best way to do that is to make sure they won’t forget you.
Choose colours and themes that make you stand out in your industry, and put your logo on every bit of correspondence you create. This means emails, bills, letters, web pages, ads, and signs. Put your signs out at all of your projects so that people see who is doing the work they see. Make shirts for your employees using your colours and logo. Get your logo and company name painted on your vans and trucks.
Utilising the data you already have access to can help get your company back in front of you past customers. A comprehensive ePOS system will support email campaigns to thank customers for their business and remind them that you are prepared to meet all of their needs related to your industry. You can also look back through your product and/or service history in order to inform targeted marketing campaigns.
4. Provide the Best Service to Boost Your Word-of-Mouth Exposure
Consumers are more likely to trust and do business with companies they have heard about through friends, associates, and family. If your customers are contractors or builders, give them incentive to mention your company to their colleagues by offering a referral bonus. Offer them tokens of appreciation or discounts on your services or products.
Ensure your customers share their satisfaction with your service, by making your service worth talking about. Happy customers will remain loyal to your brand and get your company in front of other people in the market.
5. Only Take on Profitable Work
There is nothing worse than losing money on a project. Merely breaking even is not much better. But moving into a new territory or taking on new types of work can make it difficult to foresee potential challenges and hidden costs. Using a comprehensive ePOS system can help predict your profit margin before you accept a job.
6. Stay Ahead of Trends
Do your research and make use of analysis tools to stay on top of what you do. With an integrated ePOS system, you can evaluate seasonal fluctuations and be prepared to handle the swings inherent in the construction industry. When you use past data to inform your readiness for future projects and challenges, you set yourself up for success.
7. Move Forward With Confidence
Scaling your business in the construction industry can be a nerve-wracking process. But if you have the tools you need in order to thoroughly inform your decisions, you can be confident while you grow. Make sure you have the resources necessary to take on new projects and territories, use analytic tools to predict profits and compile a funding portfolio, maintain the best quality services and products for your customers. Take these steps and you will be well on your way to the growth you are looking for.
