A majority of American and Canadian construction companies, both small and big, continue to reel under financial pressure despite a seemingly surge in home building and renovation in their respective countries. Their shrinking client base, an outcome of ineffective business strategy, unsustainable practices, and bad contracts, is fast contributing to loss of business and increasing financial difficulties. Here are 10 common mistakes home renovation and construction companies make.
- Lack of A Good Business Plan Risks are inevitable part of construction business and only a stout business plan can assure safety against all odds. But many jump into the race without effective and complete planning. Aimless business flounder at the sight of risk possibilities and companies become unable to counter odds successfully. Home contractors must consider realities in the most comprehensive form, find ways to make adaptations and adjustments at the right earnest, and follow a planned direction beating competitions.
- Improper Marketing Strategy A good marketing strategy is the key to succeed. However, many construction companies, in Canada in particular, are yet to fully incorporate the latest technology to their marketing camping. Inability to exploit social media potential, video marketing and the mobile merchandising is causing great loss to home contractors. Successive surveys indicate social media marketing is key to boost business across all industries and it carries a major chunk of neighborhood business prospects.
- Unable To Discern Bad Contracts Construction companies should avoid accepting bad contracts. Those with penalty clauses, delayed payment provisions, work not commensurate with home builder or renovation contractor skills and experiences, and may put them in a negative situation. Such contracts have the potential to cause financial losses and bring a bad reputation.
- Failure To Address Customer Concerns on Priority Basis Positive feedback by customers is the biggest asset to expand construction business. Those not replaying to customers queries and concerns on a priority basis face the specter of rejection. Negative review brands a company unprofessional, without adequate customer care, and improper communication, the essential considerations by customers to hire a contractor.
- No Prudent Financial Management Lack of prudent financial practices is a major mistake that many construction companies make. Home renovation or building requires contractors to pay for registration, licensing, insurance, equipment, manpower, and other expenditures. The more variety of services a company offers, the higher is the startup cost. Those making huge investments or taking loans at the onset feel immense pressure if the cash flow is not as expected. Therefore, the less a contractor invests in capital expenditure and the more it saves, the smaller is the chance of financial strain.
- No Proper License and Certification Home building and renovations includes a variety of services. Construction companies offering many of these services without proper certification or license may lose out in competition. Lack of certification leads many consumers to consider it a sign of no expertise in a field. Home builders may have to pay fines and incur bad name if the government penalizes them for providing services without proper license.
- Static Skills, Technology, Systems In a competitive world, continued enhancement of skill and systems are essential for business growth and expansion. Construction business is ever evolving with new themes, technology, and tools and companies must upgrade themselves accordingly. Those remaining static face the risk of losing prospective customers to better-equipped contractors, who poised to do home building and renovation jobs more effectively and more quickly.
- Fighting With A Bad Client It is always a grave mistake to fight with a client notwithstanding how bad is he. There are customers who keep changing job requirements, delay payments, bully or harass the employees, or frequently compares with other contractors. Such customers are not worth keeping, as he has only a negative feedback. Better leave aside such people without wasting resources.
- Eager To Have Hand on All Jobs Construction industry is highly specialized and there is seldom any company claiming to be the master of all trades. One specializes in restoration of historical building, the other in per-fabricated homes, third in kitchen improvement, and the so on. A contractor must not say yes to job it does not have expertise in. Lack of experience and skills result in inefficiency and poor quality. Better do jobs most proficient at and avoid bad reputation.
- No Insurance Cover Without insurance cover, construction companies are at greater risk of financial loss. Many builders avoid insurance thinking about high premium rate. However, such a mistake is a grave threat in construction industry, where accidents, property damage, and unfortunate incidents are not rare despite the highest degree of security. Such incidents, in the absence of insurance cover, put companies at the risk of huge financial losses.
Whether it is a startup or existing construction companies, these conman construction companies mistakes must be avoided to ensure that the contractors remain immune from any risk and expand their business with excellent professional services.
