Think about this for a moment:

Over 50 percent of customers will stop doing business with a company after one negative experience.

In other words, the modern consumer is well-informed and buying isn’t just a transaction. Buyers are seeking impressive customer experiences from the brands they do business with.

The quality of your products and services is not enough to win over prospects. Customer experience is top priority for enterprises both large and small. In fact, it affects all aspects of your organization.

But first:

What is Customer Experience?

At its core, customer experience can be described as the perception buyers have of your business throughout the entire journey — from the point they begin considering a purchase to becoming a happy and loyal customer.

Simply, it’s what a client sees, hears and feels when engaged with a brand. The building blocks of a customer’s opinion about a brand are interactions such as visiting a website, or calling a business.

And in case you’re wondering...

Are Customer Service And Customer Experience The Same?

Not at all.

It’s a common mistake, but the two are slightly different. On the one hand, customer service involves a single touchpoint with a brand. On the flipside, customer experience involves the feelings and opinions throughout the entire buyer journey.

In other words, customer service is a single aspect of the customer experience. Here’s an example:

If you order cement on the phone, and the person you’re speaking with is likable and helpful, that’s superb customer service. On the other hand, if the cement order is delivered early and the company offers you a discount, then that’s admirable customer experience.

So why is customer experience important in construction?

Let’s jump right in.

#1. Increases Revenue

Consider this:

When a company with $1 billion in annual revenues slightly increases customer experience, over three years it will generate an average revenue increase of $823 million.

Impressive, right?

Great customer experiences lead to high consumer loyalty and retention. With increased commitment, clients will make more purchases from you. Even better, they will spread word about your exceptional products and services consequently improving your bottom line.

All you need to do is take feedback from your clientele and use it to improve your services so as to satisfy the buyer. Take Apple for example. They have one of the most loyal customer bases on the planet. To achieve that, they have phenomenal products and offer remarkable customer service.

#2. Increases Loyal Customers

Customers aren’t loyal to brands because of price or the product. These users are devoted to companies because of the experience they receive. If you can’t keep up with their demands then they will leave never to return.

As a result, create an impressive customer experience and purchasers are more likely to keep buying from you in the future.

And let’s be honest. No business can exist without customers. You need to focus on securing new clients while retaining the current shoppers. It will pay off in the long run.

To put it into perspective:

A 5% increase in buyer retention increases profits anywhere from 25% to 95%. Again, acquiring a new customer is 5 to 25 times more costly than keeping an existing one.

#3. Reduces Cost

Providing an incredible customer experience may involve automating certain processes such as queue management. By implementing such methods, there’s better utilization of the available personnel resources. For instance, workers don't need to answer questions or direct users.

The result?

Employees move to higher-value roles and this improves productivity while reducing labour costs.

Similarly, improving customer experience may involve additional expenditure. In contrast, what’s expensive is managing bad customer encounters.

#4. Gives You a Competitive Advantage

In the past, price wars was the go-to strategy to get a slice of your competition’s market share. But, the technique is now outdated and you need a modern solution. A technique that will separate you from the herd and propel you to success.

And that’s what customer experience does. It’s the perfect tool to help you stand out from your competitors. It offers the consumer something else to consider. The purchaser will not only be concerned with the products and prices, but also the overall buying experience.

#5. Increases Marketing ROI

One of the critical components of a marketing campaign is ROI. It helps you determine whether or not your marketing efforts are actually helping your construction business.

Enter customer experience. It’s about providing as much value as possible to your customers. You fulfill their needs and wants. Likewise, you meet and exceed your clientele’s expectations.

The result?

Brand advocates that will do the majority of marketing for you.

Also, by focusing on customer experience, a company understands its clients better. You eliminate guesswork in what consumers want which leads to savings in marketing costs.

And finally...

#6. Better Crisis Management

Great customer experience is hinged on trust. When shoppers trust your enterprise, they are more likely to express their concerns directly. By not causing a public outrage or humiliation, an organization is able to manage its brand reputation.

As it turns out, a damaged credibility goes beyond lost business. A firm can lose potential investments and even have challenges attracting top talent.

Additionally, it’s unrealistic to expect you will only get positive feedback. When handling negative reactions, respond politely and provide assurance that you’re doing your best to find a solution to a user’s issue. It definitely pays off to make your customer feel heard and cared for.

All said and done, are you now ready to...

Create a Noteworthy User Experience

Today, purchasers are empowered more than ever. Customers expect every interaction to be the best experience they have with your construction company. As a result, you need to put your clients first, otherwise they will do business with your competition.

And no, customer experience is not something you do once and forget about it. It’s a continuous process of improvements to keep up with your rivals and to keep growing your business.

When customer experience becomes part of your culture, you start to scale new heights. Revenue grows, consumer loyalty increases and you may even outperform your competitors.

And isn’t that what you want?

Now go ahead and create an incredible customer experience.