Building Customer Loyalty in Construction: Part 3 –Review Progress Regularly
1/17/2013 at 11:47 am by
In the first two parts of this Building Customer Loyalty series, I discussed the importance of thinking differently and how to build a plan. In today’s blog, I’ll cover ways to assure your customer loyalty efforts stay on track.
It is essential to review your customer loyalty plan and goals on a regular basis. You will probably want to this this every three months, or at a minimum every six months. Review what has worked . . . and what hasn’t. Update your plan as needed. If something seems to be particularly “broken,” spend some brainstorming time attempting to develop a solution, or at least several possible alternatives.
Also, stress to your team that relationship building takes time. Not all efforts will be received warmly by customers or prospective customers; some people simply are not friendly or want to keep an “arm’s length” away from all contractors. When you run into this type of person, respect their boundaries and leave them alone. It’s your job to master the process of developing good relationships. You have no control over customers’ responses, nor should you stop performing professional customer loyalty-building activities because of the negative responses of a few.
Finally, note that it’s also critical at this stage to confirm that each person on your team has bought into the established goals and feels ownership for the plans ultimate success. Encourage questions or comments. Seek out concerns. Confirm that all team members agree that the established goals are realistic and in the best interest of your contracting company.
Remember, motivation flows from the top of the organization down. If you get busy and postpone or forget about deadlines, you are sending a message to your staff that this is no longer a priority. You as the owner and leader must make the commitment to an ongoing customer loyalty plan before anyone in your company will.
Did you enjoy my series on customer loyalty? Would love to get your feedback! Share your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author
Dennis E. Feidner is the Founder and CEO for Chief Financial Officer on the go, a company that provides accounting and software support to over 1,500 construction companies. For over 25 years, Dennis has held the position of either Controller or CFO for several large construction companies. He is a graduate of CW Post University.
2 Responses to “Building Customer Loyalty in Construction: Part 3 –Review Progress Regularly”
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Thanks for the valuable insight through these multiple posts. I did enjoy each one. Although I am not an owner, or VP, these posts helped/are helping me brainstorm on how to take what I do in the company and expand my potential influence to the VPs. All positions are valuable to the company. People in all positions should be ready to give thoughts to others, your ideas mentioned are valuable, in my opinion.
I am looking forward to more posts. Thanks, Dennis!
Chris Shumate
@CNDShumate
Thanks for the positive feedback, our company likes to give construction companies the tools and information they need to grow their companies. Sometimes it is just one idea that they build on to make positive changes in their company’s perfromance. A visit to http://www.cfootg.net will provide you some additional whitepapers to read and learn from. Have a great 2013!