The world is definitely undergoing global transformations, changes have taken place in absolutely all spheres of life and business. Today we already live in a new world and at least we must accept and adapt, or if you feel the strength in yourself, you can today become a visionary and an engine of progress. It is today that your decisions determine what role you and your business will play in the new world.
The construction business is one of those areas that requires transformation, which today is quite far from the rapid development of innovations, digital technologies and management trends.
First of all, one of the indicators of the success of any business is flexibility and readiness to quickly respond to changes. In the modern world where transformations are occurring rapidly and sometimes unpredictably, it is very important to create a corporate culture and management system that will allow you to quickly respond to external market factors and also create innovations within the company.
Therefore, the first thing to look at to transform your business is change management.
This is a laborious process that requires a very clear and structured approach to its implementation, but once you have created an ecosystem in which changes will be the norm for your business, you will create the prerequisites for comfortable and rapid growth in the future.
The use of typical steps for making changes is discussed in detail in the works of Dr. John Kotter, such as:
- Overcoming the state of satisfaction with the current situation
- Forming a team to implement the change
- Determining the vision of the desired future and the transition strategy
- Broad communication of the changes being made
- Removing obstacles and barriers to change
- Achieving quick first successes
- Maintaining the change process to prevent rollback
- Consolidation of the changes made in the corporate culture
You can also explore other change management models and choose the right strategy for you.
The most well-known methodologies include:
- Model ADKAR
- AIM methodology (Accelerated Implementation Methodology)
- Beckhard and Harris Change Management Model
- William Bridges Transition Model
- Change model John Kotter
- Kubler-Ross model
- Kurt Lewin Model
Think globally, look around, be innovative
Technologies today are almost limitless and there are probably a lot of opportunities around that you could apply in your business. Innovation and information technology allows you to optimize business processes, which means you will be more efficient. Often, the use of technology will allow you to get ahead of the competition. Analyze what technologies your competitors are already using, which ones you could apply in your business.Look not only in your business area, but also in other industries, maybe you can also apply something or adapt for your business
Go into the future, take technologies and implement them now. Here is one example of the implementation of this way of thinking in a company’s development strategy. One of the founders of the construction company from USA found a small startup that makes moon rovers for Mars and decided that if he can ride on Mars, he can ride on their construction sites. So now they are using this technology for business, and in fact, moon rovers are driving around their construction sites.
Apply management technology, keep focus on what’s important, constantly look for opportunities for improvement
Sometimes identifying what you don’t need to do is much more effective than adding one more item to your plans. Analyze all the business processes of your activity, see which of them create value, and which take time and resources. Try to optimize performance across all departments. You can familiarize yourself withLean manufacturing systems, the Lean Startup model that was inspired by Lean Manufacturing, but more about building a business rather than manufacturing. Flexible management systems such as AGILE or classical ones such as ISO. PDCA, 5S, Kaizen techniques that actually are part of Lean Manufacturing and many others applying which in your management system you can free up more resources and focus on what is important. You can also use Goldrath’s Theory of Constraints in order to find exactly that place in the business, the expansion of which will bring the maximum effect today. Test hypotheses, the more and faster hypotheses you can test, the higher the chances of finding ones that works.
Digitize
The IT industry is developing at the speed of light and there are already a lot of solutions on the market that will help you optimize certain processes. Look at those processes that now require a lot of attention to solving routine tasks. We have already written an article about the state of IT in the construction business industry and what problems IT can solve today in order to help your business grow faster.
The digital landscape is changing at an ever-increasing rate. The question for organizations is no longer whether they are going to digitize their workspace, but when they are going to keep up with and adapt to evolving technologies. Information technologies of the organization serve the strategic goals of the business, are used to manage the activities of structures and objects, financial, information, material flows, jobs, and teams of people.
You can read the article at the link, perhaps in it you will also find ideas for developing your business today. https://openixsolutions.com/post/current-state-of-it-in-construction-business
Look for new ways to promote your business
Now they say that if your business is not on the Internet, then your business is not at all. Today it is extremely important to create a reputation for a modern company. Now they meet you not by clothes, but by your image and brand created in the media space. Your clients and partners are on the Internet. Try to declare yourself and show yourself as much as possible where your clients and partners are. But it is important not only to show up, but to immediately think over the strategy of conducting a client, for example, when they became a subscriber of your social network, it is important to keep their attention or transfer them to the next stage – to get their contacts or subscribe them to a newsletter or invite them for a consultation. The more clearly you think through each step of the client’s behavior, the more likely you are to achieve your goal.
Here are some basic areas to look out for:
- Social networks. Determine who your target audience is and where they spend the most time, create your accounts and start attracting your audience. Test your free promotion methods, then use the advertising capabilities of each platform. Consider the cost of customer acquisition and choose the most effective channels.
- Website, SEO optimization. More often than not, after you’ve gotten the attention of your client or partner, they’ll go and see your site. Here it is important for you to think about what impression you want to create, what kind of expertise you want to broadcast, what action you want the client to take. Use modern marketing opportunities such as on-site chatbots, quizzes, lead magnets, and more.
- Mail marketing. Often clients are not ready to make a decision right away, and here it is important for you not to let go of the client in the hope that he will remember you. It is important to maintain a constant dialogue with him. But it is important to observe ethics – do not spam with endless news, give benefit, what can really be useful and important for your client.
- Content marketing. It is rapidly gaining momentum in the development of the company’s brand and building trust among your audience. You can use not only your own blog and media, but also informational platforms such as quorra and madium, as well as information media that are popular in your industry. Media always needs high-quality and interesting content, often you can just offer them an interesting topic for publication and they will post your article for free. Do not forget to use UTM parameters in order to track traffic and understand which resource is most effective for you. Participation in open discussions, conferences and meetings dedicated to problems in your industry can also be a good tool.
Thus, the main thing with which to start transforming your business is to realize their need, create an ecosystem in which these changes can be implemented, choose the transformation areas that are priority for yourself and implement them, look into the future and keep your finger on the pulse.