Customer centricity in the construction industry

Digitization is on everyone's lips in the construction and real estate industries. The transformation is taking hold in all areas of the company and is succeeding - with a clear focus on the customer.

Be it building materials manufacturers, construction companies, building materials retailers or the real estate industry: companies are digitizing their business processes and increasingly networking. New service offerings and services with a clear focus on customer needs are emerging. Those who are not involved in digitization and networking will be excluded in the future because they cannot be integrated into existing processes.

Marketing faces the major challenge of actively and economically shaping digitization and taking innovative paths in the process. It acts as a change maker when it drives the change process in the company, overcomes silo thinking and forces a necessary cultural change.

Change of perspective: from product focus to customer focus

In digital marketing, the buzzword "customer centricity" is increasingly being used to focus all activities and measures consistently on the customer. The customer sets the pace for marketing and the development of new products and services. This means that companies must achieve a change in perspective - away from traditional product thinking and toward a focus on the customer. At the same time, all departments should grow closer together and work with each other. Customers don't care which contact person is responsible for them, they see the company as a whole.

It also doesn't matter to the customer which analog or digital touchpoint he is currently at, whether he is leafing through a brochure, reading the newsletter, browsing the website, talking to the service team or on social media. The decisive factor is whether they find an answer to their questions quickly, whether the content offered is relevant, whether they feel comfortable, and whether the dialog creates positive experiences for them. Companies that communicate with their customers at eye level and make their digital offerings entertaining are clearly at an advantage! They get more attention, increase their digital visibility, and improve customer loyalty and referral rates at the same time through interaction.

Stakeholder management: Who are we talking to?

Of course, Customer Centricity does not only refer to digital marketing. In the construction and real estate industry in particular, a wide variety of stakeholders with their respective needs must be taken into account in communications: Contractors and project partners, investors, municipalities, other service providers, local residents and, last but not least, the interested public. Empathy with the respective target group and a radical change of perspective are crucial for successful project development. Developing new approaches to solutions also requires a fundamental understanding of digital technologies.

We have been able to prove what professional stakeholder management means for numerous major real estate projects in Munich, such as the Fünf Höfe, the Am Hirschgarten urban district and the Hofstatt in Sendlinger Straße. Our latest addition to the real estate portfolio, Vonovia SE, also knows how important it is to actively approach various interest groups. Germany's largest private provider of affordable housing quickly finds itself in the media spotlight. It is crucial to create transparency and to seek dialog with tenants, residents and local authorities at an early stage, whether through circulars, information events, tenant consultation hours, round tables with politicians or background discussions with the daily and trade press. In view of the growing housing shortage in Munich, it sometimes also helps to raffle off a rent-free home in the local media. (http://www.talkoftown.de/news/detailseite/artikel/42-immobilien-pr-muenc…)

Lateral thinking helps: We help the facades!

Even in the construction industry, special creativity is often needed - it helps to look beyond the end of one's nose in the direction of citizens' initiatives. For example, we launched the "We're helping the facades!" initiative on behalf of raw materials supplier Wacker Chemie. Together with leading paint manufacturers, we launched a wide-ranging information campaign on the advantages of silicone resin emulsion paints and awarded prizes to the most beautiful paintings in a European facade competition. The campaign was extremely successful across a wide range of analog and digital channels, it boosted sales considerably and even scored points as an Effie finalist.

Want a change of perspective?

Digital transformation and change management are on your agenda? Do you love creative solutions and working with successful lateral thinkers? We will be happy to support you and guide you through all the necessary processes. Benefit from our in-depth construction and real estate know-how and send us an email (hello@waechter.team) with the keyword "change of perspective" - we'll call you back, we promise!