8 Ways a CRM System Can Benefit Small Construction Firms

Editorial Staff

August 10, 2022

The construction industry is niche and highly competitive where news, both good and bad, travels fast. This industry involves heavy investments and sales depending on the relationships and reputation the company builds in the market.

Large companies can easily invest in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems which require big investments. Small and mid-size construction companies cannot afford an ERP.

But they can ramp up their game with a CRM for construction companies. A CRM system does not burn a hole in your pocket yet gives your construction company a leap forward with its benefits.

The Benefits of CRM Software for Construction Companies:

#1. Sales Process Optimization

When the buyer is investing big money, the construction company’s sales process needs to be laser-sharp. You cannot afford to let the customer fall through the cracks to your competitor.

Sales processes in a construction company can be long and detailed. CRM software optimizes your company’s sales process so that the customer experiences a smooth and flawless journey throughout.

You can track the customer’s journey with alerts at every stage. This ensures that you don’t miss any documents or payments. All documents such as quotes, floor plans, contracts, and invoices are stored digitally and are available to the entire company.

This reduces any delays and fosters better collaboration. With the help of a CRM, your sales team can identify hot leads based on buying trends and even cross-sell or up-sell the products.

#2. Supply Chain Management

The construction industry relies on the builder’s reputation. No amount of advertising can salvage your projects if they are running behind schedule. One of the reasons for delays is an inefficient supply chain.

A CRM system can help a construction company maintain a healthy relationship with all stakeholders in the supply chain. You can use a CRM to set meeting reminders, pay invoices, schedule site visits, and track the project.

Be it during the construction phase, post-sale management, or pre-sale lead nurturing, a construction company CRM will make your business a success.

#3. Easy to Use

Small construction companies have limited budgets and cannot afford to spend heavily on complex ERPs and have dedicated teams. For this reason, many construction firms continue to do business on excel sheets and even paper which is inefficient. It leads to repetitive work and inefficient use of human resources.

CRM systems are affordable and intuitive, which makes them easy for almost any team member in your construction company to use. Whether you want to manage procurement, accounts, or sales, you can start working on a CRM with minimal training.

#4. Cloud-Based System

The pandemic has taught us that we cannot afford to depend on one location to run the business. With Software as a Service (SaaS) based systems, you can access the CRM anywhere if you have an internet connection.

Whether you are on a mobile phone, a tablet, or a laptop, you can access the system. SaaS (cloud-based) tools run online and have a completely secure user authentication system. 

Your salespeople can access the system from a client’s home or on the road, engineers can access it on a construction site, and your back office team can do it on their laptops if they are working from home.

#5. Lead Capture & Sales Management

To manage a relationship with a customer, you need to capture the lead and nurture it. A CRM system allows you to capture and manage leads coming from all directions in a single database.

The sources include social media, emails, telephone calls, walk-ins, biz-dev representative meetings, website forms, and networking events.

If you store and manage leads from all these sources separately, it could make the whole process disjoint and ill-managed.

It is easy to lose business cards or client details written on a piece of paper. But with a CRM, your leads can go directly on the CRM from the networking event itself.

The leads move automatically down the sales funnel and are available for the sales team to pursue.

#6. 360-Degree Analysis and Forecasting

The secret to success for any business is to position itself in the right place to ride the next tide.

For example, trend analysis and forecasting can tell you in advance when the buyer interest will be the highest so that you can design your marketing and sales strategies accordingly.

Integrated CRM systems for small construction companies have flexible reporting for accounts, sales forecasts, and pipeline analysis. You can set your own KPIs and identify trends in sales over time.

This level of insight is impossible to achieve on paper or excel sheets.

#7. Eliminate Data Silos

Your construction company may be small but remember that it will grow. It is easy to fall into the trap of data silos where each department manages its data with little to no cross-department integration. 

This results in duplicate documentation, inconsistencies, and information gaps. CRM systems synchronize information flow between departments and integrate easily with other third-party software such as payment systems, online meeting software, social media channels, accounting systems, and more. 

#8. Client & Project Support

If and when a conflict arises with the client, you want to resolve it quickly. This could be a small query over the phone or a legal matter. The construction business has huge stakes and mistakes can be expensive.

But when your systems are synchronized and the information is readily available, you can respond fast. This includes retrieving any historical information with a few clicks on the laptop.

It not only saves you when you are in tight spots but also leaves the customer delighted.

Conclusion:

Small and medium construction companies no longer need to shy away from implementing CRM technology. Choosing the best CRM for a construction company will be easy with professional consultation.

Prospur provides a CRM platform for small businesses to acquire, engage, and retain customers and close more sales. Click here for a FREE Demo to learn – how Prospur can help you grow online.