Communication is key
“We recently commissioned some market research to ask representatives from the construction industry what they look for in a utility infrastructure sector provider now, and how they think that might change over the next two to three years.
“The thing with market research is you do it because want to find out something you didn’t already know – yet there’s also the argument that we should know what our buyers want, otherwise why are we in this business? That aside, we commissioned the research and left it in the expert hands of Ann Goodwin at Win Marketing to work her magic and uncover some lesser-known industry insights.
“The results generated some good headline stats – and not to reveal all our cards at once, one message which came back loud and clear was the importance of effective communications.
“A staggering 88% of respondents* said communications was one of the most important factors to consider when appointing a multi-utility provider. Other stats were:
- 76% were keen on early project involvement
- 76% said they looked for a high level of technical support
- And, 70% said they took comfort in having some degree of programme certainty.
“But turning our attention back to comms – I’m pleased (relieved!) to say 83% of respondents rated comms from the Matrix team at 8 out of 10 or better, which is good to know. So, while comms is clearly so important and thankfully it’s something the industry seems satisfied we’re good at, why might some providers not rank so highly?
“Like anything in life, if we know what’s going on, if someone is taking the time to communicate with us, showing us some respect and appreciating why we might need to be kept informed, it removes so much uncertainty. Uncertainty, in this industry can cost significant sums of money – yet being open and honest, engaging with every member of a client team no matter their level of seniority, can provide reassurance when faced with a challenge, or it can just let people know that everything’s on track.
“We’re surrounded by communication, possibly too much so today when sometimes we find ourselves suffering from information overload. But that also means there’s no excuse to not communicate with your colleagues or your clients. We rose to the comms challenge which was thrown at us in Spring 2020, we adapted, we kept in touch and we kept going. And, if the past 12 or so months has taught us anything, it’s how much we value communicating with others – although I’m personally a bit over online meetings and am pleased to be back seeing people face to face (safely).
“Communications is key, and at Matrix we’ll be working hard to improve on our 83%, putting into practice some of the learnings we’ve gained from our valuable investment into market research.”
Rob Sparkes, CEO, Matrix Group
*617 construction industry buyers were contacted independently across March and April 2021. 178 were spoken to and 33 surveys carried out. 30% hadn’t worked with Matrix Networks previously.
