Every construction project offers unique opportunities and challenges. Having the right team in your corner with a fresh perspective can help you achieve success with the speed you need.
At Wipfli, our team understands the unique challenges and risks homebuilders face each day. Our specialists bring industry insight and the technical know-how to help you improve performance, increase cash flow, build the team of the future and gain control over internal finances.
Our prebuilt and custom solutions can help you:
- Improve your financial operations: You need strong financial management without the cost of forming and maintaining your own in-house team. Our outsourced CFO and accounting teams take care of today’s tasks, while using the latest technology to deliver new insights into your business and help you make proactive, strategic decisions for the future. In addition, our tax team can help further fuel your success by minimizing your risk with the right energy tax incentives, such as 45L.
- Optimize people, strategy and operations: To move your business forward and enhance your performance, you need to align your people, strategy and operations. We can help you create a succession plan and recruit/retain the workforce you need today. From insights to action, our organizational performance consulting team partners with you to make your organization healthier, more agile and more valuable.
- Drive decisions with data: Complexity can mask the impact of estimating a project and accounting for its costs. Cut through the confusion with advice on designing job costing processes, creating a chart of accounts, and developing tools for estimating and job cost functions. Our data and analytics team can help you introduce key benchmarks to ensure that managers understand goals and can objectively be held accountable for results.
- Strengthen your tech: Technology is getting more intricate, and hackers are getting smarter. Our team has a custom CRM solution built on top of Salesforce that meets homebuilders’ unique needs. We also provide enterprise resource planning solutions such as NetSuite and JD Edwards to meet homebuilders’ needs and deliver reliable, clean data to improve job cost projections and competitive bids. Our cybersecurity solutions can also help protect that data and your systems.
Wipfli has been a trusted resource to the construction industry for over 75 years. We offer services in tax and audit, risk advisory, digital transformation, outsourcing, organizational performance, M&A and leadership.
Reach out to our team
Let’s talk about how you can overcome a rapidly changing market to build a more scalable, resilient business.
RESEARCH REPORT
State of technology in the construction industry research report
Tech maturity is in its adolescence for the construction sector Construction executives recognize the value of technology — but the industry still has a way to go to realize tech’s full potential. A survey of 308 industry executives conducted this spring shows there is still a gap between aspiration and execution. Construction firms are investing in cybersecurity, AI, cloud platforms and green building tech — yet many also report that their teams are challenged to fully utilize existing systems. In our survey, 80% of executives said they’d experienced one or more data breaches in the past year, and a majority of respondents also named cybersecurity as the top priority for tech investment. However, with cybercriminals ever evolving, it will take time for intention and investment to close the vulnerability gap. Of the construction executives we surveyed, we learned: Cybersecurity is both a top concern and a top priority. Eight in 10 executives said they’d experienced a data breach last year, and nearly half had three or more, while 73% of all respondents plan to invest in cybersecurity tools in the coming year. While 82% of respondents claim to have an AI strategy, most are relying on consumer-grade tools for routine tasks rather than integrating AI into business workflows. Data analytics adoption is still in its adolescence, with larger firms farther along in their journey. Larger firms take a more standardized approach to technology use-case evaluation, but even the biggest players are not fully strategic. Only 11% of executives at firms with revenues less than $50M said their application selections followed a strategic roadmap with data-driven insights, compared to 35% of execs at the highest-revenue firms. For a deeper dive, download the full report.
ARTICLE
4 ways AI is changing marketing strategies for homebuilders
A dynamic industry is causing challenges for both homebuilders and home buyers. To stay competitive, homebuilders are looking for ways to improve marketing operations while ensuring advantageous spend — and AI can play a significant role in doing both. AI helps improve the efficiency of your marketing campaigns by identifying the potential home buyers who are most likely to be interested in your offerings so that you can target better leads. It also has the potential to automate key customer journey tasks, such as lead generation and customer support, freeing your sales representatives and marketing professionals to focus on building customer relationships and channels that convert. If you want to transform your sales and marketing, here are four ways you can use AI: 1. Streamline lead generation AI helps homebuilders streamline their lead nurturing process through lead scoring and prioritization. AI can be used to assign a score to each lead based on their likelihood of converting into a sale. This allows homebuilders to focus their resources on leads that have a higher probability of closing, thereby increasing efficiency. AI can also help lead nurturing by automatically sending personalized follow-up messages based on the customer’s interactions with your website or social media platforms. By automating the lead nurturing process, homebuilders can ensure that potential customers receive timely and relevant information, increasing the chances of converting leads into sales. 2. Automate customer service Having a user-friendly online experience is quickly becoming an important differentiator for homebuilders. With AI-powered chatbots , home buyers can get information about communities, models and options; have location questions answered; and even be guided through the sales process directly on your website. These intelligent systems can also collect relevant customer information, such as contact information and specific requirements, which can be used by your sales team for further follow-ups and lead nurturing. And by providing personalized assistance to large amounts of potential customers simultaneously, without the need for human intervention, you can improve customer satisfaction and further streamline lead generation. 3. Increase sales With its advanced algorithms and machine learning capabilities, AI can increase sales by helping homebuilders create targeted marketing campaigns. By analyzing previous interactions and data, AI solutions can create personalized recommendations and suggestions for customers based on their specific needs and preferences. This targeted approach ensures that the right message reaches potential home buyers at the right time, increasing the likelihood of conversion and ultimately boosting sales. AI can also identify emerging trends or preferences that you can capitalize on, helping you stay ahead of the competition and generate leads in untapped markets. 4. Reduce costs Streamlining marketing operations and allocating resources efficiently is crucial for homebuilders as the cost of capital and materials continues to rise. Traditional marketing methods often require trial and error to find the right approach, resulting in wasted resources. However, with AI, you can continuously monitor and analyze data to identify trends and patterns in consumer behavior. That data can then be used to optimize your marketing budget. Your team can refine marketing strategies in real-time, investing in channels that generate the highest ROI. And eliminating wasteful spending on ineffective marketing channels can significantly reduce marketing costs while maximizing reach and impact. AI can also automate repetitive tasks such as data collection, lead generation and follow-ups — helping you reach a larger audience without the need for wasted resources. This not only reduces marketing costs but also improves efficiency and customer satisfaction.
ARTICLE
How homebuilders can pick a CRM
Homebuilders know it’s important to invest in the right tools and equipment for the job. It’s how they keep job sites safe and efficient. In the office, the right tools can also build strong sales pipelines. Customer relationship management (CRM) software helps builders manage customer interactions. It tracks customer information from inquiry to closing and can analyze interactions. A CRM is the right tool for homebuilders who want to improve the buying journey and close on more homes. The question is: Which CRM solution is the right tool for the job? CRM capabilities that homebuilders need There are many platforms to choose from. Homebuilders need a CRM that can: Categorize sales leads: At a glance, leaders need to see how many prospects are in the pipeline, who’s working them, and where they are in the sales process. CRMs can also categorize leads based on communities, home value or other metrics. Track the sales journey: Is it time to follow up? Are you waiting on a contract? A CRM can track each customer’s sales journey, especially when you’re managing many customers in different buying stages. Sales leaders can establish checkpoints at different intervals. Or they can investigate when trends arise, such as a series of leads fizzling out at the same stage. Send and store communications: Salespeople should be able to send and store emails in a CRM. That helps sales reps stay organized and the business maintain continuity. With a CRM, salespeople can also store templates that make it easier to respond to common questions. Or they can automate check-in messages. Streamline workflows: CRMs should replace manual work, not duplicate it. Find a platform that integrates with other business tools you already use. Cloud-based options allow salespeople to work on accounts from anywhere, so progress doesn’t stall when they’re in the field. Prompt action: Pick a CRM that can issue alerts when marketing, sales or the customer service agents need to take action. Establish workflows and assign check-ins, so every lead is activated and every customer receives the same level of service. Increase responsiveness: Some buyers have a lot of questions. A CRM can help you respond quickly, accurately and consistently. Every department should have access to up-to-date account information so they can work together to close deals. Some CRMs even leverage chatbot technology to speed up response times. Improve decision-making: Your CRM should make it easy to pull and distribute reports and to compile information that is practical and actionable. Dashboards and data visualizations should be easy to read and use. Is a CRM worth the investment? A home is a major investment. Buyers want a positive experience, and they want to work with someone they trust. Investing in a CRM can help homebuilders tailor interactions and build the best customer experience possible. Before you choose a CRM, take a look at your current sales processes and establish clear goals. Take stock of your obstacles, too. In most instances, a CRM is the right tool to build stronger sales outcomes. The team at Wipfli can help you evaluate the options and align them to your long-term business goals. Learn more about how we help on our solutions for homebuilders web page.
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Wipfli’s construction advisory services combine decades of industry experience with a team that can provide clarity on the decisions that shape your future.
