Case Study: Giving A 1st-class Customer Experience To Construction Customers

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Table of Contents

Discover how Jason Dyer uses WhatsApp to allow his team to deliver a great customer experience and stay on top of a large volume of incoming queries and bookings, while supporting the ever-changing needs of a growing business.

  • The Challenge: Manage a fast-paced customer comms channel for a busy construction company
  • The Solution: Set up a dedicated second phone number and move team-client comms to WhatsApp Business
  • The Outcome: Fast, efficient replies and a personalised customer experience

Industry: Construction/Concrete Supplier in London

A construction worker holding a telephone in an office

Jason Dryer, Operations Director, Master Mix Concrete

“Instant Messaging is very important for us, especially when it comes to returning customers who we have a good rapport with. It’s vital they feel seen, heard and prioritised, and they often book jobs via WhatsApp to save time.”

Key Takeaways:

  • WhatsApp Business is incredibly useful for organising physical deliveries such as concrete and building materials, with photo and video sharing making the booking process easier
  • Jason has used WhatsApp Business to build relationships with returning customers
  • The whole team use Auto-Replies to efficiently answer FAQs and keep customers updated on delivery schedules
  • They keep the WhatsApp Business Profile and Catalog optimised and up-to-date, helping to make a great first impression on new leads
  • Moving to a second phone number has helped to protect the Director’s valuable time while allowing the sales team to easily pick up enquiries
  • They use WhatsApp Web to stay on top of communications in the office and seamlessly move quotes across to their CRM

A concrete delivery truck

Q: How long have you been running Master Mix and how did you get into the business?

“Master Mix was founded 11 years ago. The founder is a former mechanic who has worked around HGVs and concrete mixing plants for his whole career. I have a background in sales and project management which I’ve been able to bring across into the construction industry.

“We currently operate a fleet of concrete mixing trucks and concrete pumps that deliver concrete to the Watford, Middlesex and west London area. I manage the fleet of vehicles and drivers, as well as a sales team who sell, create quotations, answer queries about pouring concrete and handle all the admin for the business.”

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Q: How busy is the industry, and how important has Instant Messaging been to your business?

“We’ve been lucky to see large growth, and the last few years have been our busiest ever. We receive thousands of website visits every day, along with lots of queries and people asking for advice.

“Until recently the construction world has been primarily driven by phone calls. But more and more in the last 2 years we’ve seen our customers reaching out using other contact methods. Every day we receive enquiries through phone calls, website forms, email, WhatsApp, Facebook & Instagram and Google Business.

“Instant Messaging is very important for us, especially when it comes to returning customers who we have a good rapport with. It’s vital they feel seen, heard and prioritised, and they often book jobs via WhatsApp to save time.”

Q: What do your day-to-day communications with clients require you to do?

“When customers get in touch for the first time, they want to get a feel for the company and make a decision on whether to go with us or not.

“They’ll get in touch and ask for quotes and advice, get answers to any questions they have, and then they’ll decide if they want us to deliver their concrete. That’s why it’s really important for us to get back to them quickly and efficiently, and make sure any key information is communicated well.

“Often, customers who get in touch via WhatsApp will book the entire job through the platform, because it’s so convenient for them.

“We use WhatsApp Business to answer queries about logistics. With photo and video sharing, it’s simple for a customer to send us photos of a construction project, and we can use these to determine if our vehicles can actually fit into their sites. If they can’t, we can use the photos to work out alternative methods, like providing a pump to transport the concrete via a pipeline instead.

“These are all things that take much longer to talk through on the phone, especially if the client isn’t well versed in the reality of construction equipment and site access. It makes it much easier when we can see the site directly.

“Once jobs are complete, we also send review requests to customers on WhatsApp. We’ve achieved 300+ reviews on Google, making us one of the best-reviewed concrete companies in the country.”

Construction worker hands holding a phone with WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business installed on it

Q: What problems did you face before using WhatsApp Business with a second phone number from YourBusinessNumber?

“We used to list the Director’s personal WhatsApp number on the website, which quickly became really hard to manage. Then we tried using a second SIM and phone, but that too was quite cumbersome.”

Q: What were the difficulties before using YourBusinessNumber?

“It was very difficult to manage all the messages on the Director’s phone. When he was out of the office on jobs, the sales team couldn’t easily pick up the enquiries, and it was difficult for him to switch off when he was on annual leave as his WhatsApp Messenger was a muddle between personal and business chats.

“We didn’t want to buy second handsets for the sales team just to handle the WhatsApp enquiries. We also don’t need 50+ users on WhatsApp Business – so paying for WhatsApp Cloud or API solutions seemed impractical and not a good use of our budget. We wanted a cost effective and efficient way to manage the situation.”

Q: How did you feel during this time?

“In a word, stressed! It was worrying to think that we might miss new leads or important enquiries from valued customers. It was also frustrating for the Director to have to wade through so many messages all at the same time.”

Q: Now that you’ve moved to a dual-WhatsApp setup, how does your day-to-day look now?

“We have a single dedicated iPhone for WhatsApp Business, and we have WhatsApp Business for Web installed across four of the desktop computers in the office.

“It’s so much easier to handle and manage the flow of queries using the new system. We can quickly move enquiries and quotes into our CRM.

“The benefit of this is that we don’t miss any opportunities now, and customers are kept happy with prompt replies.”

Q: What is your favourite WhatsApp Business tool?

Auto-replies are great! We often receive the same questions over and over, and we have articles and links on our website that answer those questions.

“For example, if a client asks “Can I pour concrete in the rain?”, I send them a brief, templated summary and then link them to the full article on our website so they can find out more.

“Auto replies are also great for replying to enquiries about our ETA. In just a few clicks, we can reassure customers that we’re scheduled to arrive on time within the 2-hour delivery window, without taking time out of an otherwise busy day.

“Other brilliant tools include the Business Profile and Catalog. We keep our profile optimised with regular photo updates, and we list all our services in the Catalog.

Q: What are the benefits of a dual WhatsApp set up?

“The entire team loves using WhatsApp Business, and setting up a second virtual number has made the experience so much better.

“Now we can feel certain that we aren’t missing enquiries as they come in, and we have a clear and thorough process for handling them. That means less stress as well as less work overall, as everyone is clear on what needs to be done to stay on top of our comms.

“We’ve had great feedback from customers – we’re often told that we give a first class personalised customer experience, which is great to hear!

“Our Director is also much happier as he has his personal WhatsApp Messenger back.

“I feel more confident going forward. We’ve grown a lot over the last few years, and our enquiries volume has grown alongside this – but with WhatsApp Business, we’re managing it well!”

Author:

George Lineker

George Lineker

The co-founder of YourBusinessNumber, George has a lasting interest in modern communications technology, and is an advocate of simple and easy to use tools for businesses of all sizes. He has a background in mobile telecom solutions along with qualifications in business and management support services.
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