It’s no doubt that Amazon are thriving through innovation. They’re taking over retail, fashion, and are even set to have an online pharmacy. Just last month, it was announced that the company are now worth a staggering $1 trillion. Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO is currently worth 145 billion, his fortune evidently reflects the Amazon’s ever-growing success. But what have Amazon got right? Should construction companies feel threatened or enlightened by their continuous ability to stand out? Here are 4 things you should consider:

1) Convenience

We, as humans, can be very lazy. We want convenience, we want things instantly with the click of a button. The last thing people want when they get home from a long day at work, is to go food shopping. A solution? AmazonPantry, Amazon’s grocery service. Prime members can fill a pantry box with up to 20kg groceries from a list of over 4,000 items including food, drink, and even health and beauty products. Delivery can be as quick as one working day. The moral of this? Consumers want products fast. Understandably, businesses in construction can’t supply instant delivery with some products, but it could be worth making small changes to the services you provide. A recent example of this could be Marley Alutec announcing faster delivery times for popular products, baby steps are important when attempting to take on retail giants like Amazon.



2) Improving your office space

A good working environment means productivity and motivation. Amazon’s Sphere offices in Seattle consist of spherical glass domes filled with 40,000 individual plants from all over the world. In a recent blog post, Amazon said: “Studies suggest that spaces that embrace biophilic design can inspire creativity and even improve brain function." Last year Amazon opened an office in Shoreditch, London, and it is rumoured they could be building new premises in Manchester. Their London office is described as light and airy, with adjustable sitting/standing desks for employees. Of course, as a construction company, it’s very unrealistic to be able to fill your offices with 40,000 plants! But it might be worth considering tweaking your office space to make your working environment as pleasurable as possible.



3) Customer service

Good customer service is vital within any business, you must ensure the customer is happy. Amazon are known for their impressive customer service, take their live chat web service for example. It’s important to consider that consumers don’t always want to speak on the phone and want their situation to be dealt with swiftly and easily. Amazon have a very specific ‘help center’ on their website, dedicated to helping the customer. If this isn’t something already available on your website, could it be worth considering?



4) Get social

Social media is a must, even if you hate it! Get tweeting and communicating with customers. According to the Construction Marketing Association, social media boosts awareness, web traffic, and search ranking. You can also keep up to date with construction trends, with a bit of social media research. It’s important to keep up to date with what consumers want and to engage with competitors. Social media enables us to connect, you can make professional connections through sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, networking is very important. Amazon have a staggering 2.8m followers on Twitter and are constantly communicating with customers on their @AmazonHelp Twitter page, which is specifically designed for customer services purposes only.



So with that being said, are you feeling scared or inspired by Amazon?

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