Mapping the customer experience journey in the construction industry

The 21st Century is now seen as the time for the UK Construction industry to embrace new ways of working. This is especially important if the industry is to continue to be competitive and also meet the needs of its ever demanding customers. A major challenge for the industry however, appears to be on the question of its ability to provide products and to an extent, services that meet customer needs and aspirations, especially in relation to cost. Housing is one of such examples that the industry faces the challenges described. The difficulty industry faces in providing the desired level of product and service satisfaction is certainly a matter that needs addressing. The good news is that the industry recognises these challenges and is implementing various customer oriented strategies. One such strategy includes revisiting the supply chain in order to create end-customer value by developing products and services that customers actually want. In this paper, the authors seek to propose a framework that supports the development of desired experiences of housing customers. The objective is to identify a comprehensive and targeted Customer Experience Journey (CEJ). The expectation is that this CEJ can be developed further into a useful tool that establishes Customer Experience (CE) benchmarks for the 21st Century Construction Company. The authors intend to propose such a framework by building on the extensive literature available on customer management and marketing theories. It is also expected that there is considerable potential for testing the framework. A test of the framework will enhance our ability to presents a reassessed understanding on how construction organisations can enhance the experience of their customers.