Construction companies in the greater Miami area are enjoying strong market conditions. Construction starts in South Florida were up 3% last year, and the size of construction permits grew by 1%. Construction hiring in the South Florida region has been increasing almost nonstop since 2012, and many firms report a shortage of skilled labor.

These are all “good problems” to have. However what’s catapulted Miami’s construction companies to new heights over the past few decades may not necessarily be what wins new projects and drives future growth in a digital-first world.

Many Miami Construction Firms Caught Off Guard

Why? The modern buyer looks for construction expertise in very different ways today, compared to as recently as five or ten years ago.

Nearly every prospect and client for construction companies in the region has an Android smartphone or iPhone that he or she is tethered to every waking hour of the day. Buyers of construction services ask dozens of questions each week on search engines and social media, seeking instant answers to anything and everything in the personal and professional lives. Google, Bing, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Siri, and Alexa are the new gatekeepers for inquiries like:

“Best pizza.”
“MIA JFK June 2”
“Best LEED-certified construction Miami”
“constructor estimator jobs South Florida”
“medical construction company near Fort Lauderdale”

Modern buyers in a digital-first world go through a buyer’s journey -- the active research process in between when identifying a goal, problem, challenge, or question and when that person make a purchase decision.

Has Power Shifted Away from Construction Companies?

Digital has shifted power away from construction companies and into the hands of buyers of construction services -- so much so, that in most cases your future clients do so much research on search engines and social media that 70% or more of their decision is often already made up by the time that person is open to a conversation with a principal or business development person from a construction company in Miami.

Just to put this in context, as recently as 2007, just before the original iPhone was released, your prospects and clients were ready to speak with you when they were 10% or 20% of the way into their buyer’s journey.

This change presents enormous challenges from construction companies. But it also offers enormous opportunity for digitally-savvy construction firms that are able to get found by the right people, in the right places, at the right time, and in the right context.

Which construction companies in Miami are best positioned to win new business from the best clients in a digital-first world?

We set out to answer that very question in the South Florida Construction Market Opportunity Report.

Miami-Dade County Construction Firms Analyzed

To best answer the question -- which construction companies in South Florida are the most digitally-savvy? -- we looked at 87 different firms in South Florida, including 31 different construction companies in Miami-Dade County. While we don’t believe this grouping is the entirety of companies to examine in the region, we do believe that this is a significant representative sample and includes:

• Amicon Construction (Miami)
• Areda Construction (Miami Lakes)
• Beauchamp Construction Co. (Coral Gables)
• Burke Construction Group (Doral)
• CAMCON Group (Miami)
• Campus Construction Group (Medley)
• CDC Builders (Miami)
• Coastal Construction Group (Miami)
• Condotte America (Medley)
• Cuesta Construction (Miami)
• Dade Construction (Miami)
• Dominion Builders (Coral Gables)
• First Florida (Miami)
• GLF Construction Corporation (Miami)
• H.A. Contracting Corp. (Doral)
• KVC Constructors (Miami Shores)
• Link Construction Group (Doral)
• Lunacon Construction Group (Miami)
• Lynx Construction Management (Coral Gables)
• McKenzie Construction (Miami)
• MCM, Munilla Construction Management (Miami)
• MV Group (Miami)
• NV2A Group (Miami)
• OHL North America (Miami)
• Overholt Construction Corporation (Miami)
• Stobs Brothers Construction (Miami Lakes)
• TGSV Enterprises (Hialeah)
• The Redland Company (Homestead)
• Thornton Construction Company (Miami)
• Waas Construction (Doral)
• William R. Nash Companies (Miami)

Criteria and Success Metrics

To get an idea of which of these construction companies are best positioned to win in a digital-first world, we looked at 48 different externally-available metrics across seven different functional area:

• Differentiation in the Modern Buyer’s Journey
• Thought Leadership Strategy and Website Authority
• Competitive Positioning
• Company Social Media Presence
• Lead Generation
• Paid Search Acceleration
• Full-Funnel Revenue Growth and Digital Infrastructure

Of the companies analyzed, the greater Fort Lauderdale region as a whole tended to outpace the greater Miami area construction companies across many key groups of benchmarks.

Yet there are definitely some standout construction companies in Miami-Dade County including:

• MCM, Munilla Construction Management (Miami)
• MV Group (Miami)
• William R. Nash Companies (Miami)

Download a Free Excerpt from the Full Report

If you’re a principal or staff member of a construction company in Miami or South Florida, and you want to learn more about which construction companies are best positioned to win in a digital-first world, you can download a free 10-page excerpt from the South Florida Construction Market Opportunity Report.

And be sure to let us know in the Comments section below which construction companies in the Miami area you believe are the most digitally-savvy and best positioned to win the best projects in a digital-first world.