STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO DEMAND MANAGEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES’ SERVICES

Abstract

The article examines strategic approaches to demand management for construction companies’ services under conditions of economic instability and intense competition. Demand management is defined as a purposeful process aimed at balancing enterprise resources with client needs through forecasting, planning, and active shaping of demand. It combines two dimensions: planning–forecasting and marketing–stimulating. The planning dimension includes market assessment, demand segmentation, and preparation of adequate offers. The marketing dimension covers advertising, promotion, digital communications, and customer relationship management to attract and retain clients. The study identifies four strategic approaches: traditional, digital, customer-oriented, and analytical. The traditional approach relies on offline tools and corporate reputation; the digital one uses websites, SEO, SMM, targeted advertising, and online promotion; the customer-oriented approach emphasizes transparency, personalization, loyalty programs, and long-term partnerships; the analytical one is based on data-driven decision-making, market research, BI systems, and CRM analytics. Their combined application increases flexibility and resilience of construction enterprises. External and internal factors influencing demand are analyzed: macroeconomic indicators, credit availability, state policy, political and security risks, demographic trends, seasonality, material costs, competition, and corporate reputation. Special attention is given to wartime challenges in Ukraine: population relocation, new housing priorities, reconstruction programs, and reorientation of demand to safer regions. The article concludes that effective demand management requires integrating traditional and digital marketing, analytics, CRM systems, and customer trust-building. Long-term preparation for post-war reconstruction is highlighted as a decisive factor for sustaining competitiveness. Recommendations are provided to adapt strategies, enhance resilience, and ensure stable functioning of construction companies in uncertain market conditions.