Why 2026 Budgets Must Prioritize Client Experience

Leyah Valgardson
Oct 22
3 min read

If you’re working through your 2026 budget right now, let me ask: How much of that sheet is devoted to your client experience?

Most builders budget for materials, labor, equipment, permits, maybe tools. Rarely do we see CX (communication, journey design, service touch-points) show up explicitly. But in a market like this, expecting tighter margins and higher client expectations, leaving CX off the budget sheet is a risk.

Here’s what the data says, what many construction firms are missing, and how planning ahead, especially for experience, can help protect your business, deepen trust, and start 2026 ahead of the game.

What the Forecasts Show

AIA’s Consensus Construction Forecast calls for slow growth in nonresidential building spending through 2025 and 2026. The American Institute of Architects+1
The commercial sector is expected to grow modestly—some forecasts are projecting only ~2 % increases in spending next year. HPAC+1
Outside commercial work, single-family starts have been under pressure, supply chain costs remain volatile, and clients are more price-sensitive than they were 18 months ago. Barnes Dennig+2Thunderbird Products+2

So: margins are shrinking, competition is fierce, and clients aren’t willing to settle for mediocre.

In that kind of environment, having a stellar product is necessary but not sufficient. How you deliver the experience can make or break your year.

The Cost of Skipping CX in Your Budget

When CX isn’t baked into budgets, here’s what tends to happen:

Hidden costs everywhere: reworks, scope creep, delays, disputes. Those bite into profits faster than material price hikes.
Lower referral & repeat business rates: if clients feel neglected, communication is weak, or milestones are murky, they’re less likely to recommend you or hire you again.
Poor reputation + more vetting: in competitive bids, reputation and reviews are making more of a difference. Clients expect more transparency.

What You Should Budget for When Prioritizing CX

Here are experience-line items many builders leave out, but you should consider explicitly budgeting for:

CX Investment	Why It Matters
Journey Mapping & Experience Design Workshop	Starting with “what do clients need to feel” helps you build the process backwards. Helps avoid scrambling later.
Communication Systems & Tools	Weekly checkpoints, apps or dashboards, client portals. When clients can see progress clearly, trust goes way up.
Responsibility & Ownership Roles	Who is responsible for each touchpoint? Accountability ensures things happen. Without it, gaps emerge.
Training & Team Clarity	Your team needs to know not just what they’re doing, but how they show up—tone, transparency, handling mistakes, following up, etc.
“Wow”-Moments Budget	Little things: a thoughtful check-in, unexpected photo update, handwritten note, helpful resource when things go sideways. They cost little but carry huge emotional weight.
Feedback & Improvement Mechanisms	Budget time + tools to collect client feedback mid-project. Use data to make adjustments fast.

How Leyah & Co. Helps You Plan for CX Without Overwhelm

This is exactly what we do in our The Experience Blueprint CX Workshop at Leyah & Co.

We help you:

Map out the end-to-end client journey (from first touch to final review) so you know exactly what expectations to set.
Back-engineer all internal pieces—clear roles, deadlines, checklists—so you can deliver each step with consistency.
Identify where “wow” moments can be built in (because these are the ones clients remember).

When you budget for CX this way, it's not an extra cost—it becomes part of your operational excellence and competitive differentiation.

What to Include in Your 2026 Budget Now

If you want to make CX a priority in your 2026 budget, here are key next steps:

List out all your major client touchpoints (onboarding, milestones, communication, close-out).
Include a line item for designing or refining that journey (workshop or internal audit).
Allocate resources (time + personnel) for regular updates & clean communication.
Plan for team training or culture moments that help everyone understand what “client experience” means in your brand.
Set aside a small budget for surprise / delight moments.

Take Action

2026 is going to be different.

The builders who thrive won’t be the ones who just outbid others or who build more. They’ll be the ones who deliver with clarity, empathy, and follow-through.

If you don’t yet have a plan for how CX fits in your budget next year, now is the time. Let’s work together on your 2026 roadmap: get your client experience mapped, your internal roles clarified, your surprise moments in place—and your budget aligned so you don’t wake up in 2026 fighting fires.

Want a head start? Download my guide, “5 Steps to Designing a Stand-Out Client Experience,” and let’s connect in a Discovery Call to sketch out what 2026 could look like for you.