Best-in-class customer satisfaction
Happy customers are a hom
e builder’s best marketing assets. Nothing drives new prospects to your business like a positive review from a friend or family member.
Successful builders know that customer satisfaction stems from more than delivering a quality home on time. “Building the home is just one-third of the process,” says Charlie Scott, partner, Woodland, O’Brien, and Scott, a consulting firm focused on improving customer satisfaction for home builder clients.
Home buying is a long and at times convoluted and confusing process, Scott notes. Finding the right location, choosing a builder, obtaining a mortgage, budgeting for the costs of closing fees and furnishings, and monitoring construction progress are just some of the nerve-wracking aspects of the process for buyers. “People go through an emotional roller coaster when they buy a house,” Scott says, and builders need to ease their anxiety.
Builders that explain the home-buying process clearly, respond to customer concerns promptly throughout the process, and fulfill warranty issues in a timely manner — in addition to delivering clean homes on schedule — excel at customer satisfaction. Eighteen of these high achievers earned Builder Partnership Achievement Awards (BPAA) this year (see sidebar). We spoke with six award recipients to gain insight into how they have realized high customer satisfaction:
The Jones Company
Nashville, TN
The Jones Company prides itself on providing the latest in green technology. “We were ahead of the curve on energy efficiency,” says Perry Pratt, Jones’ VP of operations; and they continue to incorporate new systems and features that save homeowners money. Many customers have glowed over the fact that their Jones-built homes have lower energy bills than they had with their smaller starter homes, Pratt notes.
The 85-year-old company constantly keeps tabs on market trends impacting efficiency and other aspects of design. They also keep a close eye on how their customers feel about the quality of service. In recent years, the results of customer satisfaction surveys are almost always positive — in 2010, about 90 percent of customers surveyed said they would “enthusiastically” recommend the company.
Among the keys to Jones’ customer care strategy are frequent communications with the customer — particularly in the weeks approaching closing. As the construction process gains momentum, each buyer receives a weekly phone call from the builder in charge of their project, as well as a salesperson, to outline progress and explain next steps.
Hands-on management of warranty items is also critical. The company has two vans that are solely dedicated to fulfilling warranty items. “We don’t sub that out to somebody else,” Pratt emphasizes. A subcontractor may do the actual repairs, but a Jones Company staffer always oversees the work.
Source: http://www.housingzone.com/best-class-customer-satisfaction
