Customer satisfaction is vital for the survival and growth of any business, and nowhere is that more true than in the homebuilding industry.
To identify the top performers in customer satisfaction, NRS Corp., which does customer satisfaction research for more than 300 home building companies nationwide, conducted an independent study. With 205 building companies representing 30 states in the study, NRS surveyed 55,177 homeowners who had closed on a new home in 2002 about homeowner satisfaction, making this the largest study of its kind in the home building industry. Unlike the J.D. Power research study, which relies on public records used to access closings, the NRS Award study is based entirely on closing information submitted directly by participating builders. NRS Corp. and Reed Business Information jointly verified the accuracy and completeness of the information submitted to NRS.
Homeowners were surveyed about their satisfaction in several key areas: home features, floor plan/layout, quality of materials, quality of workmanship, price/value, lot and location, sales process, lending process, options/upgrades/colors, office staff, project superintendent, walk-through, post-move-in warranty service, number of items identified for correction, time taken to make corrections, overall recommend intentions and actual recommend behavior.
The major differences between the top five rated builders versus the rest deal mainly with warranty service:
• Finished work in timely manner
• Quality repairs and services
• Adequately cleaned after work
• Began work in timely manner
• Immediately contacted to schedule
Every builder and market is unique, so what one builder does to improve customer satisfaction won’t work for every builder. One size does not fit all. Nevertheless, whether you’re a custom builder closing on 30 homes a year or a production builder closing on 30,000, your success depends on customer satisfaction.
This article courtesy of NRS Corporation. |
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These are just a few of the ways that winners of the 2003 NRS Award in Homeowner Satisfaction differentiate themselves from the competition:
- Pulte Homes of Phoenix delivers 80% of its homes with insulation blown under the roof line rather than onto the attic floor, creating an energy-efficient home guaran- teed to have energy costs within a specific range every month.
- Ausherman Homes requires its employees and trades to put on sani- tary booties before entering customers’ homes for any follow-up work after move-in.
- Barone Homes is in contact with its home buyers two to four times daily.
- Cedar Knoll Builders schedules warranty appointments with trade contractors during the home inspec- tion while the buyer is present.
- Among many other personal touches, The Green Co. snaps a picture of the buyers when a sale is made and then regularly takes photos of their home during construction. At closing, buyers receive a personal photo album.
- Pringle Homes has a customer-care department with specific indiv- iduals assigned to each buyer. These individuals are a continuous point of contact for buyers, from contract signing to closing, eliminating miscommunication during transition points.
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