You have a satisfied customer. So what? You can reasonably expect not to lose sales because of satisfied customers, but they seldom actively promote your company. That’s what delighted customers do. So how do you get from customer satisfaction to customer delight? The secret is to achieve customer satisfaction first.
In spite of the claim that today’s customers are more sophisticated than ever, for most, the home building process and all that goes with it remains one of the most misunderstood transactions in modern business. “Sophisticated” may refer to increased customer volatility, mistrust of businesses, and the vast number of ways customers can express their dissatisfaction. It also refers to customers who have reached the ends of their ropes, who refuse to accept sloppy work, superficial quality, or shoddy treatment.
The struggle all companies face is producing quality work that meets the expectations of sophisticated customers at a price that is also acceptable to them. Accomplishing this requires sincere respect for customers and—especially in the case of home builders—the patience to educate them about the product and the process.
Most home buyers don’t have the insight into the building process that we take for granted. Procedures that are habit for us are alien to buyers, and the normal ups and downs of building a house can make them uncomfortable, even suspicious. Here’s how some normal occurrences during construction might appear through buyers’ eyes:
- Normal delays due to scheduling adjustments can seem to be major catastrophes to buyers who may be worried that their loan lock or lease will expire, or that they won’t be in the house before school or a new job starts.
- Debris piled up in the middle of their new living room seems like a personal affront, though it will be hauled out before the carpet is installed. We know that, but they don’t.
- Ever-increasing costs shock the buyer. We’re resigned to this unpleasant fact of building, but a slight increase in lumber costs could force them to make painful choices.
- The bureaucracies that annoy us confound and bewilder the buyer.
A builder’s job is to manage this intimidating process on behalf of his customers. That includes preparing and guiding them, explaining the steps, anticipating their questions, and calming their concerns. In the process of setting expectations you have an opportunity to delineate responsibilities—yours and theirs. Follow this by meeting your responsibilities reliably, and you create a context for customer satisfaction. This is the minimum for which any business must strive.
Many builders have worked hard to create a basic level of customer satisfaction. But how do you reach the next level: customer delight? The answer is in doing things you do not “have” to do. Identifying those steps takes real empathy and imagination. It begins with reviewing the process, from contract through living in the home. Search for inconveniences to eliminate. Find needs to fill. Perhaps most important, create moments of celebration: Put fun back into the home buying experience. Satisfaction requires that we examine the building process and find what customers need to survive it. Delight comes from providing what they need to enjoy it.
An assignment of this magnitude requires the cooperation of every employee and associate. Just as customer satisfaction is no longer the exclusive domain of the warranty department, customer delight thrives when everyone watches for ways to improve the product and the process. Without the involvement of everyone, neither satisfaction nor delight can be achieved.
Every staff person must rethink how they do their jobs. Salespeople need more technical knowledge so they can explain the process in detail. Construction personnel need people skills so they can communicate more often with buyers. Support staff must serve internal customers at levels that parallel the higher demands of external customers. The impact of their performance on the front line is immediate and potent. Everyone strives for “do it right the first time” quality.
Once a builder reaches excellence in these areas, delighting customers is the next goal. The first requirement is an open mind. “That’s how we’ve always done it,” has no place in this effort; “What can we do to make this better?” has. Have each department explain its task to another department. Fresh eyes will see new possibilities and dislodge stale thinking. Focused on positives, the creativity of your employees and associates will come to life.
As customers come to trust advertising less, they are trusting each other more. Remember that your buyers have friends and colleagues with similar lifestyles and similar financial abilities. As you delight these customers, you plant word-of-mouth agents inside your target market. Satisfied customers respond favorably when asked about their builder. That is good. Delighted customers do not wait to be asked. They volunteer stories about how terrific you are. That’s even better. Make this happen by making each customer’s experience as enjoyable as possible. Make it easy; make it fun.
Carol Smith offers customer service assessment, consulting, and training programs for home builders.
