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It may come as a shock that a satisfied customer is not automatically a loyal customer. Any remodeler will tell you that customer satisfaction is one of his top goals, and, of course, he’s correct to say it’s crucial.
But while customer satisfaction is a requirement for a successful business, loyalty is basic to sustained growth and profitability.
It’s safe to say that remodelers have known all along on some level that customer satisfaction is crucial, and it’s been brought home to them by a wealth of literature and related services. Large corporations like to call it CRM, or customer relationship management, and many still fail miserably at making customers happy.
Remodeling tends to be a more personal endeavor, giving remodelers the advantage of dealing with customer service issues personally and immediately. Customer satisfaction for them has become more than just a gut feeling. Many now routinely follow up every job with an internally administered customer satisfaction survey, while others have turned to a third party to distribute, tabulate and report customer satisfaction scores.
Satisfaction, however, is just one part of an interconnected relationship that includes customer experience. Together, the two produce loyalty and the kind of repeat business that is the holy grail for most remodelers.
Emotional response
The difference is that a satisfied customer will stay with a service provider until he [the customer] gets a better offer. A loyal customer has an emotional attachment and will stay through thick and thin.
The key word in recent literature about loyalty is customer experience. It was inevitable that, like CRM, a term was coined and an acronym was assigned. Customer experience management is the new matrix, and, of course, there are software applications to go along with it.
And while that’s more than most remodelers ever wanted to know, the concept or providing an exceptional customer experience applied on the individual and personal level at which most remodelers operate best is well worth the effort. Talk to almost any remodeler and he will tell you what differentiates is company is the quality of service and communication — the customer experience — that he provides.
Loyalty, in today’s price-obsessed digital economy, is a quaint old-fashioned notion, right? Perhaps not. Not a few books and articles have been written about it in recent years. “The rules for building loyalty in the new economy as essentially the same rules that have always created loyalty,” says Frederick F. Reichheld, called the godfather of customer loyalty by one reviewer. “Quite likely the only possible source of sustainable competitive advantage in the new economy will be the bonds of loyalty you generate,” he continues in his book Loyalty Rules. Reichheld is affiliated Bain & Co., an international consulting firm with global clients.
Concepts ‘discovered’
Veterans of the remodeling business may be bemused that mega corporations and best-selling authors have “discovered” concepts by which they have operated their businesses for many years. However, a fresh look at those ideas and an evaluation of whether they’re still being carried out is not an off-the-mark idea today.
The mistake that remodelers make is going after the next customer and the next one after that while forgetting about previous customers — even when those remodelers know the importance of repeat and referral business, says Brian Kaskavalciyan, founder of g|Four Marketing Group in Miami, a firm that works with home improvement companies to increase exactly that kind of business.
“We got repeat and referral business, but we were so focused on the next customer we were spending thousands going after that new customer,” Kaskavalciyan says, speaking from his own experience as a home improvement contractor. “I thought, ‘This is ridiculous; we’ve got a database of thousands of people; we need to be farming that list of people who have already given us money; that’s our best chance of getting more.’
“We just started talking to them again,” he says. “We reminded them that we were there and that we could be of value to them again — which is the most important thing. All of us have to be of value to our customers in order for them not to just come back but to tell others about us.” The strategy worked, Kaskavalciyan relates, generating a significant increase in repeat and referral business.
Communicating with former customers without being intrusive, without badgering them, is important; people are sensitive to that today, he says. “One of the best ways to do it is simply to send personal notes just to check in. Ask if everything is OK with the project. Just remind them that you’re still there and don’t necessarily attach a sales pitch.”
Show that you care
Beyond notes, Kaskavalciyan advises remodelers to do follow-up inspections. “Not only does it show the customer that you care, but, quite frankly, it’s another way to get back in the house; it’s another way to re-engage with them; it’s another way to see if there is anything else that they need,” he says.
Another more strategic method — one of Kaskavalciyan’s favorites — is to send periodic newsletters. “I love newsletters,” he says. “Newsletters to me are probably one of the best ways of communicating with a customer.”
However, his approach to content is not what many would expect. “A lot of our guys [g|Four’s clients] are window guys. If I send out a newsletter that’s all about windows, nobody cares. It’s going to get thrown in the garbage; it’s very self-serving. But if I send out a newsletter that talks about things around the house — how to take care of your home, how Google can help you, here are some healthy foods, dealing with kids and electronic devices at the dinner table — people look forward to it. They get a little something of value and, of course, it’s delivered with your picture and company name.
“You could put an offer in there or ask them for referrals, but it’s a very nice way of continually engaging a customer. These are not direct hard-sell pitches. There is a place for those but it’s not every month; it’s a couple of times a year, maybe.”
Print in a digital age
It may come as a surprise in this digital age that Kaskavalciyan really likes print newsletters, the kind that are physically delivered by the post office. Online newsletters have their place, he says, but properly designed mail that doesn’t look like a bill or like junk mail, something that looks like it has value, is going to get opened and passed along, he says.
With the shift to digital communication, “print is the place to be,” he contends. As the volume of physical mail has decreased, the competition for a reader’s attention has likewise decreased. Meanwhile, the open rate for e-mail is in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 percent.
But communicating with customers after the job won’t accomplish much if the initial experience hasn’t been a positive one — much more than just a positive one, Kaskavalciyan says. “I don’t want a satisfied customer. I want a customer that’s just thrilled, one that thinks I’m the greatest guy ever and my products and services are amazing.
“From the first time they called your office, what was their experience like?” he asks. “Did they get an answering machine? Did they get somebody who couldn’t answer their questions? Did they get somebody who just tried to sell them some‑thing and muscle them into an appointment?”
The cumulative experience includes the sales presentation, the installation and the post-installation experience. It all sets the tone for the remodeler/customer relationship going forward.
Going forward is a key phrase to remember. The remodeler/client relationship shouldn’t end when the invoice is paid.
Once the job is over and the client is satisfied, many remodelers think, of course, they will get referrals and recommendations. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” say Kaskavalciyan. “Most of their repeat and referral business is purely accidental because they don’t have any mechanisms in place to continue the relationship. That’s why business falls and why their pipelines aren’t as full.”
He admits that’s it’s hard to justify putting time and money into something like a newsletter or a box of cookies that doesn’t provide a quantifiable return on investment, but “the funny thing is, when they do it, business goes up and profits go up.
Starting early
Larry Spada, vice president of branding and marketing for Outdoor Living Brands (Archadeck) in Richmond, Va., agrees that building loyalty through customer experience begins at the first contact. “Our user experience starts with the prospect, and we try very hard to create an emotional connection with all of our prospects that we touch,” he says.
To create an emotional response, “we try to talk about the value that we will add to their lives and how we will make their outdoor living experiences richer and more satisfying,” he says.
A recent effort to touch Archadeck’s customer base involved a personalized URL direct mail campaign, also known as a PURL campaign. Simply put, recipients are provided with a clickable line (URL) that is personalized with their name. Response rates are greatly increased by personalized URLs, proponents claim.
Archadeck also offers a virtual online design process where the prospect works with an exterior designer to figure out what the customer is looking for in their outdoor environment and literally design it online for their approval.
“Relative to user experience I think we’re in a really good place insofar as offering up rich virtual experiences, rich communication experiences and also meaningful substantial dialogue,” Spada says.
Ed Repak, Archadeck regional manager, likewise stresses that customer communication and satisfaction begins with the first contact. “There is a lot of documentation. We have a sheet for gathering site information and an extensive questionnaire to determine what potential clients want. We prompt a whole lot of thinking and may even suggest things they didn’t know about or didn’t know they could have,” he says.
“We help our prospective customer figure out precisely what they’re looking for, because we find often that they really don’t know what they want. They just know they want a space outside where they can enjoy life and entertain friends and relax, but sometimes it takes an extended dialogue to help them figure out precisely what would be best for them,” adds Spada. “It’s about spending the time you need to develop that.”
No surprises
After the project is sold, the communication continues with detailed spec sheets and drawings so that everyone is very clear about what they’re getting and what is going to happen. A preconstruction meeting is held with all of those involved in the project. “It’s the no surprises or wondering what’s going to happen next that I think is a pleasant change,” says Repak.
Site cleanup is important, so much so that time is incorporated into the daily schedule to accommodate it, Repak says. “Those extra 10 minutes are not monumental but it does make a huge difference in the customer’s perception.”
Paying attention to basic values is essential, Spada agrees, who notes that the company has published a code of ethics for all team members, both franchisees and their design and construction teams, to live up to. “It’s nothing out the ordinary,” he says. “It’s about being polite and respectful, all the things we learned in childhood.
“It’s really a part of our culture. We pride our selves on being professional in every possible way, and we realize that one of the biggest touch points is that teams are working on-site at our customers’ homes. We continually remind them not only to be respectful but also to take great care in their appearance and in their physical behavior,” Spada says.
Customer satisfaction means little if it’s just a number and if the information provided by customer feedback isn’t acted upon. Penguin Windows, headquartered in Mukilteo, Wash., uses customer satisfaction survey results to tailor training for its sales, marketing and installation staffs, says Allen Guiberson, branch installation manager.
One factor that contributes to a positive customer experience, Guiberson thinks, is that Penguin uses its own staff of installers rather than subcontractors. There is better communication between management and installers as a result, and any problems that may arise in the field also are more efficiently relayed back to the office for action. “Our staff has ownership of the customer experience,” he says.
It’s not what you know …
Making the case for customer surveys and effective internal communication, Guiberson cautions that there are always a lot of unknowns in the business. “It’s not the things that you know that are going to derail you; it’s that thing that comes out of left field. We try to stay on top of it. There’s no real magic bullet. We just probe every resource we have for as much information as we can get.
“We really try to employ the bottom-up philosophy. The front-line employee has more exposure to the customer, and, let’s face it, the more exposure you have to the customer, the more return business you’re going to have. We really make sure our front-line employees, whether they’re marketing, sales or installation, have all the support they need to put on a show that meets the homeowners’ expectation.”
Satisfied customers alone aren’t enough for S&K Roofing, Siding and Windows in Eldersburg, Md., either, says Charlie McCurry, director of sales. “I think one of the big things on our end is not just are they happy but will they be a repeat customer? Are they going to use us again? Did we satisfy them to the extent that they’re going to refer us to a friend, relative or neighbor? Just getting the work done isn’t enough. Maybe it was years ago, but it’s not now.”
Consistent and frequent communication at every step of the process is S&K’s answer to customer satisfaction and to ensuring a positive customer experience.
McCurry recalls hearing stories not too many years ago about S&K competitors who didn’t return calls for estimates for as long as two weeks. S&K’s standard, by contrast, is to call a prospect within 24 hours and set up an appointment within 48 hours. Potential clients can have a proposal back within 72 hours — or in some instances a proposal and contract can be created in the field.
Customers are given a “soft” installation date, pending material delivery, weather and any other variables. They’re contacted a few days before and given a “hard” date. Another call is made on the installation day to assure them that the crew is on its way. Finally, they are called the day after the installation to ask if everything went smoothly.
100 percent
In addition, crews are given a job completion checklist that the customer fills out. The final question is whether the customer is 100 percent satisfied, McCurry relates. “Before we send an invoice, we have to get 100 percent feedback. If anything comes back negative, we go back to the job to address and take care of any concerns,” he says.
Finally, the invoice includes a link to a Web survey that asks not just about the installation but also asks about the customer’s overall interaction with the company. Questions about the office staff, sales team, schedulers, whether the customer was properly thanked are among those asked.
Some of the feedback is used for testimonials, and if anything comes back negative, those issues and ways to improve performance are discussed with the operations manager, sales manager and quality control inspector.
Customers who complete the Web survey are given the option of deducting $10 from their invoice or donating that amount to any one of several charities designated by S&K.
“We make [customers] happy by communicating almost to a fault. The worst thing that can happen is if we get a call saying a customer hasn’t heard from their salesperson or someone else. So we over-communicate. That’s how we get it done,” McCurry says.
“We found that our customers want to hear from us. They want to see us, and they don’t want to have a job sold to them by a salesperson and that be the end of it until they get the invoice,” he adds.
