Linda Gridley, owner of Gridley Co., in Campbell, Calif., has most trades done by in-house employees rather than by “specialty contractors,” her term for trade partners. “The client care is higher,” she says. Employees have a larger stake in the project and Gridley reinforces her house rules in weekly production meetings. She even brings up the delicate subject of bathroom cleanliness, or “spin art,” as her staff jokingly call it. (GuildQuality’s Graham agrees that this is a topic he often hears about from homeowners.)
Faller suggests that role-playing might be a way for employees to learn company rules about communicating with clients. “[Review] calls from clients about bad situations. Talk with the project manager and the crew and ask them what could have been done to avoid the issue.” Then practice it.
Lead carpenters and project managers can learn to recognize situations that might lead to conflict. For example, Faller says, “If a client says, ‘I’m thinking of a change,’ and the lead says, ‘That’ll be really easy,’ and the change order comes in at $8,000, the client might get upset. Instead, the lead should say, ‘That’s possible for us to do, but it will add costs to the project and change the schedule.’ That kind of answer changes the client’s expectations.” Or telling a client that a trade partner will be there at 9:00 Monday morning sets up an expectation that might be outside the lead’s control. “Be vague,” Faller says. “Say, ‘We’ll rough in plumbing some time next week between Monday and Thursday.’” This scenario might be frustrating for the carpenter, but the alternative is frustrating for the client because they’re left wondering who’s controlling the process.
BE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC It’s one thing to recognize the issues and put some systems in place, but unless you can develop a wider customer focus that permeates every decision, you won’t successfully create customers for life. That’s where customer relationship management — CRM — is helpful. Small businesses, in comparison to large corporations, can really shine in this area.
Jim Benson, owner of Benson Builders, in Virginia Beach, Va., says that his business is customer-centric. He surveys clients weekly. If something doesn’t measure up, he says, “We address [it] quickly so the client doesn’t get frustrated. Our focus and goal is that when all is said and done, clients have had a good experience. Every decision we make we ask ourselves, ‘Is this going to result in a good building experience for the client?’ If that’s the goal, everything else should be in line with that.”
There are plenty of CRM tools to help you gather and maintain information about your clients so you can offer them the service they’re looking for. Yet, GuildQuality’s Graham says he’s “astounded at how many of our new customers are interested in customer satisfaction surveys but aren’t able to get their hands on their lists of customers.”
GuildQuality has found that remodelers who keep poor customer contact records often don’t do a good job communicating, and have a lower response rate, and unhappy customers. “There are so many great software resources out there such as ACT! and SalesForce.com that make it simple. It’s criminal not to have all that information at your fingertips; it results in a positive outcome for the customer and simplifies things for the remodeler.”
Developing a CRM program is a good start to establishing clarity for your own business’ focus. You’ll minimize stress, be more efficient, and differentiate your company from others. “Fill up the dog’s water bowl if it’s empty. Engage the kids for a few minutes. When the clients are at the weary stage, send them out for dinner,” Benson says. “Do the things that make a difference.”