Three years ago, I traveled around the globe talking to some of the world's largest brands about achieving higher customer satisfaction using digital strategies. After a decade of helping companies create better customer experiences across different industries, I wanted others to know that they could achieve higher satisfaction, less churn, and increased revenue using customer experience as a differentiator.
Whether you build custom homes or are a top 10 builder, delivering consistent positive experiences can feel overwhelming and time-consuming. The leading causes for poor client satisfaction in home building are poor communication and confusion during the process. These factors leave home buyers feeling undervalued and uninformed. Many builders either choose to provide very little information to their clients, leaning more on the quality of the home they built, or over-communicate through the process, hoping it will eliminate frustration. Both approaches cost more time and lack personalization, resulting in lower satisfaction and poor overall experience.
What clients want is the right communication at the right time. This strategy is what the large customer experience brands have nailed. It's not about giving your client all the information but recalling and retaining the right information the client needs in a way that is easiest and most convenient for them to understand. Establishing communication channels with consistent processes to deliver accurate information allows your teams to concentrate on building a relationship rather than spending time searching for answers.
Chewy, an online pet supply company, distinguishes itself from other major brands by infusing micro-moments throughout the customer journey. Customers who've reached out with questions likely experience high satisfaction because of Chewy's ability to connect with their customers through every touchpoint they have. They match you with an agent with a similar pet for personalized service and often earn praise for handling canceled subscriptions with compassion after a pet dies. Chewy could not achieve this level of personalization without technology and processes that empower their agents with the information they need to wow their customers.
How can home builders uplevel their client experiences?
Many home builders have the information and internal processes established to enhance their clients' experiences. Still, they lack a consistent way to make information accessible to clients from day 1 of the build throughout the lifetime of the home. Email, text, and in-person engagements are great ways to establish a customer relationship quickly, but they are a terrible way of tracking and managing the decisions and information captured in those engagements over time. By incorporating collaboration technology that enables you to communicate with your clients the way they prefer and keeps track of the communication and information in one place, you can ensure you and your clients always have the right information at their fingertips.
Building client relationships is no longer enough
Every residential construction company knows building relationships is essential to their business, but what clients want more than a relationship is an overall experience. For instance, you can establish a great rapport with employees at a company, but overall, you hate the company. This example is the difference between customer relationship and customer experience. Some clients, for instance, do not want or need to talk to someone frequently; they want to receive quick status updates. Failure to provide the type of service they desire could result in a poor experience regardless of how much attention your team gives them. Clients can have hundreds of great interactions, but one poor experience will stop them from leaving a good review or passing along a referral.
Home buyers only receive 5% of the information needed to maintain and care for their homes. Building a foundation for customer experience using data and your existing processes will set your team up for success during the build and provide your clients with the information they need for the lifetime of their homes. Learn how you can do just that and more with Digs AI Collaboration platform.
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