Real Issues Improves Customer Satisfaction
Creating satisfied homebuyers is like trying to hit a moving target – everyone who interacts with the buyers (directly or through policy decisions) will have an influence on their perceptions. The buyers are involved with a wide range of communities, products, staff and departments, and each buyer has a unique story to tell about their perspective and experience.
Our Real Issues customer relations system uncovers your buyers’ stories by contacting them shortly before and after close of escrow, and discussing their experiences in a conversational interview. The perceptions we report will help you take action to improve their customer satisfaction before they receive a written survey.
The issues we uncover through these conversations informs you about the impact your policies and staff are having on your buyers’ opinions, and gives you an early “heads up” about possible concerns. Our Internet-based real-time reports from these conversations provide immediate feedback so your team can take action to improve perceptions before the buyers are surveyed.
How do Real Issues differ from written surveys?
Real Issues help you improve your scores because we find out why your buyers feel the way they do about your company. We report the detailed explanations for their positive and negative comments. Unlike written questionnaires the buyer has to fill out, our interviewers take the time to hear buyers out and confirm we’ve completely documented their comments and concerns so they don’t have to write them all down in a survey.
What are the benefits of Real Issues?
Our Real Issues system provides the following results:
- Your customer satisfaction scores will significantly increase.
- Your company can expect a consistent “would recommend” percentage of 95% or more, because homebuyers and owners will feel that management is hearing all of their concerns.
- Your company will be recommended to the family and friends of satisfied homebuyers.
- Your staff will experience a higher level of job satisfaction by reducing their time spent putting out customer complaint fires and dealing with irate buyers.
- Your warranty costs will be reduced. It has been proven that satisfied homeowners are less likely to submit needless warranty requests.
- Your chances for construction litigation will be reduced.
In one example, a builder analyzed the results from written surveys and concluded the buyers weren’t recommending his company because of frustrationsat at the walk-through. Too many buyers were dissatisfied with the condition of their home at this final inspection. Instead of making a substantial investment in changing construction methodologies, the builder was able to add a “pre-walk” inspection where buyers expected the house wouldn’t be “perfect.” This change required close to zero dollars invested and the builder experienced an immediate increase in his satisfaction scores.
Conversations with Homebuyers
We contact your homebuyers at the most critical points in the buying-owning experience—shortly before and after the close of escrow. We guide the buyers through a comprehensive "talking points" interview that's tailored to your concerns, policies and processes.
Our interviews uncover your buyers’ real thoughts and feelings regarding their interactions with your company. We ask them to describe any experiences they had that were unexpected—positive or negative. We give them an opportunity to discuss their impressions frankly and spontaneously with receptive, caring and sympathetic interviewers. Quite simply, they tell us what they’re telling their family and friends about your company.
We then document all of their open-ended comments in our Internet-based software, where the departmental categories, sources and tone are captured. Your staff is notified whenever new interviews have been completed, and the buyers' comments can be easily evaluated so your management can decide whether to take immediate action.
These buyer interactions are conducted by our staff who takes special care to create a positive experience for every buyer they contact. They are also very careful to communicate that they are not in a position to resolve the buyer’s concerns or commit the builder to any type of response.
Buyers welcome the follow-up contact, and have said in many cases that they appreciate a builder who cares enough to ask for their opinions. As a result, our interviews become sound public relations for the builder.
The Bottom Line
Real Issues are affordable and provide a high return on your investment. They allow you to coach your team to improve their interactions with their buyers. The reports also identify policies or procedures that may be causing misunderstandings or frustrations. Real Issues are designed to help your company and staff make the buying process more enjoyable for your customers and improve overall customer satisfaction.
