“BUILDING UP OR SELECTIVELY DEMOLISHING AN IMAGE THROUGH CUSTOMER SERVICE”
by J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renissance Group (TM)
Is your customer service building up a positive image for you as a builder or is it selectively demolishing your image? Do you simply talk about good customer service or do you provide and promote a daily customer service commitment? And is customer service really important to individual builders and the entire building industry? The answers are crucial to you specifically as a builder and to the building industry, in general.
Today almost every business talks about customer service. In fact, the term has become so widely and frequently used that it has lost much of its true meaning. It is very easy for a builder or other business to say they provide good customer service. But, are they really providing good customer service. Do they “walk the talk or do they just talk?” In too many cases today, customers are saying that “I can’t hear what you are saying because your actions are speaking too loudly.” Many organizations, including those within the building industry, are saying one thing but doing another when it comes to customer service. Too many times there is a complete lack of commitment to giving the customer what has been promised, let alone more than what has been promised. This lack of commitment can lead to many negative and undesirable results for the individual builder and the building industry.
The building industry always has been and always will be in a highly visible position to the general public and the media. The building industry is important to the economy, as well as the overall health, safety & welfare of the public. The media are very interested in the building industry because of the potential “high interest” stories it can generate, both positive and negative. So, if you are not treating your customers well, sooner or later a story about your poor customer service will appear in the media or will be reported via the “grapevine” and a process of selective demolition will start on your image.
A well designed and thought out customer service program is important to specific builders and to the building industry to maintain a company’s credibility and positive image, especially in the face of adversity. Every day you either reinforce your image with good customer service or you tear apart or start to demolish that image with poor or no customer service. You must be absolutely convinced that providing great customer service is in your company’s best interest and that your customer service effort must always be consistent and relentless.
An effective customer service program should include: a company-wide commitment to customer service; appropriate standards & policies to promote customer service within your organization; selection of subcontractors and suppliers that will complement and strengthen your customer service objectives; development of customer advocacy procedures and elimination of procedures that deter providing great customer service; monitoring your customer service efforts to make sure you are meeting your customer’s expectations; and going beyond good customer service to provide the highest premium service possible. One very good example of an organization that has this type of customer service program is the featured Builder, Keystone Custom Homes, in the August issue of BUILDER/ARCHITECT MAGAZINE. I have observed their team in action and have personally witnessed some superior examples of great customer service where the customer received more than what was promised. The K team at Keystone Custom Homes provides a classic example of a great customer service program.
Customer service must be considered as valuable and integral a part of running your business as the marketing, selling, building, etc. It must be a permanent “day in day out” activity, and not just a “once in a while” strategy. It must be reinforced and exemplified every time you interact with your customer. Each encounter with your customer will provide a new opportunity to prove the worth of your customer service.
Your customer service should become second nature to you and you should continually listen to what type of service your customers want and keep you attuned to changing wants and needs in your marketplace so you can adjust in order to continue providing great service. Frankly, if you do not listen well and stay on top of what your customers want in terms of product, prices and great services, your chances of maintaining a positive image, let alone survive in this industry, are limited at best and more than likely non-existent .
If you don’t believe the potential damage that can result from what I have written above, think about how many builders are still in the marketplace today, or how many still truly maintain a very high positive image in the public eye, as compared to 10 or 20 years ago. The effect of poor customer service and the selective demolition of previously positive images should be evident.
It is time to truly recognize the importance of great customer service and its potential impact on specific builders and on the building industry. It is also time to do something about it! There is no better place to start than within your own organization and industry associations by developing solid customer service plans. With the risks as high as they are in your industry, don’t leave customer service to chance or to a “seat of the pants” approach. Make a commitment and start planning for your future customer service efforts today. The future of building your company image and the image of the building industry are at risk. With a strong commitment to great customer service, the results toward building a positive image can be tremendous. Without a strong commitment, the results can be the selective demolition of a previously positive image.
To find out more aout how to9 build up your image, visit www.renaissanceman4u.com or contact me at jgecoach@aol.com
“BUILDING UP OR SELECTIVELY DEMOLISHING AN IMAGE " - To learn more about this author, visit Glenn Ebersole's Website.
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