These are challenging times. World economies are looking down, competition is up, inflation has rocketed, energy costs have achieved unprecedented new heights and material shortages have continued to dog the house building sector.
So, anything that enhances your chance of selling must surely be worth investigation – shouldn’t it?
· Build a great product.
· Have a fabulous marketing strategy.
· Employ the best sale’s people.
All well and good - and essential of course but leave out an effective after care service and you are putting at risk the long-term success of your business. Why? The internet and more specifically social media has equipped the consumer with a powerful tool for communicating bad news and poor experiences to the world around us.
All that effort and investment to create the product and sell it is undone in moments following a poor review. And this was because when a problem occurred post sale, there was no one available to ‘own’ the problem and make certain it was addressed in double quick time. People are willing to accept that things do go wrong with new homes and may require the attendance of a contractor to put it right … but what they won’t accept is being ignored.
To survive these difficult times, you cannot possibly consider operating without good after care. To do so is the quick road to nowhere good. But great after care can be tricky because it requires numerous elements to all work together …
Trained people (that is not the same as asking your secretary or admin person to answer the phone)
A system (that is not the same as an Excel spreadsheet)
Process (that is not the same as leaving a ‘stick-it’ note on the site manager’s desk)
Reporting (that is not the same as a Word document)
It is incumbent on every business owner to review how they support their customer before and especially after the sale. The new homes market is especially challenged as the build warranty requires the developer to provide a professional and reliable after care service for 2 years following the purchase of a new home. That requires trained resource, systems, processes, and a ‘can-do’ approach to every problem reported. Not easy to structure, particularly for small and medium sized new home builders. This is why we established After Build: Outsourced, fixed price after care for new homes.
Want to know more? Contact Mark Fawcitt (07342 037810/markf@afterbuild.com).
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