Better Than the Warranty

Closing on a home should signal the continuation of a customer relationship, not the end — especially if you hope to garner future referrals. That's why The Green Company's customer care group focuses so much attention on customer satisfaction during the warranty period. "We recognize how people feel at the end of that process is more important than how they feel at the closing," says President Daniel Green. It's no surprise, with this philosophy, that this high-performance home builder is the first company to win the Avid Diamond Award for Best Customer Experience in the United States two years in a row.

The Green Company has developed a customer communications system based on 45 points of contact throughout the home buying and post move-in experience. This ensures continuous communication with buyers from the time they first visit a model home through closing and beyond. Whereas some builders might find such a defined communications strategy restricting, it actually positions the company to deliver personalized service. By having an overall system in place, "it allows our team to rely on routine customer communications, freeing up more time for us to adjust and respond to individual needs," says CEO David Caligaris.

In addition, the company follows up most service requests with a phone call to confirm proper execution and delivery. Home buyers are asked whether the repair personnel arrived on time, whether it was a positive experience and whether the home buyer was delighted with the team's performance. If the home buyer is not happy about something, changes are made to rectify the issue and prevent the problem from recurring. "The key is that we really care about our homeowners," says Lois MacIsaac, customer care manager.

This commitment to long-term customer delight is why The Green Company is this year's repeat winner of the Avid Diamond Award, with 100 percent of its customers willing to recommend the company. More importantly, this unprecedented level of customer delight produces more than 50 percent of the builder's sales from direct referrals. Customer loyalty is the key to success in all market conditions, and The Green Company capitalizes on this asset the best.

In today's market, every delighted customer means real earnings potential in the form of active referrals. "If you get two or three home buyers a year who are unhappy, they talk with other potential buyers and it has a real impact, especially since we actively try to connect our homeowners with prospective purchasers," says Dominique Sampson, marketing director.