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Homebuyer satisfaction is determined by the gap between buyers’
expectations and the builder’s performance. Therefore, there are
only two ways to increase homebuyer satisfaction:
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Improve the performance of your employees and trade partners
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Lower the expectations of your buyers.
Everyone gives a lot of lip service to the later of these two
strategies, as in “OK, I want you guys to manage the
expectations of your homebuyers. Now, how many sales did we get
this weekend?” It is the rare builder who talks in specific
terms about how to lower buyers’ expectations, or
actually trains staff to systematically manage their buyers’
expectations.
Yet, the pro-active management of homebuyers’ expectations is
the ‘new frontier’ in strategic approaches to homebuyer
satisfaction. Builders hoping to raise their buyer satisfaction
ratings and competitive rankings to the highest levels can not
accomplish this by simply improving their staff’s performance.
To maximize effectiveness, the wise builder must raise
performance levels while actively lowering buyers’ expectations.
Universal Versus Learned Expectations
We all share a set of ‘universally held’ expectations about a
new home. These aren’t things we picked up in school, we didn’t
learn them in a book, and our parents didn’t teach us to expect
these things. We just managed to, well, absorb these
beliefs.
For example, we all expect that when we move in to our
new home, the roof will not leak; the locks on the front door
will actually work; the toilets will flush; the lights will all
go on when we flip the switch. On the other hand, there are many
expectations that the buyer develops as a result of what the
builder actually promises…or infers. The buyer “learns” to
expect things as a direct consequence of inferences made in your
advertising and PR, or by your sales, design, service, and
construction personnel. Statements made by sales personnel
anxious to make the sale can have a profound impact on the
buyer’s expectations: “We have the best quality of any
builder,” or “We are known for our knock-your-socks-off
service that is immediate and always right the first time.”
Mirman’s 10 Laws of Buyer Expectations
Before initiating a pro-active process to manage (i.e. lower)
the expectations of home buyers, here are some guidelines that
you will find useful in organizing your firm’s priorities. This
month’s article includes the first half of my “10 Laws of
Homebuyer Expectations” (The remainder will appear in the
next issue of Builder Digest):
1.
The stronger the expectation, the stronger the dissatisfaction
when the expectation is not met.
This is particularly true with “Universal Expectations”, such as
“The roof will not leak.” I refer to performance failures
in strongly held universal expectations as “Showstoppers”
because a problem in any of these areas will overcome all the
positive “satisfiers” that the builder had previously achieved.
In a similar fashion, explicit promises made by members of your
team will also create significant dissatisfaction when they are
not kept. Example: “We will correct all walk-through
punch-list items within five working days after move-in.”
Once you make a specific promise, you are obliged to meet or
exceed this promise or you will suffer the justified wrath of a
dissatisfied homebuyer.
2.
The more the expectation directly relates to the buyer’s
comfort, the stronger the dissatisfaction when the expectation
is not met.
Examples: HVAC; plumbing; appliance malfunctions. Example:
Buyers absolutely expect their plumbing system to work perfectly
from day one. A failure in any part of this system will create
enormous dissatisfaction.
3.
The stronger and more universal the expectation, the less impact
this issue has on the buyer’s satisfaction when the builder’s
performance meets expectations.
Here’s the bad news about universal expectations: when you
perform well and meet these expectations, you gain nothing.
None of your buyers will run out and refer their friends to you
as a result of their toilets flushing…trust me on this one. When
it comes to universal expectations, you will earn no points for
doing it correctly, but you will get slammed if you fail to
perform on a “Showstopper” expectation.
4.
The greatest disservice to customer service and construction
personnel is done by sales people who, in a misguided effort to
seal the sale, make promises about construction quality or speed
of service that are totally unrealistic and unattainable.
When this occurs, the service or construction rep rarely finds
out why he constantly seems to be digging himself out of a hole
that was inadvertently dug months before by the sales person.
The best strategy to take here is for sales, design,
construction, and service personnel to meet and discuss exactly
what all four parts of the team will be consistently promising
to their buyers.
5. Most homebuyer dissatisfaction issues are the result of
the builder’s failure to live up to the very expectations he has
established for the buyer. Most homebuyer
dissatisfaction does not stem from leaky roofs or faulty
plumbing or other universally held expectations, but from the
builder’s failure to meet the standards that the builder set for
the buyer. These ‘learned’ expectations often create unfulfilled
promises. In other words, we too often set ourselves up for
failure by over-promising and under delivering.
In the next edition of Builder Digest, I will review the second
half of the laws governing homebuyer expectations. |
