Satchel Page, one of baseball’s greatest pitchers, is unfortunately remembered more for one simple quote than for his pitching prowess. When an interviewer once asked why he refused to reminisce about his career, Mr. Page said, “Don’t look back… they may be gaining on you.”

I have often found that these brief sayings, rules, and quotes can be quite poignant. So, in honor of the great Satchel Page, here are three other reminders to take with you on life’s little journey:

Rule #1: Honesty is always the best policy, unless, of course, your wife asks “Honey, does this dress make me look fat?” This time-honored rule has been noted by biblical scholars, as well as in the classic writings of Euripides and Rodney Dangerfield.

Rule #2: Never eat Oreo cookies in the dentist’s waiting room. If you ignore this rule, you will quickly come face-to-face with Rule #1A: It is never a good thing to anger anyone who has total control over sharp objects being used to pick and prod the sensitive tissues of your mouth.

Rule #3: When attending the seventh game of the World Series, always invite someone who is knowledgeable about the game. In my case, I invited my two sons, baseball aficionados to the core, and my lovely wife-one of the smartest people I know-but a baseball neophyte. So, in the fourth inning, with the bases loaded and Tim Salmon coming up with only one out, my two sons were discussing the strategic placement of an extra outfielder in the infield; Salmon’s propensity for hitting into double-plays with the bases loaded; and his .248 batting average against left-handers. It was one of those tense moments that baseball fans live for, something I’ve dreamt about since I was a kid. All 45,608 of us were on our feet cheering. The count inevitably reached 3-2, and the crowd reached a crescendo. And as the pitcher reared back with the conclusive pitch, my wife turned and yelled in my ear, “Why do some of the Angels wear their pants all the way down to the tops of their shoes and some wear those adorable little socks up to their knees?” I love my wife.

The Stadium Experience

While baseball may not always be a high-energy sport, the experience of going to a game should be highly satisfying. As I detailed in last month’s column, many sports teams are protecting their franchises by becoming increasingly ‘consumer-driven’, and are taking aggressive steps to meet or exceed their customers’ expectations. In addition to soliciting and actively listening to their fans’ complaints, team owners are taking pro-active steps to enhance the “stadium experience.” The Sports Management Institute has verified that “…customer service, while no quick fix, eventually translates into ticket sales.”

Most other industries are way ahead of these team owners. Retailers, auto sales, and internet firms like amazon.com have recognized that the reliability of their service may have more impact on their long-term business success than the quality of their products. In fact, it could easily be argued that amazon.com is basically a service firm that happens to be selling books.

Building Homebuyer Loyalty: Best Practices

Eliant’s 250 builder clients are consistently demonstrating success in influencing the three measurable aspects of “Homebuyer Loyalty”:

§         Homebuyers’ willingness to buy from them again

§         Homeowners’ willingness to refer their friends

§         Actual sales made from homeowner referrals

In a nutshell, here is a summary of a few key steps being taken by our best clients to improve their homebuyers’ loyalty: (Additional steps will be reviewed in next month’s column)

Operating Philosophy: Our best clients operate in a manner consistent with their belief that they are in a service business. They understand that the purchase/move-in/customer service experience is the driving force behind referral sales. They are continually reviewing the ‘service’ aspect of each of the key processes: sales; design center and options; escrow/title; lender; customer service.

 

Pro-Active Communication: Your buyers are continually being spoiled by amazon.com, Enterprise Car Rental, FedEx, and other aggressive service-oriented firms. Today’s consumers are not simply satisfied to receive a fast response to their questions, they fully expect you to keep them informed of construction, loan, and customer service status before they have to call you to calm their anxieties.

Eliant has documented this as one of the most significant shifts in the last three years. In fact, the sales person’s ability to pro-actively communicate construction status is now one of the key ‘drivers’ of the homebuyer’s decision to refer a friend or relative.

 

Our best builders are using buyers’ survey ratings to provide daily and monthly reports to each of their salespeople by name. These reports rank each salesperson based on their buyers’ ratings for this critical issue. Inevitably, buyers who are satisfied with their salesperson’s pro-active communication are much more likely to refer their friends.

 

Service Response Time: For the last 20 years, we have been counseling our builder clients that the key to homeowner referrals is the speed with which your service personnel respond to the punch-list or warranty requests. And remember, it’s the experience which counts here, not just the time required to get the repair completed: how quickly do you acknowledge the buyer’s request; how soon is the appointment available; does the service person/contractor show up as promised or call if delayed.

And so we find ourselves at Rule #4: Most of the success enjoyed by our best builder clients is not due to additional capital outlays, or dramatic improvements in product quality, or significantly increased training expenditures. The underlying basis for enhanced buyer loyalty comes primarily from a commitment to upgrade the buyer’s experience with the purchase, closing, and customer service process.

 

It’s the bottom of the ninth, and you’re up…can you make the commitment?