When customer relationships go sour, it costs more than any builder can afford. And we’re not just talking about money. Even mildly unsatisfied buyers threaten future business, but the angriest buyers will actively work to tarnish a builder’s most valuable assets—their reputation and brand.
Builders want to know how to create an experience customers will rave about. They want to develop a reputation they can build their own future success on, and they need delighted customers to make this happen. In order to have and keep delighted customers, they have to get and listen to authentic reviews. Everybody says they want honest customer feedback, but a company’s future and its customers’ certainty depend on its commitment to get authentic feedback and then use it to drive change. Follow these steps to make feedback work for you:
1) Get your mind right about feedback. While the FTC prosecutes companies for publishing ratings to reflect high scores when the actual reviews indicate otherwise, many companies give in to the temptation anyway—especially when faced with unfavorable customer feedback. In a New York Times article, David Streitfeld gives the example of a charter bus company that received consistently low ratings. Instead of taking responsibility and fixing the issues, the chief executive “hired freelance writers, mandated that his employees write favorable reviews and even pitched in himself.” He was viewing feedback all wrong. Instead of using the results to improve the customer experience, he sabotaged future success by compromising the company’s culture and reputation. Unfortunately, builders also fall prey to fabricating results. Unscrupulous research providers wanting to make a quick buck encourage builders to falsify their overall performance—a compelling temptation for many.
Surveys are so popular because, in theory, they provide valuable insights for companies looking to improve customer relations. But when results are corrupted, they leave companies worse off than they started—with a falsely positive view of their customers’ experience rather than a true reflection of what they’re doing well and what they could do better.
We’ve got to think about feedback differently. Instead of hiding from the truth (or manipulating it and losing our integrity), we need to see it as an opportunity to improve our customer experience and increase service certainty.
2) Get your mind right about survey talk. The president of a major home builder approached Avid, thinking his survey was flawed. They had good scores in other areas, but their “recommend to friend” scores were stuck at 89 percent. His concern gave Avid pause. It’s rare to have a builder score so well in lots of other areas without also scoring high on the “recommend to friend” question. After extensively interviewing employees and buyers, Avid couldn’t identify the cause of this apparent glass ceiling. Finally, the president vented, “We do everything for these customers! We even go to every home right before your survey goes out to tell them how to fill the darn thing out.”
The mystery unraveled as he explained that the company trained superintendents to knock on every door and tell the buyers to fill out their survey with the highest scores and to check “definitely yes” by the “recommend to friend” question. They even dropped off a nice gift to each buyer for their willingness to provide high marks.
There it was. The builder did a good job with customers, so why did they feel the need to badger buyers door to door? By engaging in “survey talk” (any form of influencing responses), they caused mistrust among previously happy customers. If trust is lost, a company is in danger of becoming critically toxic. Avid advised the president to retrain employees and back off from the pressure tactics. The glass ceiling lifted immediately and their “recommend to friend” scores increased 8% in one year, earning them a “great” score on the survey and recognition in the top 10% nationwide.
A common myth in customer satisfaction is that customers give higher ratings if pressured to give a positive response. Research shows that too much verbal pressure from employees to give a positive response results in lower customer satisfaction ratings.
It may seem harmless to say something like, “If there’s any reason you can’t give us 100%, give me a call before filling the survey out so we can make things better.” But it feels manipulative to buyers and nobody benefits when people feel coerced into providing falsely positive results. Builders may be able to publish nice-looking numbers, but it’s an expensive way to pat themselves on the back and carry on with the status quo.
The survey talk is counterproductive—a way to manufacture the appearance of a positive customer experience rather than doing what it takes during the preceding months to earn it. Although it may make builders feel good for a moment, the manipulated truth doesn’t improve the company or brand.
3) Campaign to inform. We’re not advocating avoiding all survey discussion. Since 2002, Avid has been asking home buyers, “To what degree did your builder pressure you to provide a positive response on this survey?” Scores from the two highest levels of influence show that overly aggressive survey talk results in lower ratings. Specifically, there was a significant drop in the “recommend” levels from the second highest to the highest levels of influence. The bottom line: Builders who campaign too hard see diminishing returns.
Train employees to make sure customers are aware of surveys, but not to influence their responses. Controlled messages like letters, signs, and placards encouraging people to complete surveys increase response rates. A good awareness campaign simply lets people know the survey is coming and you’re looking for honest, open feedback. That way, you can get the largest volume of valid responses without jeopardizing your integrity.
Survey Awareness is an important strategy for builders to maximize important strategy for builders to maximize customer satisfaction results. Survey Pressure can be detrimental to your relationship with customers and reduce your relationship with customers and reduce your overall customer satisfaction ratings. Authentic survey results make you better; Manipulated results are counterproductive.
Providing accurate measurement and results takes a lot of effort and time. But it’s worth it because it’s the only way to make surveys meaningful for customers and companies alike. Aggressive campaigns are both counterproductive and unnecessary when builders provide service certainty throughout the process.
Of course, accurate feedback only matters if we actually listen to it—the good, the bad, and the ugly. That’s how companies improve and customers learn to trust us. Without trust, there can be no certainty. And when certainty is lost, all is lost. If you want addicted, raving fans, you have to earn trust organically.
This article is excerpted from the book Service Certainty by Paul Cardis and Jason Forrest.
