Business satisfaction is a discipline. It has metrics. Follow-up surveys are required. Owners and managers may trick themselves into believing otherwise—that a verbal affirmation is all they need from a customer. But people are non-confrontational. They won’t tell you how they really feel unless there is some go-between like a third-party survey.
As you will see in this annual report, there are many nuances to the discipline of creating satisfied customers, but it begins with two simple yes or no questions: Would you hire this firm again? Would you be willing to refer them? That’s it.
Here is a business fact you can take to the bank: Remodeling and home improvement pros who continually satisfy their customers are the winners in this industry. Satisfied customers drive referrals. Satisfied customers are repeat customers. And, in recent years, satisfied customers post positive online ratings and reviews that have become so critical to the rising flow of web inquiries.
This report, which we proudly present in collaboration with GuildQuality, contains information that can inform and instruct all remodelers about the service traits that matter most. For example, it should come as no surprise that “a safe jobsite” has taken on new importance in recent years. Our heat map of top overall service traits (below) shows that a safe jobsite is 14 percent more important to a client today than it was in 2018.
Our heat map also quantifies other significant changes. “Expertise” as a driver of satisfaction is up 13 percent since 2018 and up 4 percent since last year. Conversely “budget,” or the price of job, has fallen in importance. It is down a whopping 12 percent year-over-year in terms of its contribution to client happiness.
This report, which is derived from more than 100,000 surveys of clients by GuildQuality over the past year, tracks the relative importance of more than a dozen key service attributes across all types of home improvement projects. And because the data is so deep, the report goes further and breaks down those service traits by project category and specific jobs.
Through this more granular analysis, remodelers who focus on exterior remodels will find that “organization” matters most. For whole-house remodels, the importance of “employee professionalism” far exceeds all other service attributes. With this report, an owner or manager does not need to have past client surveys in order to know where to focus his or her process improvements in 2021. The data is all here.
For those companies who already measure customer satisfaction and use their surveys to improve their processes, this report can offer confirmation of their current course, or it may nudge strategies in new directions.
Satisfaction Rock Stars
All owners and managers, regardless of their past or current involvement with using data to improve customer satisfaction, will find value in our annual list of companies whose scores put them in a customer-satisfaction class all their own. Our 2021 list of Customer Satisfaction Leaders includes links to profile pages for each company. These include companies’ current year and lifetime ratings above 90 percent, with many at or approaching 100 percent. Each profile page contains a snippet of wisdom from each about how they do it.
Customer satisfaction tells us a lot about individual companies and the industry at large. The goal is for it to be used as a business reference through the year. QR
If you have questions about the report, direct them to Patrick O’Toole at patrick@solabrands.com or Bailey D’Alessio of GuildQuality at bailey@guildquality.com.
Use This Data to Focus on High-Gain Activities
The HEAT MAP section of this report is shown in a series of charts. There are six charts in all. The first is an overall look at all 14 service traits across all types of jobs. Then there are five charts that get granular on Exterior Remodels, Interior Remodels, Major Renovations, Outdoor Living and a catch-all group of Other projects.
In prior years of issuing this report, remodelers and home improvement pros have told us how important this report has been in identifying focal points in their interactions with clients. They use it to hone-in on how best to deliver on those key service traits that drive client satisfaction. The data allows them to confidently delve deeply on service issues as they develop strategies for customer satisfaction success.
– The Editors
HEAT MAP: Top Overall Service Traits
Source: QR-GUILDQUALITY Customer Satisfaction Report, 2021.
HEAT MAP: Top Traits “Exterior Remodels”
Source: QR-GUILDQUALITY Customer Satisfaction Report, 2021.
HEAT MAP: Top Traits “Interior Remodels”
Source: QR-GUILDQUALITY Customer Satisfaction Report, 2021.
HEAT MAP: Top Traits “Major Renovations”
Source: QR-GUILDQUALITY Customer Satisfaction Report, 2021.
HEAT MAP: Top Traits “Outdoor Living”
HEAT MAP: Top Traits “Other Projects”
100 Satisfaction Leaders
Part II of the QR – GUILDQUALITY Customer Satisfaction Report 2021 is a searchable directory of home improvement and remodeling companies who consistently generate near-perfect records of achieving satisfied customers, year in and year out. You can find that list here.
QR-GUILDQUALITY Satisfaction Leaders
Click on any of the links above to learn more about the companies who made the 2021 list. Questions, Comments: Please direct them to Digital Content Editor Emily Blackburn at Emily@solabrands.com. QR