The latest news from GuildQuality.

We launched our survey mailers back in September, but it took us a few months to get them green. As of January 1, mailers are now made from 100% recycled paper that is 100% recyclable.

We don’t use a lot of paper around the office, and that which we discard, we recycle. However, the REAL paper usage at GuildQuality is in our customer satisfaction survey mailers. The above picture is of some of the mailers we send out on behalf of our members (that’s Luna the office dog, guarding the hallway).

Mailers come with a high-res logo and a personalized message from the member. Now they also come with minimal impact on the environment.

I’m regularly asked, “What do your builders, remodelers, and developers do to ensure that they have happy customers?” Far and away, the most effective thing that they do is share their customer feedback with everyone in the company.

Innumerable strategies will ratchet up your scores, but nothing will have as much impact as simply sharing your customer feedback. I am overwhelmingly pleased to see so many of our members begin their GuildQuality membership with a 75% recommendation rate, and within a year it has jumped dramatically.

What have they done? They’ve given access to GuildQuality’s reporting system to everyone in their company. That means everyone sees feedback in real-time. Everyone sees trends in the company’s (and their own) performance. Everyone begins to appreciate that a big part of their job is to be a faithful steward of the company’s reputation, and to do so by serving the customer.

Without any special programs, initiatives, or bonus structures, simply sharing customer feedback can carry a company from thoroughly mediocre to vastly improved.

Here’s a snapshot from a member that joined in Q4 2006:

We’re in the business of helping building and real estate professionals deliver an exceptional customer experience. We work with businesses of all sizes and types: nationally recognized volume homebuilders, high-end custom builders, professional remodelers, multifamily developers, and replacement contractors.
So how do we serve the needs of such a diverse group of building and real estate companies? We have a laser focus on keeping it simple and making an impact.

Simple. It’s simple for the company to adopt our service and start surveying. Simple for the customer to respond to our surveys. Simple for the company to interpret the feedback.

Impactful. Our survey feedback is comment-rich, delivered in real-time, and distributed to the right people. Employees receive a response the moment the customer provides it, can immediately understand how that customer feels, and take action if something needs attention. Executives can easily identify trends in their teams’ performance: Who’s the best? How does this quarter compare against the prior quarters? Where do we fall short, and where do we excel?

Our Simple & Impactful strategy seems to be working. Among the companies that we served as of January 1, 2007, we were still serving more than 93% of them as of January 1, 2008. And we keep their business with no strings attached: Our members can cancel their service at any time for any reason, and they can export all of their feedback before they go. So to keep them happy, we have to earn their business every month.

A couple of months ago, A.J. Simon, a residential designer for SJ Janis, sent me an email requesting some high resolution versions of our logo for use on marketing material. I provided him with these files, but only in exchange for the promise of pictures. I wanted to see some results!

Last week, at the Metropolitan Builder Association’s 19th Annual Home Builders Expo, SJ Janis showed off their impressive custom built show exhibit complete with GuildQuality dressings (see arrows above). The show, the largest of it’s kind in Wisconsin, took place at the Midwest Airlines Center in Downtown Milwaukee and attracted some 15,000 attendees. A couple of days after the show, A.J. held up his end of the deal by sending me a dozen pictures of their custom booth, which he noted was “quite an undertaking”. Their effort didn’t go unnoticed; their booth looks amazing.

We are proud to have members such as SJ Janis, a 2007 Guildmaster with Highest Distinction, showing Milwaukee what it means to make customer satisfaction a priority in their business. Keep up the great work!

* Prepended update:  On January 31st, GuildQuality presented the first in a series of Webinars “Making Customer Satisfaction a Priority in your Business”. It was a remodeler focused discussion on how two nationally-recognized companies (Strite design + remodel and Normandy Builders) internalize and promulgate customer satisfaction through every facet of the business– from the first time a customer interacts with a company representative to the last punchlist item. They stressed the importance of properly setting customer expectations (remodeling can be unpleasant!), holding team members accountable to their customers’ experiences, and follow up with customers for referral business. Strite and Normandy also discussed adjustments each had to make in their marketing strategies (in response to market downturns). They elaborated on changes in both traditional marketing strategies and implicit marketing– via team member interactions. Again, our speakers provided wonderful insight into how customer satisfaction impacts the way they conduct business both in the office and in the field.

For those able to attend, we thank you and hope that you enjoyed it. For those unable to attend, “Making Customer Satisfaction a Priority in your Business” is now available for viewing in its entirety here. Thanks again, to Jim Strite, Jack Steindl, and Karen Cericola for taking time out of their busy schedules to participate. - Regards - Your GuildQuality Team.

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On January 31st, GuildQuality will be hosting a live online webinar for remodelers. It will be a discussion featuring the principals of Normandy Builders and Strite Design + Remodel moderated by our founder, Geoff Graham.

Chicago-based Normandy Builders earned Professional Remodeler’s 2007 “Remodeler of the Year” award for their accomplishments in customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership. Normandy Builders has been using GuildQuality for its customer satisfaction surveying since 2006.

Boise-based Strite design + remodel has been designated by Qualified Remodeler magazine as one of the nation’s Top 500 remodelers every year since its inception. They’ve been featured on the cover of Remodeling Magazine, and are the recipient of numerous awards for their exceptional business practices, working environment, and contributions to the remodeling profession. Strite design + remodel has been using GuildQuality for its customer satisfaction surveying since 2004.

This is an exciting opportunity to hear from two of the industry’s most respected companies and the role that customer satisfaction plays in the growth of their businesses. Join us!

Date: January 31st, 2008
Time: 2pm EST
Duration: (under an hour)

Happy New Year to you and yours from the GuildQuality team.

Front row (left to right): John Ramey, Agent Geoff Hartnett, Erin Rosintoski, Laura Summerlin, Sean Ellis, Michael Hardy. Middle: Laura Flowerree. Back row (left to right): Me, David Strandburg, Rob Faraj, Glenn McNairy, Jon Atteberry. Not pictured: Autumn Printup and Heather (VanSickle) Fricke.