Managing expectations is important, but exceeding client expectations is essential to growing your business. There’s a definite correlation between a company's success and how its culture focuses on service excellence. Those who stand out in clients' minds are always looking for new ways to enhance their offerings, exceed satisfaction, and ultimately grow as a team.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Jackson Design and Remodeling in San Diego, Calif., has made a significant investment in systems and processes that facilitate service excellence including a proprietary custom-designed software system for Client Relationship Management (CRM). Company owner Todd Jackson says the system is "unlike anything in the industry. Our culture and processes encourage our people to depend on each other and be accountable to each other for building long-lasting client relationships, which strengthen our performance as a unified team.”
FITTING IN
Creating defined processes and an encouraging environment where teamwork and accountability are valued is critical to developing a strong culture of excellence. As your business grows, preserving that culture can become a challenge. Bob Fleming, president of
Classic Remodeling & Construction in Charleston, S.C., considers whether new hires will be a cultural fit during the interview process.
“First and most important, I hire for attitude," he says. "All the technical skills in the world will not compensate for a lack of people skills. I find that when you find someone with good people skills who is motivated to learn, you can teach the technical skills quickly and easily.”
Fleming also emphasizes the importance of his company’s core values with new team members and trains them to deliver excellence to clients. He monitors his team’s performance using GuildQuality.
“There is nothing more satisfying than getting the feedback from our clients that everyone involved with the project was great to work with and knowing that those results occurred without any daily involvement from me as the company owner.”
ROAD MAP
A company’s culture should ultimately serve as a road map, helping the team to work together and navigate through decisions. For Jonas Carnemark, Owner of
CARNEMARK design + build, his company’s effective mission and vision statement provide the guidance his team needs to succeed with clients.
“A strong mission and vision statement should answer the most important client-related questions an employee will ask. The trick is to consistently keep it front and center for existing and new employees alike." --Erica England is the marketing manager for GuildQuality, a customer satisfaction surveying company for the home improvement industry.
Todd Jackson, Jonas Carnemark, and Bob Fleming will discuss how they've successfully grown their businesses while maintaining their company cultures at GuildQuality's next Owner Series Webinar moderated by Remodelers Advantage on August 21st.
