How Builders Can Build a Better Online Reputation in 3 Stages

Building a strong online reputation can be the difference between growth and stagnation, especially in a world where people will drive to go to a higher-rated chain restaurant rather than walking to the lower-rated one around the corner.

Your online reputation is often the first impression that potential customers will have of your business. For home builders, building a strong online reputation requires a dedication to three overlapping responsibilities:

1. Providing positive in-person experiences
2. Maintaining an authentic, easy-to-navigate online presence
3. Offering exceptional post-closing solutions

Here are several ways you can dedicate yourself to these responsibilities and how 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty (2-10) can help.

Providing Positive In-Person Experiences

Though prospects will first look online to learn more about you, they’ll learn a ton from how others describe your in-person interactions with other clients. This is the cornerstone of building your online reputation.

After all, what people say about you online is often a direct reflection of how you treat them in person. When you offer good in-person experiences, they often translate to good online reviews. On the other hand, when people have bad in-person experiences—such as finding multiple issues with their home and then dealing with a builder who doesn’t take care of those issues—they make sure other people know all about it.

A few examples of providing good in-person experiences include things like:

• Offering timely responses
• Answering questions patiently and empathetically
• Being honest and transparent about the homes you build and the sales process

You can go the extra mile to offer exceptional in-person experiences by enrolling your homes in the 2-10 New Home Warranty Program, which provides industry-leading solutions to unexpected structural issues, along with clear performance standards related to the workmanship and distribution systems in the homes you build.

Building an Authentic, Easy-to-Navigate Online Presence

In many cases, the first impression your prospects will have of your business—whether they’re potential buyers, vendors, or subcontractors—will be online. This means that you need to create an online experience that’s both authentic and easy to navigate.

Consider two worrisome facts:

• 94% of people would avoid a business based on a bad review.
• The cost of poor customer service is $75 billion a year.

Creating an authentic online presence can help show your prospects that working with you is in their best interest. Here are four ways to do that.

1. Presenting your company’s values in ways that resonate with your prospects

Every company tells prospects about their values. The most successful companies show prospects how they live their values in ways that resonate with customers. When you show people how you live your values, it’s usually more authentic than just paying lip service.

For instance, nearly every builder values building homes that are safe, sanitary, and livable. And these aspects are an important part of buying a home. Showing customers precisely how you ensure that the homes you build meet these criteria, beyond just saying so, is one way to build trust and speak authentically to why your homes are the right choice for potential buyers.

2. Offering third-party validation of your work

When someone else vouches for your work, it makes you look even better, more trustworthy, and more authentic in the claims you make.

When you enroll your homes in the 2-10 New Home Warranty Program, you’re offering third-party validation that if something unexpected makes the home , you have an industry-leading solution: 2-10’s Warranty Booklet clearly defines what these terms mean, which positions you to address such issues properly.

A 2-10 New Home Warranty includes language that gives you and your homeowners solutions to major structural issues, such as issues caused by uncontrollable soil movement. This helps protect your homeowners’ budgets and futures, along with your reputation.

3. Setting clear expectations

Giving people what they expect shows that you’re dedicated to fulfilling their needs. It’s much easier to fulfill those needs when everyone is working off the same set of clear expectations.

For example, someone who buys a new home from you might expect there to be absolutely no cracks in any concrete at any point, which is an unrealistic expectation. By establishing certain facts early in the process—such as the fact that houses settle and cosmetic cracks may appear—you can better prepare homeowners for what they can expect in their new home and explain how you can help them address issues you’re responsible for.

Additionally, with the 2-10 Home Maintenance Guide, you can prepare homeowners to perform the maintenance required to get the most out of their 2-10 New Home Warranty.

Enrolling your homes in the 2-10 New Home Warranty Program gives you an edge in setting clear expectations. The 2-10 Warranty Booklet offers a comprehensive view of what homeowners can expect from their new home, such as what’s considered a defect and what isn’t, which can keep you and your homeowners on the same page.

4. Making it easy for prospects to interact with you online

One of the most effective ways to build authenticity is to make it easy for people to interact with you online. Whether it’s on your company’s website, social media posts, or personalized communications like emails, making it easy for people to find what they’re looking for is an essential element of providing good customer service. You can accomplish this by using clear language that avoids fluff, jargon, and cliché.

If things are too difficult to find or understand, prospects may interpret it as a lack of dedication to serving their needs. This may lead them to choose someone else.

There will inevitably be things you can’t control when strengthening your online reputation. For example, some people may write inaccurate reviews about your business despite your best efforts to provide good service. In these cases, don’t be afraid to respond to these reviews using the facts you have about the issue. Be cordial but also be confident.

Offering Exceptional Post-Closing Customer Support

When builders don’t have the time and resources to address post-closing customer issues, it could hurt their reputation and bottom line.

That’s why 2-10 created 2-10 NewHome Care℠.

Perhaps the biggest post-closing challenge for builders is offering answers to customer questions about the home’s workmanship, distribution systems, and structural integrity. Answering these questions often takes more time and resources than many builders can realistically dedicate.

With 2-10 NewHome Care, builders can regain time and more efficiently address service requests in ways that provide effective solutions for themselves, their contractors, and their homeowners, giving them access to an easy-to-use online system that guides them through their service requests.

This is especially helpful when homeowners approach builders with incorrect assumptions about a builder’s responsibilities.

Granite countertops are a perfect example of this challenge. As granite countertops have become more popular, more homeowners have attempted to file service requests for things like color differences in the granite. While they may think this is a defect, it isn’t, and 2-10 NewHome Care can help educate them on these misunderstandings while saving you time.

With 2-10 NewHome Care, builders can rely on 2-10’s unique combination of human expertise and easy-to-use software to address numerous warranty claims. With detailed explanations for homeowners about what’s covered and what to expect, 2-10 NewHome Care helps builders foster trust with homeowners, which positions builders to get glowing reviews from satisfied customers.

See How 2-10 NewHome Care Helps You Strengthen Your Reputation

Are you ready to try 2-10 NewHome Care, the revolutionary new way to offer post-closing customer experiences that could lead to an even stronger online presence? See more about 2-10 NewHome Care and then email us at [email protected] to schedule your walkthrough today.