The advantages offered by digital warranty and maintenance programs is the
subject of "The Digital Age Comes Home," a white paper released today
by BuildSERV, a Seattle-based
company that produces home warranty and maintenance programs for homebuilders.
The white paper offers insight to residential builders about the use of internet-based
tools to improve customer satisfaction.
According to Brad Brickman, author and BuildSERV president, adopting digital
tools improves communication between builder and buyer, sparks more referrals,
reduces warranty claims, and increases satisfaction ratings. "Builders
have focused on lead generation, pre-sales and sales process through the internet,"
he said, "but have not capitalized on consumer demand for digital and internet-based
tools post-construction."
A recent study by J.D. Powers highlighted that of the 10 factors driving overall
satisfaction with homebuilders, the builder’s warranty/customer service
ranked highest. Providing buyers with useful home maintenance checklists and
timelines benefits the builder by enabling clear communication about warranty
and maintenance.
Consumers are rapidly gaining confidence and sophistication using online tools
to search for and evaluate housing options. Home buyers are much more likely
to use the Internet to make important determinations about the qualities of
homebuilders during pre-sale, construction and after-sale. This white paper
reports many of the driving factors pushing the acceptance of internet-based
information services and outlines what to look for and how to measure success
when considering these services.
"Homebuilders are looking for an easier way to give more support to their
customers without adding additional costs and/or work for their customer service
departments," says Brickman. "There are many ways for builders to
stand out and differentiate themselves from their competition by using additional
tools that will not only help them, but their customers."