Two Effective Customer Communication Techniques

Communications technology is evolving a rapid pace, and some businesses can have trouble trying to keep up with new advancements.  When you're working in the construction business proper customer communication is key, and at CustomSmart Homes we do our best to keep our clients informed and encourage them to come to us with any questions they may have.  People always have questions during the building process, and whether our clients want to know more about our building process or want to know more about the green technology that'll be used in their new home, we're ready to answer them.  Custom Smart Home reviews reflect the effective communication techniques we use with our customers, and other businesses could benefit from using some of our techniques.  If you think that your customers could benefit from new communication techniques, try using some of these methods.

E-mail Updates

Confirmation e-mails have been around for a while now, people can expect to see the inbox flooded with messages that let them know that their orders have been shipped and that their bills have been paid.  E-mails to customers need to have more information aside from letting them know basic information.    Tracking numbers for retail products are a must; and customers should know about any delays or other things out of the ordinary they should expect.  Businesses should also get into the habit of e-mailing their customers weekly updates when they're working on long term projects with their clients.  A few sentences about a project's progress won't just give your client's an informative update, it'll also help reassure them that their work is being done well and on time.

Post Project/Product Reports

Following up with customers after they've done business with you is an effective way to ensure that your customers are satisfied with your services.  You could add a page devoted to customer feedback on your company's website, but if you want to learn about your customer's experiences you need to make more of an effort to get them.  Have someone on your customer service staff spend time calling past customers to ask them a few questions about their experience with your company.  Customers will like that you're showing an interest in their opinions, and receiving a call from an actual person instead of a brief e-mail asking them about their opinion shows helps drive home that sentiment.

Crucial Tax Credit Extended for Green Home Builders

Don't forget about your possible green tax benefits either

When it comes to building energy efficient homes in Tennessee, Custom Smart Homes is the undisputed champion.  We've helped a variety of families make their green home dreams come true by helping them plan and build their ultimate energy efficient smart home.  Our modular building strategy allows our clients to have their homes built fast, and also saves them money on building costs.  Tennessee residents can appreciate the work we do in the state, and now other groups are trying to make sure that home builders across the country who specialize in building green homes get the recognition and benefits they deserve.

The Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1995 in order to help US residents reduce their utility costs by making their homes more energy efficient.  The U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. mortgage industry all recognize RESNET as an important ally in the fight to make American homes more eco-friendly.  RESNET's recent bi-partisan lobbying work has ensured that home builders who specialize in building energy efficient homes can still receive a much needed tax credit.

Before RESNET efforts the Energy Efficient Homes Tax Credit was due to expire in the near future, but now the important tax credit has been extended to December 31, 2013.  The new tax credit extension is part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, and the extension of the important credit shows how important energy efficiency is even during difficult economic times. 

The tax credit extension won't just help home builders; it'll help the millions of people in the country who want to own an energy efficient home.  The tax credit home builders receive will help them save money on labor and supply costs, and their savings will trickle down to home owners.  Home builders who wish to qualify need to prove that the heating and cooling energy consumption levels of their new homes are at least 50% lower than those of comparable homes constructed as per the 2006 IECC.

The Positive and Negative Aspects of Online Business Reviews

The perils of online reviews

There's no asset that's more important to a business than the ratings and reviews from their customers.  Potential new customers seek out the opinions of past customers to see if a company is worthy of their business, and they also give companies insight into what their customers think about their products and services.  Businesses like Custom Smart Homes use their ratings and reviews to learn more about their customers and develop possible ways to improve their practices.  Before businesses had to wait for phone calls and letters from customers to learn about their customer's experiences, but now thanks to advances in technologies it's very easy to learn about the opinions of others.

The Internet has given millions of people an open forum for communicating their thoughts and ideas, and countless people rely on online reviews for information about excellent products and services.  Opinions about businesses can be found in almost every news story, social media post, and forum discussion online.  The internet can be a great learning tool, but all of the information found on it can't be trusted as valid, especially if it’s a customer rating or review of a business.   

Ratings and review websites can be helpful for learning about a business’ true practices, but occasionally bad reviews can be based on a misunderstood and bad experience.  Some customers may have been confused about what they were getting, and others simply may not have picked to work with a business that best suits their needs.  There are also some people with grudges against business that try their hardest to ruin their reputation online.  They'll spend time writing negative reviews about things that never happened, or about experiences that were greatly exaggerated in order to make a business look bad. 

As you can see, people who rely on ratings and reviews websites to learn about businesses have to take everything they read with a grain of salt.  Both good and bad reviews have the potential to misrepresent a company, so it's important for people to spend time doing research that isn't biased with other people's views.  Before you start believing every review you see, take time to consider the facts about a business’ practices and make decisions on your own.

Safe Shopping: Three Tips For Savvy Consumers

Let your smart shopping skills shine

Finding business and companies that can give you the products and services you need can be difficult, but finding a company or business you can trust can be even more troublesome.  If every company was as trustworthy as the Lizzio Development Group consumers wouldn't have to worry, but unfortunately people have to be very careful about which establishments they use.   If you want to avoid giving the wrong businesses your business, follow these three simple tips.      

Do Your Research

The true beauty of the Internet Age is that people from all walks of life can find out any information they need with a few keystrokes and clicks.  The internet can give you almost any information you'd need about a company; you just need to make sure that you're finding accurate facts.  It's fine to browse a few websites that collect ratings and reviews from customers, but if you want to ensure that you're working with a reputable company you need to branch out.  There are trustworthy websites that are dedicated to telling others about bad businesses.  Browse the Better Business Bureau's website and Angie's List to learn about business you should avoid.   

Use Your Judgment

You read a review that claims that a certain business is only out to scam people, but when you visit their website you see a professional set up and glowing reviews from customers. Looks can be deceiving, but in situations like this it's best to trust your gut. If you feel uneasy about using a certain business' services after looking at their website, then find other potential businesses you could use. 

Alert the Authorities

If you happen to find a business that you know isn't trustworthy, your civic duty doesn't end when you write a bad review about them online.  If you feel that you've found a business that's doing illegal activities don't hesitate to alert your local authorities.  If you feel it's a serious enough offense, you should alert federal authorities as well.  Many countries have entire departments devoted to finding out about scams and alerting the public of them.  In the United States the FBI website has information on countless scams, frauds, and schemes and they encourage people to inform them of any wrong doings. 

How to Get the Most Out of Your Customer Reviews

A little listening goes a long way

Whether you're reading negative reviews online or talking to an unhappy customer, dealing with complaints about your business can be difficult to hear.  Complaints are an inevitable part of doing business, and the ways that companies handle caring for their dissatisfied customers can tell you a lot about their business practices.  When you visit CustomSmartHomes.com you can read glowing reviews from their customers who love their new eco-friendly smart homes, and all Custom Smart Home reviews the company receives are used to improve their services so they can better satisfy their customer's needs. 

It's important to acknowledge problems and make sure that customers are happy with their products and services.  Customer reviews can give both business owners and their employees important information about how their customers view their products and services, and could even show you some creative ways for your to improve your business.  Here are some tips businesses can follow to ensure that they can get truly get the most out of their customer reviews.

Listen

Many employees working in customer service are quick to start speaking to unhappy customers about how the company will handle their problems.  Their immediate reaction could help reassure customers that their problems will be quickly dealt with, but it's more likely to make them feel like your company doesn't want to listen to their customers. Tell your employees to listen to customers before they begin talking about how your company can fix their problem.  Your customers will feel like the company cares about individual customer needs, and your employees will be better equipped to solve your customer's problems.

Look for Patterns

Does it seem like complaint amounts double during a certain time of year, or that a certain department always seems to receive more complaints than others?  Those aren't mere coincidences, if you're seeing the same problems popping up in the same areas it's time to focus on improving your business practices.

Don't Ignore Certain Complaints

When you have a customer that seems to do nothing but complain it can be easy to write them off as being difficult or overly picky.  But it's important to examine every customer complaint, regardless of how many times you've heard it before. Regardless of who is making the complaint or what the complaint is about, you need to regard it as a legitimate problem and work hard to fix it.