When choosing a construction firm, customers say that trust and integrity are more influential than the price of the bid, according to a newly released Intuit Construction Business Solutions study. The study found these qualities to be especially important with residential customers, 43 percent of whom cited trust as the number one reason they selected a particular construction firm.
Conducted by independent research firm Decipher, the study surveyed more than 500 customers of commercial and residential construction firms. The results were announced today at the International Builders' Show, the world's largest trade event for the construction industry.
Personality and professionalism also count. More than 80 percent of respondents cited these characteristics as important factors in selecting a firm. These qualities, along with trade skill sets, contribute to a contractor's reputation and can mean the difference between success and failure when dealing with customers. When asked how they had heard about the firms they hired, more than 75 percent of respondents from each group favored word-of-mouth over telephone directory and Web research.
"The message for contractors is clear: company integrity is as critical to the success of a construction business as the cost of the job and the quality of the finished product," said Carol Novello, president of Intuit Construction Business Solutions. "The study shows that it is just as important to have the right business management skill set and processes as it is to have the ability to lay a foundation and finish a job."
Customer Satisfaction Ratings
The Intuit study found that contractors are generally succeeding in keeping their customers happy. The survey revealed:
- 94 percent of businesses would recommend their construction firm
- 84 percent of homeowners said they would recommend their contractor
- Approximately 60 percent of those commercial and residential customers trust the firms with which they hired/do business
Commercial and residential customers also agreed on their main reasons for dissatisfaction. A total of 56 percent of residential and 40 percent of commercial customers cited job quality as their primary reason for dissatisfaction. Other key factors included low productivity and efficiency, and both groups felt that construction firms need to do a better job communicating with them. In fact, 41 percent of commercial businesses wanted more clarity and promptness in the communications from their construction firm.
Novello noted that maintaining a personal touch with customers can be difficult in the wake of the many challenges facing contractors of all sizes. "It's not easy to keep up with the demands of today's construction world. Construction business challenges go beyond bad weather, thin margins, customer disputes, and scheduling problems. Today's contractors need the right business management tools to ensure that they can run their businesses efficiently and profitably. The answer is to help contractors keep all aspects of their business in order with tools that are easy to use, reliable, and comprehensive," she said.
Intuit Construction Solutions
Intuit® Master BuilderTM is a powerful, comprehensive construction business management solution. The package provides integrated estimating, project management, accounting and analysis, as well as deep functionality in construction specific areas, including certified and union payroll, service and equipment management, automated scheduling, and subcontract management.
In addition, Intuit offers construction versions of QuickBooks®, the best-selling business financial software for small businesses. QuickBooks: Premier Contractor Edition 2004 and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions: Contractor Edition offer the ease-of-use features of the popular-selling QuickBooks software solution, custom-built to help contractor firms manage their businesses more effectively. Intuit also offers contractors a range of integrated payroll and human resources support services, from do-it-yourself options to complete turnkey solutions.
More information on Intuit Master Builder is available at http://masterbuilder.intuit.com. For more information on QuickBooks: Contractor Editions visit www.usequickbooks.com/contractor.
