Icon Homes are the local knock down rebuild specialists on the Northern Beaches & North Shore of Sydney. They have spent the last 10 years building homes for over 300 families. Icon Homes pride themselves on their flexibility, communication and quality. So how does this unique builder use technology to soften the administrative workload and keep clients happy? Zach Ormaechea, Director at Icon Homes explains their strategy.
Why did Icon solutions choose Constructive Software as their Customer Experience Software?
“Constructive Software has a great reputation in the construction industry and was our first choice. Our Managing Director: Graeme Teale experienced the benefits of the Customer Portal at his previous residential building company Allworth Homes. At Icon Homes the customer experience is a key focus, and Graeme Teale therefore pioneered the implementation of Australia’s leading customer experience software to improve on the way we work with our customers from pre-start/colours phase through to ongoing warranty or defect management after handover. The Customer Portal and Maintenance programs are the most popular in this space.”
Why did Icon Homes need a customer experience software?
Icon homes is a Sydney-based builder that specialises in knock-downs and rebuilds on existing blocks. The challenge with this is that there are many moving pieces pertaining to approvals particularly on sloping blocks of land, surround by existing neighbourhoods. This pre-start/colours process is a large and crucial stage of our business. As most clients have not built a new home before, we rely on communication and education to retain customers and progress to the construction phase.”
What was it like implementing the Customer Portal Software within your company?
“The roll out was straight forward. The team at Constructive Software worked closely with our IT Manager to roll out the integration. Constructive made it easy for us as they simply integrated with our site and project management software On Site Companion so that we have software systems to improve process but just as importantly improve customer experience.” says Zach, Director at Icon Homes.”
How did your customers react to having a Customer Portal and Maintenance?
Access: “We were surprised by the good response from customers with over 60% registering their Customer Portal account within the first day, we are now at a 78% registration rate a few short weeks post go live, and are hopeful to achieve a minimum of 95%. This indicates to us that the customers appreciate this service, transparency, and accessibility we can provide them as their builder of choice.”
Transparency of actions: Constructive customer experience building software visually shows the customers where they are in their building journey. “This helps us as builders to keep customer satisfaction high as it helps manage their expectations”
Communication: “Even though we are still in the early stages of using the software programs from Constructive, the organised information sharing has reduced misunderstandings around the building steps in the pre-start and construction. It’s natural for new home build clients to think the process is shorter than it is in reality, so the software helps with the anticipation and expectations.”
More about Maintenance
What ‘Defect Management’ pain points did your residential building business have?
“The defect and warranty management process can get convoluted with the number of clients and ‘jobs’ at any given point. It’s also time consuming for multiple people to investigate the defect and grade the severity. Keeping customers happy can be tricky when post-inspection they’re informed the issue doesn’t qualify as a defect which a building company would resolve. If it is an important case to resolve, there is normally a lot of communication back and forth between trades, suppliers, and the customer which can be an admin burden when juggling multiple customer cases simultaneously.”
How has Constructive Software’s Maintenance program helped with defect and warranty’s post-handover?
“The software solution helps educate our customers, particularly the first-time new home builders, on what is considered a defect or not. It also helps guide them through warranty/defect eligibility and has reduced the inspection time, and the time taken to resolve the issue which is key in keeping our customers happy.”
5,500+ users trust Maintenance.
Smart logic and Task Grading functionality.
“A standout feature for us in the Maintenance program is the smart logic and grading functions, here’s why…”
Smart Logic: When a customer has an issue post-handover, they login to our company branded Maintenance software from anywhere at any time, then “they get taken through a series of questions that help identify whether the issue they are experiencing is considered a defect or not.” e.g. They log a case/job that there is a crack in the wall. The Maintenance software then asks questions like; Where is the crack, what type of crack (i.e. brickwork, paving) and please attach a photo, etc. If the customers answers indicate it is an acceptable defect job/case, it will proceed to allow them to complete the lodgement for our team to action and resolve. If the answers to the questions indicate that it is not considered a defect e.g. A mouldy shower causing leaks due to uncleanliness, the Maintenance software will notify and educate the customer that it is not considered or qualified as a ‘defect’ for the builder’s responsibility to action, and they can’t proceed further. But because we care about the client experience, even if they get to this stage, “the Maintenance program can be populated to show the client some home maintenance and care guide instructions to assist instead of logging a defect with the builder to rectify. The information is delivered as factual rather than opinion based which is good for our customer relationships.” confirms Zach, Director, Icon Homes.
Grading Functionality: “The Maintenance software saves our team heaps of time through its intelligent grading function (rules set by the builder). When our customer has logged a defect or warranty job/case, it grades the importance and urgency of the job.” E.g. a large crack in a loadbearing wall is a priority over a hairline crack in a kitchen island bench. This smart technology saves our team time from needing to do onsite inspections, and prioritising or grading the defects (with the help of our clients sharing information). “Additionally, the software allows us as the builder to request further information from the client about specific defects to assist with their prioritisation of that issue. i.e. an additional photo measuring the crack, or a photo of a serial number of an appliance so that we the builder can prepare a warranty claim with a supplier if required.” This therefore speeds up the process to act with booking in trades for a quicker solution for the customer. Maintaining a good customer experience with Constructive Software’s Maintenance program is easy. Our new customer experience Maintenance software reduces the need for time consuming inspections and unnecessary uncomfortable conversations that end up at the same conclusion. “This change in our process ensures a better customer experience, and staff experience all together.”
In today’s fast-paced residential home construction industry, finding ways to simplify processes while improving service is invaluable. Icon Homes NSW successful rollout of their Maintenance Portal proves that embracing digital solutions can deliver exactly that – creating happier clients and more efficient operations.
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