Sales and Customer Care
Sales and
customer care
In more challenging market conditions sales and marketing becomes an increasingly important element of our business. The quality of our product and the standard of our customer care are essential to the success of our business.
Outlets
In the UK we reached our challenging target of having 500 active sales outlets by the end of 2007. Having a larger number of outlets gives us greater flexibility in the way in which we manage our business. In more subdued market conditions, having a larger number of outlets means that we can accept a lower sales rate at each outlet and therefore prioritise margin over volume. Having more outlets also gives us a greater degree of protection against the risk of planning delays on new outlets.
Dual branding
Operating with two core brands in the UK (Bryant Homes and George Wimpey) enables us to offer a wider choice to customers at our larger sites. It also enables us to use our land more efficiently, as we can build and sell homes more quickly on these sites once planning is obtained.
Quality
Quality is fundamental to everything we do and is essential for our reputation and our profitability. Moving home can be a stressful experience and the last thing that a customer wants is to move into a new home and discover a problem. It is also much cheaper to get something 'right first time' than to go back and rectify a fault.
Customer care
We aim to provide the highest levels of customer care. Following the merger we have reviewed the systems and processes in place in each of the legacy businesses to identify best practices for implementation during 2008.
In 2007, Monarch Homes was named the number one builder in terms of customer satisfaction in Ottawa, Canada, by the influential JD Power and Associates survey.
