PR April 2005

Focus on Four Main Factors According to a study of remodeling customers by GuildQuality, a firm that specializes in customer satisfaction research for the remodeling and home building industry, four key factors affect the customer experience above all others. "We found that when a customer has a bad experience or feels that the process wasn't easier than expected, the top four reasons they list...

Business owners are faced with information overload. How do we sort through all of it to find what we need to make our companies better.

Why me? What did I do to deserve this? Sometimes, as with accident or illness, these questions have no answers. But they're still worth asking after each business success or failure: Although life delivers unavoidable situations, luck is not a viable business strategy. Creating a steady stream of qualified leads and closing profitable jobs requires two things: providing products and services wo...

Several years ago, Jim and Ann McLaren watched a neighbor's house undergo an extensive renovation that included an addition. They liked what they saw, and when it came time to update their four-bedroom, three-bath, brick colonial home, the McLarens called Kirkwood, Mo.-based Riggs Design & Construction — the same company that had worked on the neighbor's project.

Kitchens and baths remain atop the list of rooms that homeowners nationwide most want to have remodeled. In some markets, owners are hiring remodeling professionals to make upgrades in these rooms about every 10 years. And it's not just a change in wall color, flooring, countertops or cabinetry — they're re-doing the entire room again.

The SoHo Collection, inspired by New York's SoHo village, features clean-lined one-, two-, and three-light vanity fixtures, two-light semi-flush and three-light foyer fixtures. Scrolled arms support stylized glass opal globes accented with a contemporary brushed nickel finish. 864/599-6000.

ROI: Return on investment. It's an important metric when gauging what to spend on advertising and marketing your business. It can be measured in sales and margin; it can also be measured — though not easily — in brand awareness. Some remodelers do primarily repeat and referral business and avoid advertising.

Remodeling homes and redesigning magazines might seem to be two completely dissimilar endeavors. In reality, however, there are a lot of similarities between renovating an existing home and revamping the content and design of a publication such as this. The first step in either instance is to define the needs and desires of the people who will be using the finished product.

We've all been there — forced to make amends or concessions with clients or subs for property damages that we knew predated our involvement. Hopefully, you've also witnessed the look of surprise that comes after producing a photo to demonstrate the preexisting nature of the damage and your innocence.

For centuries, people have been warming their homes — and their feet — with radiant floor heating. Warm, clean, and efficient, radiant floor heating is increasingly popular in new homes, but it remains a rarity in remodeling, as many contractors believe radiant heating is impractical to install in an existing home.