Customer success story

City Homes: How one luxury home builder uses tech to win client’s trust


Trust in the construction industry is essential. See how this company uses the Customer Portal to sell jobs and increase referrals.

Success story: Maintaining transparency through construction management software

Rebecca Remick seized the opportunity of an economic downturn to invest in land in 2008. She started City Homes in Edina, Minn., as a speculative home builder, and today, her team builds around 15 custom homes a year ranging upward of $1.2 million each.

With continued growth, Rebecca knew they needed processes that would make it easier to manage their work with subcontractors. But once the City Homes team started using Buildertrend’s construction management software, they experienced the advantages of using the platform in its entirety.

“We first started using Buildertrend as a way for our subs to submit bids and see when they were scheduled on the calendar,” Rebecca said. “We then went into using the Budget and Purchase Orders, and now, we’re fully using the platform.”

Once their processes were set up, Rebecca and her team continued to see great success in their business – especially when it came to securing the trust of their clients.

Industry

Custom Homes

Location

Edina, Minn.

Established

2008

Winning solution

Customer Portal

Their story: Woman-owned business changing the construction standard

City Homes is a woman-owned business with a talented group of experts who take pride in bringing creative ideas to the table. Their creativity and dedication power their work, helping their clients receive a home designed and built to make their dreams a reality.

Rebecca and her team of architects, designers, engineers and craftsmen ensure that attention to detail, quality finishes and functional design are top of mind in every home they touch. Rebecca also makes it a point to give women a front row seat.

“Women are generally making the majority of the decisions when it comes to what will be in the home,” Rebecca said. “As a woman myself, I make sure to give women a voice in the process.”

These Twin Cities custom home builders continually strive to create a new industry standard across the board. They believe in building trust with clients, fostering subcontractor relationships and providing quality service with the best overall value.

Three story home featuring a glistening pool
Custom home by City Homes

Their goal: Build trust through clear and constant communication

Rebecca’s initial goal when signing up for Buildertrend was to create a streamlined process for subcontractor bids and scheduling. Only after taking time to set up all their processes within the platform, the City Homes team realized the full potential and added efficiency offered by the construction software.

“It takes time to get in there and make it work for you and how you run your business,” Rebecca said. “But if you can spend the time and do it, in the end it’s going to make you more efficient and a better business.”

With faster workflows and increased organization, City Homes soon capitalized on Buildertrend’s Customer Portal in their company quest to secure and maintain client trust.

Interior modern kitchen with homely fixtures and clean clean counter tops
Custom home kitchen by City Homes

Their solution: Giving clients access to their construction project

“Clients like to have all the information, especially with the horror stories that are out there,” Rebecca said. “Buildertrend has helped us with that next level of communication and building trust with our clients.”

Forming trust with clients is all about transparency, and that’s why the City Homes team hides nothing. They allow their clients to have full access to their project information within the Customer Portal.

“We don’t hide anything in Buildertrend,” Rebecca said. “And giving our clients access to their account creates more trust because they know they’re seeing everything. Our clients like having the ability to view their projects every day with Daily Logs. They can also view their selections, budget and the schedule.”

Not only do their clients have complete access to their projects through Buildertrend, but they also attend weekly meetings to ensure they understand everything and there are no discrepancies.

Rebecca and her team use Buildertrend to guide these weekly meetings. This ensures clients are seeing their selections and change orders laid out before signing off – giving them peace of mind.

“They know that nothing’s going to be done unless they’re signing off on it,” Rebecca said.

Transparency, open communication and documentation are essential for keeping everyone on the same page during projects that are completed over the span of several months. Some builders promise to be done in nine months and end up taking over a year. At City Homes, they keep their clients informed of any delays, and they get builds done on time with Buildertrend’s help.

“With Buildertrend, we’re tracking the schedule and going through it every week, so they’re going to know if a delay is weather-related or something else,” Rebecca said. “But it’s not going to be because we’re not paying attention to their project.”

Rebecca recognized that building this trust not only creates loyalty with their current clients, but it also helps to ensure their referrals.

“We need people’s referrals,” she said. “Even if they don’t ever build again, I really want them to refer us. When they have a friend or family member who’s going to build, they’ll say, ‘Use City Homes.’”

And because of the success they’re seeing with the use of the Customer Portal, it’s no surprise that they’ve made it part of their sales pitch as well.

“In every sales meeting, we pull up Buildertrend to show clients how we build and what access they’ll have to see things,” Rebecca said. “It’s an important sales tool for us.”

quotes
I think people find a level of comfort knowing they’ll be able to have access to all of the information through Buildertrend
Rebecca Remick, co-owner and chief operating officer

Custom kitchen by City Homes

Their success: Better client relationships and more sales

Rebecca and her team set themselves apart from other builders by using Buildertrend to communicate openly and establish trust right from the start. But does she think it helps them make more sales?

“Yep, I do,” Rebecca said. “You often hear about people not knowing what was being selected or how things just show up unexpectedly. Trust is just so huge in this industry, and I think people find a level of comfort knowing that they’ll be able to have access to all of the information provided through Buildertrend.”

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