Exterior Inc.

– Part C1

In January 2015, Mike Montgomery announced a partnership with all of Exterior Inc.’s
major distributors, rolling out a mix of technology and teamwork to “ensure that all
custom-home builders would obtain a no-defect shingle within 10 business days of
ordering along with referrals to at least three roofing subcontractors trained by Exterior
Inc.”

To measure progress, Exterior Inc.:

 Started to track the average number of days it took to deliver each batch of roofing
material to the distributor’s warehouse.
 Invested in a national database that linked to an automated system that:
o Referred a custom-home builder to the three most geographically proximal
certified roofing subcontractors within 2 business days of confirming the order
placed by the custom-home builder.
o Followed through by phone with the custom-home builder to verify the chosen
roofing subcontractor within 48 hours.
o Connected the distributor and chosen roofing subcontractor and ensured that the
distributor delivered the materials to the home location by the roofing
subcontractor’s chosen date.
 Rated the distributors on the number of days it took them to deliver products to the
chosen roofing subcontractors. The ratings were input in the national database.
 Rated the roofing subcontractors on the number of days it took them to finalize
installation and obtain a no-defect signature from the custom-home builder.
 Obtained custom-home builders’ satisfaction with the installation process within 4
weeks of the completion of the installation. This was done through a customer
research company.

Exterior Inc. hired 50 service-support managers distributed throughout the USA to help
gather, process, and share feedback on delivery speed, installation speed, and
installation quality. For each job, Exterior Inc. collected metrics on the speed and quality
of work performed and maintained a database of roofing subcontractors for referral. It
also developed and sponsored a two-day training session for distributors to share best
practices in delivery processes and installation services. The seminar sought to
standardize and systematize success stories from the top-performing distributors.

In June 2017, Exterior Inc. conducted a follow-up study to measure progress. Results
showed that overall customer satisfaction increased from an average of 5.8 to 6.5.

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Authorized to be used in Marketing Management-II-DHM- II [PGP], ISB Hyderabad, Prof. Kiran Pedada & Prof. Rajdeep Grewal Jul 26 - Aug 28, 2021
 Currently, installation process remains the focus for Exterior Inc.’s efforts among
managers at all levels, from frontline managers, to vice presidents, empowered with and
rewarded for maintaining industry-leading service processes.

“In a way, we are glad we faced the crossroads. I am very proud of our ability to narrow
down and focus on what customers really wanted,” said Montgomery of the 2014-2016
initiatives. Today, Exterior Inc. is in a much better place. New customer acquisitions are
up by 13%, and sales is up by 18% from December 2014. With gross margins improving
by .5%, profitability has surged.

Table 1. Customer Survey Results (2014 and 2017)

Strategic Area Overall Customer Overall Customer

Satisfaction (2014)* Satisfaction (2017)**

Pricing 5.6 5.8

Product life expectancy 5.5 5.9
Product looks 4.5 4.7
No-defect installation 5.2 6.4
Speed of installation 5.1 6.1
OVERALL SATISFACTION 5.8 6.5
*N=486 roofing contractors, 1=Extremely dissatisfied, 7=Extremely Satisfied
**N=509 roofing contractors, 1=Extremely dissatisfied, 7=Extremely Satisfied

Authorized to be used in Marketing Management-II-DHM- II [PGP], ISB Hyderabad, Prof. Kiran Pedada & Prof. Rajdeep Grewal Jul 26 - Aug 28, 2021