"Like an Online Review on Steroids"

Remodelers luv Houzz. At least that's the sense from many of the remodelers I speak with.

(Ummm, what's Houzz? It's not too late to get on board. Here are two d5R articles providing an overview: Remodelers on Houzz: a "Case" Study. Also: Houzz Party, Remodelrrss Invited.)

This week the site has awarded its 2013 "Best of Houzz" awards to some of the many thousands of contractors that have profiles on the site. One winner is Renewal Design Build of Atlanta, which won two awards, for design and customer satisfaction. Here's a screenshot of the company's Houzz profile.


Peter Michelson, Renewal's CEO (and also featured in this d5R article about online reviews), sent me this email last evening:

In many ways these two awards are like an online review on steroids. It's Lance Armstrong in his prime! Now don't quote me out of context, but if you think about it, winning this award is a highly respected third party that is heavily followed saying:  "You guys rock!" So I am absolutely thrilled to have my amazing team recognized for their excellence in design, craftsmanship, and customer service. 

We have been using Houzz for at least two years.  We direct almost every one of our clients to the site to create and share an inspiration book.  This allows our designers to understand and appreciate our clients' sense of aesthetics.  Conversely, our designers also create inspiration books to share ideas with clients, to ensure during the design and selections process that we are all in alignment.

As a business owner, I am deeply awed and inspired by the brilliance of the Houzz.com site. They have monetized an idea that is a free service to both consumers and professionals. They have found a way to motivate thousands of builders and designers to spend large sums of money (we spend about $1,000/project) on gorgeous architectural photography, upload it to the sight, and remain engaged with the general public. I was at a Houzz event last month in ATL. The room was packed with designers and builders, all begging to offer high quality content to the site with the hopes of using it as lead generation. What they have created is profound.  Truly brilliant.

What about the rest of you, remodelers? Do you have a profile on Houzz?



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