Housing Studies, Vol. 18, No. 1, 87–101, 2003 Achieving ‘Customer Focus’ in Private Housebuilding: Current Practice and Lessons from Other Industries JAMES BARLOW & RITSUKO OZAKI Imperial College London, Business School, London, UK [Paper first received 13 February 2002; in final form 1 August 2002] ABSTRACT Driven by government ambitions to improve the quality and cost of new housing, British private sector housebuilders are searching for ways to become more ‘customer focused’. However, concepts developed in other manufacturing and service sectors are being transferred into the housebuilding industry without fully understand- ing their implications. The paper explores the concept of ‘customer focus’, the ways it is being adopted in UK housebuilding and identifies structural barriers which have impeded its introduction. Conclusions are presented on the business strategies that need to be in place if the aspirations for a more customer-focused housebuilding industry are to be met. KEY WORDS: housebuilding industry, customer focus, customisation, brand loy- alty Introduction In a recent survey of 10 015 purchasers of new homes in the UK, only 18 per cent said they would recommend their housebuilder without being asked, and this proportion had declined from the previous year’s survey (Housing Forum, 2002). Moreover, only slightly more than half wanted to buy another new home. The UK’s housebuilding industry has long had an image problem, but its difficulties in satisfying its customers are now being exposed to greater public scrutiny than at any other time. The Housing Forum, the government sponsored body charged with stimulating performance improvement in housebuilding, is now publishing the results of its annual customer survey, with satisfaction ratings for individual housebuilders. This, together with pressure from more demanding purchasers, is driving the industry to make strenuous efforts to modernise itself. Improving the ‘customer focus’ of the industry has become something of a holy grail for housebuilders (Roy & Cochrane, 1999). This paper presents some findings from a three-year research programme on the UK housebuilding industry. The research team worked with a major UK private housing developer and a housing association, along with their supply chains, to research and introduce innovations designed to introduce product and process innovations into their businesses. Appendix 1 describes the research method. This paper covers one element of the research, how approaches to 0267-3037 Print/1466-1810 On-line/03/010087–15  2003 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/0267303032000076858