How System Pavers combines innovation and experience to enhance outdoor living
As the nation’s leading outdoor remodeling company, System Pavers has been helping homeowners transform their outdoor spaces for more than 30 years. It was initially drawn to paving stones, as these ensured every project would have strength, durability, and lasting beauty. Over the years, the company’s services have expanded to encompass a wide array of enduring outdoor living solutions.
Brent Schaefer, the company’s Chief Growth Officer outlines this expansion. “Over 30 years, we’ve become the largest residential outdoor living remodeling company in the United States. We started in paver patios, walkways, and driveways. Over time we expanded our offerings to include artificial turf, outdoor kitchens, pergolas, water features, landscape lighting, fire pits, and more. More recently, our company expanded into composite decking, which is a product our clients frequently ask about and an exciting growth avenue for us.” 
On top of the craftsmanship System Pavers provides, the business also utilizes an innovative approach to customer service. Brent explains: “The first step of the process is meeting with our homeowners for a complimentary in-home design consultation. If our client knows exactly what they want, then that’s great. We can help select the right materials, and the colors, and we have visualization tools, which will bring their project to life. More often than not, homeowners turn to us for advice on how to design their space. Our experienced design consultants invest the time required to understand our client’s unique needs and how they would like to use their spaces. We can then create a custom design specific to them so they can get the most out of their outdoors.
Brent continues: “In addition to industry-leading workmanship warranties on our products, our clients have access to a customer portal, which provides real-time updates on the status of their project, contract details for our team members, and warranty information. Good communication is an essential part of any home remodeling project, which we take very seriously here at System Pavers.”
Effortless experience
Cassi Hallam, System Pavers’ Chief Marketing Officer expounds on the role technology plays in this process. “Investing in advanced visualization software has really transformed the customer experience. Not only does it help clients lay out exactly the products and layout they want, but it also saves money and time on both sides. Building something and then tweaking afterwards always requires more work, more resources, and more time.
“From our side,” Cassi continues, “technology also streamlines local coordination, keeping different elements of a project all moving forwards at the right pace. Doing a large outdoor living project for example, might require working with HOAs, city and local permitting, supply chain logistics, and coordinating work crews. So, making sure everyone is working together, in sync, is crucial. Our goal is to provide the customer an experience that feels effortless on their end.”
Cassi goes on: “As a company that has been in business for over three decades, and completed over 90,000 projects, people place their trust in us. Our homes are huge investments, and people have to know that they are in good hands. We can stand behind our warranties because we maintain the highest standards, which helps to further foster that trust. We’re skilled at listening, keeping communication lines open, and coordinating very complex projects, ensuring our clients have the best possible experiences.”
Leadership Launchpad
System Pavers’ passion runs deep. Cassi expands on this: “2020 reminded all of us how significant the health and mental benefits of spending time outside can be. It’s about more than just creating a beautiful feature or transforming the look of a backyard; it’s about giving customers something that can drastically improve their lives. Having a space to be able to spend time outside with loved ones creating memories is essential. Whether it’s having a quiet, tranquil space to get some daily sun and center yourself, or a kitchen to gather round with the family, we are a strong proponent for better outdoor living because we know how much it can elevate everyday experiences.”
In a business where quality craftsmanship and a positive client experience is critical, developing the right people to represent your brand is important. Brent expands: “As a company that’s continuously growing, we have many leadership opportunities arise across our footprint. Talent development to give our tenured team members career growth opportunities is an internal priority.”
“It became really evident at our sales summit last year how much this energizes the whole company. With new branches opening, people can see how many opportunities are popping up, ones that dovetail into career goals as they are ready to take the next step and move or progress,” Cassi adds.
Brent continues: “This is up and down the whole organization. Whenever we open a new branch, we need leadership across all the departments, whether that’s sales, construction, operations, marketing, or regional managers. We prefer to fill these roles through internal promotions, which excites people across the organization when an opportunity arises. We’ve created internal training programs such as the Leadership Launchpad which takes people through a journey of leadership and management training to prepare them for their new challenges. This not only makes sense for us as a business, but it also helps reaffirm that trust that customers have in us. We can offer our services confidently knowing that even when a brand-new branch opens, it’s filled with an experienced team who can deliver work in line with our customers’ expectations.”
The strategy of internal promotion works hand in hand with the company’s ambitious expansion plans for the coming years. Brent outlines this upcoming phase: “We are excited to continue investing in technology and people to keep improving the customer experience, while also investing in new regions and expanding on a national scale. Having recently launched new branches in Las Vegas, Houston, and Phoenix, we are also in the process of preparing for our East Coast expansion.”