All Housing Associations aim to deliver the best possible service for their residents – from applications through to onboarding, rent payments and service delivery. But, for tenants, an excellent customer experience is now expected: indeed, many want a connection with their housing provider that goes beyond just a transactional relationship.
So, how can Housing Associations provide an outstanding renter experience and engage more with their tenants, while still delivering seamless day-to-day operations across multiple sites? We’ve explored three ways to elevate the customer experience of Housing Association tenants:
- Consider the whole tenant experience
For housing providers, delivering an excellent renter experience can be achieved through every interaction with residents – particularly by viewing the customer experience as a continuous, integrated journey rather than a series of disconnected interactions on any given day or week. Whether your tenants want to connect with you via phone, email, text or social media – (or all of the above!) – these conversations can inform future talks and decisions, so every interaction the resident has with your organisation feels seamless and valuable.
2. Make it personal
Personalising the tenant experience goes a long way to helping residents feel appreciated and recognised. By using data from past interactions and then offering tailored solutions, residents not only feel listened to, but service delivery is also made more efficient. Many tenants, for example, can now log maintenance and repair issues on an online portal. Using the data that is collected here in an email thanking the tenant for their feedback, and outlining how the problem will be resolved, not only reassures the resident that their issues are being handled – it also encourages them to report any other issues, should they occur, for mutual benefit.
3. Embrace new technology
For Housing Associations, one of the most significant benefits of increased digitalisation of service delivery is that tenants receive optimised, dynamic customer experiences. Take real-time resident support, for example, which can be achieved by implementing a chatbot or ‘virtual assistant’ on a portal or website. Artificial intelligence can decipher the ‘intent’ of any question incoming from tenants, and then serve back the appropriate answer based on previously answered questions. This type of technology not only helps residents get the answers they need, promptly, but the ease of using it also encourages them to monitor and flag any future maintenance issues. Not to mention this contributes to cheaper and faster fixes for housing management teams in the future!
Speaking of new technology and tenant interactions, our brand-new Interactive Digital Noticeboard is helping Housing Associations improve their renter experience too. Connected to our secure, remote online management system, housing managers can easily set up and send out multiple notices and announcements in minutes. Plus, its unique survey function empowers residents to share their feedback and thoughts in a user-friendly, convenient way. It’s the engaging alternative to the traditional bulletin board – without the easily lost paper flyers and time-intensive site visits.
Improving engagement for everyone
Meeting rising tenant expectations with an elevated renter experience is a top priority for many Housing Associations. By considering the entire customer journey, harnessing new technology and personalising tenant interactions, housing providers can improve engagement with residents and boost time and cost efficiencies. Don’t wait – enhance your residents’ customer experience today.
