Taking a customer-centric approach with tenant experience software

As with any business, increasing customer satisfaction is important. But being “customer-centric” isn’t just about providing better experiences for your customers; it’s also about ensuring your goals are met, too. 

United Living Property Services (ULPS) was on a mission to do both. The U.K. housing association uses Oneserve for managing responsive repairs — covering some 40,000 and 160,000 appointments every year — and was finding that it needed to optimise its tenant experience strategy to better serve customers, staff, and the association as a whole.

ULPS partnered with Localz to integrate the platform with Oneserve, find and address key areas of improvement, and enhance customer engagement in one fell swoop. 

Here’s how ULPS used Localz’ software for property maintenance companies to benefit customers and staff alike. 

Crafting the ultimate tenant experience strategy

ULPS was at a crossroads. Its research found that no-access appointments were costing up to £50 per appointment and that a significant number of the calls it received were related to upcoming appointments or when an operative would arrive. 

It was clear that without responsive repairs, these inefficiencies would lead to lost revenue and upset customers. 

To facilitate a better customer experience, save on operations, create more accessibility to appointment information, and reduce calls, ULPS decided it needed an upgraded tenant experience strategy. Incorporating a solution that provided appointment time updates akin to those often sent by couriers seemed the most effective route.

After a lengthy search, ULPS partnered with Localz to meet three key goals:

• Reduce the number of no access appointments.

• Reduce unwanted calls.

• Improve overall customer satisfaction.

Implementing a customer-centric approach with Localz

Localz jumped in with solutions tailored to ULPS’ pain points. By implementing customer notifications, two-way communication, and ETA tracking, ULPS offered its customers transparency into when an operative was on the way and would arrive at the appointment location, as well as the ability to provide helpful access information. 

These real-time appointment updates reduced no-access appointments by 45%, not only improving productivity for technicians and call centre staff; but also reducing associated re-work time like additional travel and contacting customers to rebook appointments.

Meanwhile, Localz was also helping ULPS upgrade its feedback system. Previously, the engineer assigned to an appointment was responsible for completing feedback on behalf of the tenant, but this method was unreliable and inaccurate. Localz implemented the Rate My Experience module, which auto-sends tenants a short survey via SMS at the close of their appointment. Now, ULPS feels confident that the customer feedback it receives is an accurate representation of satisfaction levels. Better yet, tenants feel heard, and engineers have one less job to do.

By integrating Localz’ tenant experience software, ULPS saw a 45% reduction in no-access appointments.

Focusing on customers with property management maintenance software 

By optimising its tenant experience strategy, ULPS saw tangible results — meeting its own goals and enhancing its focus on customers. 

In the housing industry, putting customers first is the key to creating authentic engagement and boosting your bottom line. And this is where Localz can help.

Partnering with Localz means you can prioritize your customers and reach your goals at the same time: We focus on providing the right information at the right time while increasing visibility and transparency for everyone. And we help you do this through property management maintenance software tools like:

• Automated appointment reminders. These decrease no-access appointments and reduce call centre volume by providing customers with the information they need in advance. And these messages can be triggered via geofencing, saving your engineers valuable time.
  
  
• Real-time ETA and service tracking. More than one-third of customers want to track their technician on a real-time map. Avoiding big, vague arrival windows not only reduces customer anxiety; it also reduces no-access appointments and “Where’s my technician?” chase calls, saving your business time and money.
  
  
• Two-way communication. When engineers have the information they need to get started — like gate codes and access information — you reduce idle time and increase productivity and efficiency. Two-way communication also meets customer engagement needs: 86% of customers say they want to talk to their tech on the day of service.
  
  
• Automated feedback requests post-appointment. Empower customers to provide their honest insights while the experience is still fresh in their minds. With automated feedback, there’s no pressure on your operatives to ask for feedback directly, and you can immediately tackle issues as they arise — and timely action is yet another way to stay customer-focused.
  
  

Partner with Localz for tenant experience software that works with you

Make the day of service awesome for tenants, and a breeze for your technicians. Through tools like ETA tracking, two-way communication, and real-time feedback, Localz can help you transform service and repair appointments into responsive, transparent experiences that increase customer engagement and meet your goals. Best of all, our solutions are easy to implement, integrate with your current technology, and can be tailored to your needs.