Housing Providers Find Customer Knowledge Drives Costs Down and Service Up
A new practical guide launched this week shows how all housing providers can use demographic and behavioural information on their customers and residents to give a better, more tailored and cost-effective service. *ENDS* (Issued on behalf of the CIH by Jill Dwyer, CIH Notes to Editors: 1. The CIH Good Practice Briefing on 2. The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is the professional body for people involved in housing and communities. We are a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation. We have a diverse and growing membership of over 20,000 – both in the public and private sectors – living and working in over 20 countries on five continents across the world. Our members work for local authorities, housing associations, Arms Length Management Organisations, Government bodies, educational establishments and the private sector. Many tenants and residents are also members. We exist to maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the wellbeing of communities. Further information is available at: www.cih.org
The new Good Practice Briefing on
Benefits can include the freeing up of resources and management time to spend on services that customers actually want; ensuring that customers can access services at a time and in a way that suits their lifestyle - so increasing choice and participation; and the introduction of effective ways of identifying and working with resource and cost-intensive groups of customers in order to improve outcomes and reduce inefficiencies.
Sarah Webb, CIH Chief Executive, said: “Housing providers really need to use customer information better, rather in the way retailers and other private sector companies do. Most housing organisations know a great deal about their customers’ demographics, needs and behaviours, and the more they use that knowledge, the more they can react to those needs and behaviours and deliver a better and more responsive service.
“Making the most of this customer insight is critical if housing providers are to tailor their services effectively for their different residents. This is equally important whether you are supporting people to explore home ownership options or supporting them into employment or training."
Andrew Gray, Managing Director of ConsultCIH, said: “ConsultCIH is delighted to be working with organisations to help introduce customer insight to improve services. Customer insight can be used to improve all aspects of performance from income management to strategic investment. Understanding not just who customers are but how they behave is vital to being a successful organisation.”
