CUSTOMER PROFILE
Preferred Apartment Communities responded to an executive directive by pioneering the use of Net Promoter Score (NPS) in its industry. NPS through NiCE CXone Feedback Management provides superior and more actionable insights compared to the previous survey instrument.
01 THE BEFORE
A survey in name only
Preferred Apartment Communities (PAC) owns and operates over 12,000 residential units and wants each resident to be satisfied. PAC implemented a survey program but the depth and value of data it obtained was very limited. “We were essentially just checking a box,” said Maegan Taylor, director of market intelligence at Preferred Apartment Communities. “We could see some areas where we could improve, but it didn’t have the functionality and innovation we were looking for.”
The surveys provided a very limited understanding of how residents felt about the level of service they received, and even less insight into their expectations or priorities. “If we don’t handle our customer service programs properly, it doesn’t matter how beautiful our properties are, people are not going to stay,” said Kim Hodge, chief property management officer for PAC.
02 DESIRE TO CHANGE
Net Promoter Score: A CEO priority
PAC’s previous surveys offered unweighted data collected at any and all points during the relationship lifecycle. With no consistency and limited insights, the survey data offered little direction for improvements. And because the data was so heterogeneous, PAC couldn’t use it to make informed comparisons across properties and property managers.
Joel Murphy, PAC’s CEO became interested in Net Promoter Score (NPS) and tasked Hodge with further research into NPS methodology and identifying the best use case for the multifamily property management industry. PAC’s research found that none of its peers had yet created a custom program with NPS methodology, further fueling the push to lead with this innovation. Understanding that a resident’s likelihood to recommend would correlate strongly with a desire to remain a resident is one of the most valuable insights a company like PAC can collect. “Renewals are key in our business. The happier our clients are, the more renewals we are going to get, and the lower our make- ready expenses are because we don’t have to take time for move-out and readying units again,” Hodge said.
03 THE SOLUTION
Pairing with a leader
PAC decided on NiCE CXone Feedback Management because it wanted a solution with pioneering NPS methodology at its core, and which offered the platform functionality, data analytics, and quality control the company sought. Working with NiCE, PAC created a yearly relationship survey to be sent to all residents 120 days before their lease expires. The survey assesses a resident’s experience living at a PAC community, interaction with the on-site team, and their recommendations. The proximity to lease expiration was chosen as a potential inflection point in the relationship and to make results consistent and comparable across residents.
NPS surveys went live in July 2021, starting as a three- site pilot but quickly growing across the PAC portfolio. Contacts are sent daily with collection and reporting also available each day. The insights are delivered to PAC’s general managers, assistant managers, vice presidents, and executives. A typical resident-facing manager engages with NPS content every day. To keep PAC’s progress in broad perspective, internal competitive reports are sent out monthly so teams can understand their performance with residents compared to similar properties operated by PAC.
04 THE RESULTS
Building lasting resident relationships
With NPS data flowing daily, PAC now drills into root causes for resident issues and takes corrective action. This not only addresses immediate issues but adds a secondary benefit: PAC properties have been receiving higher ratings on Google since NPS launch, and views arriving through Google are up as well.
This aligns with PAC’s internal analysis showing that overall resident satisfaction as well as renewal rates are up over baseline since the start of the NPS program. Because a residence is by definition personal, PAC believes that the NPS ratings given by residents are closely aligned with their true feelings. “With residents, it’s not a singular transaction that we have with them where they purchase something and then we’re done, they receive customer service 24/7, interacting with the amenities, the grounds, maintenance staff, or office staff every single day,” Taylor said.
Quarterly and yearly NPS results are compiled and applied to capital project recommendations. Monthly reports are prepared for General Managers, Area Vice Presidents, and the Executive Management team to provide a deeper understanding of each property and portfolio, as well as a new metric for the company’s overall direction.
05 THE FUTURE
NPS-driven investment in people and property
PAC plans to find additional ways to apply NPS trends and discoveries to the company’s ongoing property investment and development plans. Investment in human capital will also be guided by NPS, as the company intends to link the scores to its monthly, quarterly, and annual bonus programs. NPS data will also be offered to a wider pool of employees, and will soon be rolled out to all of the members of PAC’s client services team.
