Hightown Housing Association: Quantitative Customer Research
Background & Context
Hightown Housing Association commissioned M·E·L Research to undertake an independent programme of customer research to inform the development of its emerging corporate and customer strategies. The organisation wanted a robust evidence base showing whether its proposed strategic direction reflected the priorities and expectations of its customers.
The research explored what customers wanted Hightown to prioritise over the coming years, both in relation to its core role as a housing provider and its wider contribution to communities. It covered priorities for homes and neighbourhoods, expectations of customer service, preferred communication channels, the role Hightown should play in supporting customers and communities, appetite for resident involvement, and preferences around investment beyond core housing services.
A key requirement was to ensure that the findings reflected Hightown’s overall customer population rather than simply the profile of customers who chose to respond. The research therefore needed sufficient scale and a robust approach to weighting, while also giving customers opportunities to provide more detailed feedback in their own words and through supplementary engagement.
Approach
M·E·L Research delivered a mixed programme of quantitative customer research and additional customer engagement. The main survey generated 524 responses, providing findings accurate to approximately ±4.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The quantitative findings were supplemented by customer workshops and additional paper survey responses.
The research comprised:
Customer survey – 524 responses: The survey was distributed by email to 7,370 Hightown customers, supported by reminders and face-to-face engagement activity. Online responses and those gathered through in-person engagement were combined into a single dataset. The questionnaire examined customers’ strategic priorities, homes and neighbourhoods, expectations of Hightown services, preferred contact channels, support for customers and communities, resident voice and longer-term priorities. It also incorporated an open-ended question asking customers what single improvement Hightown should make and why, generating 418 responses for qualitative analysis.
Representative weighting and subgroup analysis: To ensure the results provided a representative strategic evidence base, M·E·L Research weighted the survey data by tenure type, property type and length of tenure, aligning the final results with Hightown’s overall customer population. Analysis also explored differences between customer groups, including tenure, age, gender, ethnicity, disability, economic activity, property type and length of tenancy. Statistically significant differences between groups were identified where relevant.
Customer workshops – five participants: Following the main survey, additional engagement was undertaken with customers at Alex Road/Queensway and Ardenham Lane. Two customers participated in the Alex Road/Queensway discussion and three customers took part at Ardenham Lane. These discussions explored customers’ future priorities, what constituted a good home and good service, their experiences of Hightown and areas where improvements could be made. The workshops provided additional qualitative context around issues including housing quality and safety, communication, supportive staff, wellbeing and the reliability of service delivery.
Additional customer feedback – four paper survey responses: Four additional paper surveys were received from customers in Shenley after the main consultation period had closed. Although not every question was completed, M·E·L Research reviewed the responses to identify consistent themes and considered these alongside the wider consultation findings.
The research design enabled Hightown to understand both the relative importance of different strategic options and the reasons behind customers’ priorities. Questions asked customers to make choices and trade-offs rather than simply indicate whether they supported individual ideas. This included selecting the biggest priorities for Hightown, identifying the improvements that would have the greatest impact, prioritising areas for additional investment and comparing preferred communication and involvement methods.
Analysis and Outputs
M·E·L Research analysed the quantitative survey data to establish overall customer priorities and identify meaningful differences between customer groups. Corrective weighting was applied before the final results were reported, ensuring that the findings reflected Hightown’s customer base across tenure, property type and length of tenancy.
The analysis provided Hightown with a clear hierarchy of customer priorities. For example, 59% identified keeping neighbourhoods and communal areas clean and safe as one of Hightown’s biggest priorities, while 56% selected safe, well-maintained homes and 51% a reliable repairs service. When customers considered which improvements would have the greatest positive impact on their experience, 50% selected cleaner and safer neighbourhoods and 43% faster repairs.
The work also provided practical insight into service design. Customers emphasised resolving issues quickly, taking ownership through to resolution and keeping them updated. The channel analysis demonstrated that telephone and email continued to have important roles depending on the purpose of the interaction, while the research into customer involvement found that surveys were by far the most commonly preferred method of participation.
M·E·L Research also analysed customers’ open-ended feedback thematically. The 418 responses to the question about the single improvement Hightown should make were grouped into themes, with repairs, maintenance and existing home quality emerging most strongly, followed by affordability, rent and service charges; communal areas and neighbourhood upkeep; communication and customer service; and anti-social behaviour, safety and security. Qualitative feedback from the supplementary workshops and paper responses was similarly reviewed to identify common themes and assess how these aligned with the main survey.
The findings were brought together in a strategic insight report presented in PowerPoint format, combining charts, subgroup analysis, interpretation and clear strategic implications. The report distilled the evidence into key messages for Hightown, providing a direct evidence base against which it could test its emerging corporate and customer strategies. It highlighted the importance customers placed on quality homes, dependable repairs, clean and safe neighbourhoods, accountable service delivery and maintaining accessible telephone and email channels alongside digital services.
Overall, the research gave Hightown a robust and representative customer evidence base to inform strategic decision-making. It enabled the organisation to understand where customers wanted resources and attention focused, how expectations differed between customer groups, and how customers wanted to communicate with and influence their landlord.
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