Online Communities With Tenants

Online Communities With Tenants

When a tenant satisfaction measure (TSM) survey or a transactional survey with social housing tenants identifies low satisfaction, more in-depth engagement is often required to identify the source of the dissatisfaction and the most effective corrective action.

Establishing and engaging with an online community of tenants is ideal for:

• Pinpointing weaknesses in service delivery/customer journeys
• Identifying gaps between service expectations and delivery processes and/or published service standards
• Exploring tenant priorities including possible tradeoffs within budget limitations
• Testing the likely impact and comprehension of landlord communications / publications.

What is an online community?

An online community is a purpose built, highly focused social media style engagement approach. 

• Customers with specific characteristics who can add insight into a research problem are recruited to share their views over a defined time period.
• M·E·L Research lead activities and discussions via innovative software that is user-friendly, engaging and ideal for collaboration and creativity.
• The activities are designed to add depth day by day, providing much more insight than a traditional focus group or interviews – as more time and space is available to develop thoughts and ideas.

The experience for community participants

The activities we can deploy to a community, are game-like to make the experience simple, engaging and fun. Creativity and collaboration are at the heart of this approach.

Participants log on and take part when it is most convenient for them. This flexibility makes it more inclusive for those who may typically be excluded from in-person sessions.

The community is fully moderated by the M·E·L Research team. Questions can be posed to individuals asking them to expand further and explain their point of view.

The insight we deliver to landlords

Depth of engagement: Using an online community approach gives us a significant amount of time with each participant. For example, 15 minutes of tasks per person per day for 5 days provides 75 minutes per participant. This delivers richer insight than a focus group approach.

Once the community is established there are multiple ways to collect insights (e.g. discussions, journaling, multimedia uploads) over an extended period, allowing for more reflective and thoughtful responses.

Multimedia integration: Participants can share photos, videos, and other media, providing richer context to their feedback. With permission, these can be shared in reporting to bring the voice of tenants directly to decision-makers.

Longitudinal Insights: Long term engagement with participants is possible, making it easier to track changes in attitudes or behaviours over time or after a policy intervention.

Increased anonymity and honesty: In allowing for private responses, this type of engagement can encourage more honest and open feedback on sensitive topics. In a focus group, individuals can be inhibited by group dynamics.

Flexibility and convenience:  Participants can log in and complete activities at their own convenience, making it easier to include people with busy schedules as opposed to limiting participation with set times.

Broader reach: Enables participation from a geographically diverse audience, as it’s entirely online. This also allows participation from people with accessibility needs or long-term health conditions. And it removes travel costs for participants and moderators.

Get in Touch

Discover how our Online Communities with Tenants services can empower your decision-making and enhance tenant satisfaction. Contact us today to discuss your specific needs and learn more about our tailored solutions.

For any enquires about collecting and using Online Communities with Tenants please contact us directly.