By putting tenants first, Stadlander scores a customer satisfaction rate of 7.7
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The housing association of today: with Einstein 1, Stadlander has a 360 customer view and personalised communications.
An 80% first-time resolution for tenants? Discover how Stadlander has modernised communications between tenants and landlords.
Stadlander is one such housing association, with 15,000 homes across West Brabant and Tholen. Its mission is for tenants to live comfortably, now and in the future. Employees across the organisation use Salesforce to efficiently do their jobs, from handling minor repair requests to assisting tenants with living arrangements.
The organisation has a diverse customer base with many different needs and communication preferences, so Stadlander took its contact centre omnichannel using Salesforce. Thanks to a 360-degree customer view and automated processes, tenant questions and requests can be handled smoothly, meaning that 70 to 80% of customer queries are answered the first time.
In addition, the team built a self-service portal on the Einstein 1 platform where tenants can view their contract and request repairs or new keys. As a result, customer satisfaction is between 7.5 and 8.
Good communication with tenants is essential. Creating a positive human experience is paramount for Stadlander. For example, if a tenant hasn’t paid their rent, the organisation sends a friendly email from Marketing Cloud first with a quick link and QR code they can use to pay, rather than less effective and inefficient letters and telephone calls. As a result, Stadlander now has to intervene less to ensure rent is paid.
In this story, we’ll take a closer look at how Stadlander is redefining the tenant-landlord relationship and getting more involved in the local community.
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Table of Contents
1.Getting to know tenants with a 360-degree customer view.
“We needed a flexible, integrated system with omnichannel capabilities to give tenants the same streamlined user experience, no matter how they choose to connect,” said Henk Stoutjesdijk, ICT Manager at Stadlander. “Whilst tenants increasingly expect digital services, it’s also important that we have a physical presence in the community and understand what’s happening locally.”
Stadlander centralised processes and visualised customer data on Salesforce, which Stoutjesdijk explained is “secure, flexible, and simple to integrate with other systems.”
Today, 100% of the workforce use Salesforce on a daily basis, resulting in a streamlined, consistent experience for everyone.
2.Digitalising the tenant experience and hitting a 7.7 customer satisfaction rating.
“We replaced a lot of paperwork and duplicated effort with a slick process in Salesforce,” said Eric Vermijs, Information and Functional Management Officer at Stadlander. “By integrating our ERP system with Salesforce, we’ve got full visibility of our real estate, tenant data, and processes in one place.”
For example, rental contracts are signed digitally and captured in Sales Cloud, and the tenant is guided through making their deposit and first rent payment. When handing over the keys to the new tenant, an area manager goes with them to answer their questions and take photos and an inventory of the property using the Salesforce mobile app.
From that point onwards, tenants have access to a self-service portal, built on Salesforce, to view their contract, get extra keys, give notice that they want to leave, or request a repair.
Stadlander closely monitors customer satisfaction to make sure it’s meeting tenant needs. It averages between 7.5 and 8 across repairs, the move-in process, and end of tenancy check out.
Results
7,7
customer
satisfaction rating
80%
first-time
resolution rate
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3. Faster repairs and an 80% first-time fix rate with smarter processes.
Customer service employees handle approximately 1,000 customer questions per week with help from the omnichannel contact center. Messages from Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp are picked up in two hours, whilst emails are responded to within three working days. Tenants can also get support face-to-face at a helpdesk in their neighbourhood. Stadlander is also considering rolling out a chatbot powered by Einstein to provide a real-time first-line response.
Cases are triaged and routed to the right person or dealt with by the responder. Thanks to Salesforce, first-time resolution rate is up to 80%.
4. Personalised payment reminders to collect missed rent.
To manage the issue with more compassion, Stadlander built a Marketing Cloud journey to chase up late payments with a friendly SMS reminder and a personalised smart link to pay through. This automated workflow is triggered if the correct payment isn’t received on time, saving a member of staff from checking payments manually.
“Instead of a formal attitude with impersonal letters, we give people an opportunity to pay and remind them if they’ve just forgotten,” explained Stoutjesdijk. “Next, we’ll schedule a colleague visit to check in. The bailiff is absolutely a last resort.”
5. Using real insights to address society’s most pressing challenges.
Smoother processes are essential to a tenant’s wellbeing, as well as to take the stress out of moving home, collecting rent, and repairs. Stadlander was keenly aware of economic and societal issues impacting tenants – such as soaring energy bills and the rising cost of living – and it needed real-world insights into how it could help.
As Vermijs explained, “Whilst Salesforce makes everyday processes easier, its real strength is in helping to anticipate issues relating to current affairs. For example, we built an app in a couple of days in response to the energy crisis. Staff use it when they visit tenants to look at where costs can be saved.”
The team received support from the Salesforce Premier Success team and partner, Appsolutely, to learn best practices, app development, and how to shape the platform to better serve low-income tenants.