Want to be a leader in your marketplace? Then you must invest in customer experience, period. Investing in customer experience guarantees a positive ROI.

Why is the customer experience so important to invest in these days?

Well, with the amount of competition in every industry and time becoming more and more valuable, the focus is no longer around a quick sell – it’s all about creating a strong base for customer retention. Think about customer retention as if it were a vehicle: if you want to keep it running for longer, you stick to filling it with premium fuel. An excellent customer experience is the premium fuel for keeping customers loyal, and improving your overall business.

For management companies specifically, customer experience should be the number one priority, as you are providing a service. A lot of organization and attention to detail is required when managing community and homeowners associations, and it is easy to let things slip through the cracks. These days, there are technological tools readily available to prevent just that from happening.

What exactly is customer experience, and in what ways can you improve it?

Customer experience goes beyond the surface level of the service you provide. It’s taking ownership of ensuring a customer’s happiness, exceeding standards, and should minimize the amount of time spent on providing support – allowing the customer to make the most out of what you offer. When a new homeowner or resident moves into your community, their experience doesn’t end after you send them a welcome letter. A relationship has been established, and it is up to you to keep that relationship healthy and fulfilled.

Regular communication is a great way to maintain every relationship. This makes your homeowners and residents feel like more than just a number, and it opens the door to receiving feedback (good or bad). There are many forms of “checking in” with your customers. Phone calls, emails, in-app chats, or even just a general update can loop them back into recognizing your superb services.

Why does customer experience matter?

Let’s get real – smart business decisions are made by using actual data, not by just going with your “gut feeling”. Peter Kriss (Harvard Business Review) discusses The Value of Customer Experience, Quantified and includes this very convincing data:

It’s clear as day that customers who have a better experience are more likely to stick around and be loyal to your business. And in the case of community associations and HOA’s, it may help you retain management contracts longer, with less turmoil.

It’s more expensive to acquire new customers than retain the ones you already have.

Companies are hesitating to spend the dough required for customer experience because they don’t believe it’s worth the investment. On the contrary, the cost of acquiring new customers can add up to be quite an expensive bill, especially with failed marketing strategy, versus being proactive in the experience post-sale. In fact, various sources of data show that it can be up to 30% more expensive to obtain new customers. Think ahead, and understand investing in customer experience is a necessary investment that will only benefit your company in the long run.

So, how exactly can HOA Management Companies retain customers longer with customer experience?

1. Proactive Support
   1. Send out regular messages to your community members to stay transparent
   2. Provide quick response times to support requests
   3. Ensure quality support with knowledgeable support specialists
2. Utilize Multiple Communication Channels
   1. Get on social media – everyone’s doing it
   2. Keep all windows of communication open and flowing
   3. Give your customer an easy way to reach you, such as live chat on your website
3. Be where your customers are – online
   1. Embrace technological tools
   2. Create an online presence for each of your communities
   3. Leverage technology for immediate distribution and on-time messaging

Customer experience is key to a positive ROI.

If you want your business to become more profitable, make customer experience a top priority. Companies that make customer experience their top priority will see higher return from customers they have, more so than the customers they might acquire. Building relationships with your customers goes beyond positive ROI, as a happy customer can be your number one marketing tool!