“General needs” is a phrase the housing sector has used for decades. But does it still accurately describe the customer? That question emerged during our recent Neemar Communities Breakfast in Liverpool, where senior housing leaders were discussing whether traditional service models are changing quickly enough.
The examples shared around the tables were striking. Leaders talked about increasing levels of mental ill health, vulnerability, homelessness and additional support needs. In one organisation, around 70% of customers were described as having some form of additional need. Another leader working in London said around 70% of their new lettings were coming through homelessness services.
These were individual organisational experiences, not sector-wide statistics, but the direction of the conversation was consistent. The customer traditionally described as “general needs” is becoming increasingly difficult to define, and if the customer has changed, what else needs to change?
If customer complexity is becoming the norm rather than the exception, should services still be designed around an assumed ‘general’ customer with additional needs treated as the variation?
The response might be greater personalisation and dedicated time to understanding more about each customer to shape services around their individual circumstances. But the Liverpool conversation highlighted the tension this might create.
- How much does an organisation need to know about somebody to provide the right service?
- When does useful information become intrusive?
- Do customers actually want a highly personalised relationship with their landlord, or do many simply want a service that is reliable, accessible and easy to navigate?
- And how far can services be personalised while remaining consistent and deliverable at scale?
Greater customer complexity doesn't automatically mean greater personalisation is the answer. It’s consistency, reliability, speed, safety and fairness that matter. The challenge is understanding where a different response genuinely improves an outcome and where it simply creates additional complexity.
An ageing population, changing patterns of disability, different expectations of technology and increasing complexity of need could all influence what customers expect from housing. At the same time, younger customers may arrive with very different expectations around digital services, communication and connected homes.
How confident are organisations that understand how their customer base is changing? Do boards need to know the circumstances of every individual customer?
There will always be customers who require relatively little support from their landlord beyond a good home and a reliable service, so declaring the end of general needs is probably a premature leap. The question to consider is more likey to be: “what will todays customer need tomorrow?”.
If the definition of the customer is changing, how much of the organisation needs to change with it?
This article draws on themes discussed at a recent Neemar Communities Breakfast, bringing together senior leaders from across the social housing sector. Read the full report.
