Ciptex will roll out a state-of-the-art multichannel digital contact centre solution tailored for Aster in a ground-breaking initiative. This venture marks a significant milestone as a first in the UK housing sector, setting a new standard for customer engagement.
Aster Group is a housing association which provides quality, affordable homes to thousands of people across the south of England and London. Its vision is that everyone has a home. Aster is committed to listening to and working with customers to make sure they receive a good service, first time.
The not-for-dividend business was established in 1990 and has £2.2 billion worth of social housing assets. The Group reinvests profits from open market sale and shared ownership to support the development of affordable homes. It owns and maintains over 36,000 homes and employs over 1,900 people. For more information, visit www.aster.co.uk.
Aster Group is committed to playing its part in tackling the housing shortage by delivering a wide range of housing options.
Aster is embracing Ciptex’s comprehensive, resident-centric engagement platforms, integrating voice recognition, chatbots, WhatsApp, SMS, video communication, and artificial intelligence. These technologies will enhance the contact centre’s ability to resolve issues promptly and efficiently. With a unified service approach, there are fewer transfers to operational teams and a greater emphasis on self-sufficiency through expanded digital channels.
Aster owns and manages over 36,000 homes in the south of England and London. Comprehensive research by Social Housing Strategy Forum indicates a substantial trend among Housing Associations, with 48% citing digital innovation in their contact centres as a top priority. In alignment with this insight, Aster digital strategy is sharply focused on elevating the customer journey. By introducing flexible self-service options and expanding their online customer hub, they are streamlining processes to make accessing services easier for customers.
“This strategic move is designed to accelerate service provision for our customers. The transformation will empower customers by enhancing our capacity to handle a greater volume of inquiries by leveraging automation and new communication channels. These innovations will enable our frontline staff to address a wider array of housing and repair issues and improve first-contact issue resolution and provide a proactive, not reactive customer experience.
We wanted a partner, we don’t want a supplier and Ciptex fits the bill. We want a global partner that has a backing with Twilio products, plus product development to help us utilise Ciptex and get the most out of the platform. We’re looking to grow and develop the product moving forward, mirroring our own growth and development ambitions.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with Aster Group launching our world-class omnichannel customer experience services to the UK housing sector.
Our digital approach using a cloud-based platform offers numerous benefits for social housing organisations required to comply with government legislation, enhancing customer services and streamlining operations.
By providing a variety of communication channels, including phone, email, web chat, and WhatsApp, customers can easily contact their housing provider on their preferred channel. This approach offers increased accessibility and transparency; additionally, cloud-based omnichannel solutions enable secure, compliant data storage and monitoring for social landlords, ensuring that sensitive customer information is protected.”