iQ

iQ has been part of the higher education ecosystem for ten years, providing 28,000 students from all over the globe a truly exceptional accommodation experience at 66 sites across 27 UK towns and cities.

They were looking for a deeper understanding of students’ hierarchy of needs, so that they could build a truly irresistible customer experience, allowing them to deliver ‘the best year yet’ for their customers.

We carried out extensive research speaking to iQ staff, under-graduate and post-graduate students (both domestic and international) and their parents. We also engaged with prospective iQ students and those living in competitor accommodation to provide us with a more fully rounded view.

From the above insight we were able to not only determine the key drivers for students in their choice of accommodation but also map out their customer journey from the initial awareness of the various offerings right through to checking-out. This map gave us a clear picture of where the journey was falling down which we then used to highlight the 3 key pain points, which elements were simply ‘basics’ but needed to have the brand infused into them, and which were opportunities to become genuine ‘Brand Amplifiers’.

Fixing the key three pain points in the first year resulted in significant improvements in NPS, as well as boosting colleague engagement and satisfaction. With the addition of the Brand Amplifiers in years 2 and 3, iQ’s NPS and more importantly re-booking rate continued to rise to industry leading levels.

In February 2020, IQ was sold for an industry record £4.7bn.

• NPS at Move In improved by 12 points 2018 vs 2019
• NPS at Move Out improved by 30 points 2018 vs 2019
• Record re-booking rate
• Sold for £4.7bn in Feb 2020
• With the addition of the Brand Amplifiers in years 2 and 3, iQ’s NPS and more importantly re-booking rate continued to rise to industry leading levels