Q&A with Mary Kaye O’Brien, Zillow Group director of customer insights

Data means something different to everyone and every company, and it’s not always clear how to make it actionable.

But according to Mary Kaye O’Brien, Zillow Group’s director of customer insights, the key to turning data and insights into action is setting a clear objective — whether you’re looking to make sense of big data or thinking about your next resident satisfaction survey.

Mary Kaye is a founding member of the Zillow Group team dedicated to understanding consumers and customers so we can better serve them. The team talks with and gathers data from more than 100,000 customers and consumers every year. And that number is growing.

“Our mission is to bring power to the people,” Mary Kaye shared. “Empowering our customers through data is our reason for being. We do so much research because it lets us build the best products and shape the best consumer and customer experience. Insights gathering is part of our DNA.”

We recently chatted with Mary Kaye about how multifamily professionals can apply a similar mindset to data collection. Here’s what she had to say.

Zillow Group Rentals (ZGR): Tell us about the people you’re researching and trying to understand better.

Mary Kaye: In terms of rentals, we have two sets of customers. We have renters, and we have the professionals who manage the properties they want to live in. So what we’re really focused on is studying satisfaction in 360 degrees. What drives it? Why did someone like or dislike an interaction or an experience?

I love studying human behavior and learning why people do the things they do. And I love to help people understand how to interpret and apply data. To do that, we need to deeply understand our audiences and the interaction between them.

ZGR: Why is it important for property managers to gather feedback from renters and prospects?

Mary Kaye: Gathering feedback is important for every business. It’s too easy to rest on your laurels — especially when things are going well. But collecting feedback is not simply a matter of saying, “Let’s do a survey to get feedback.” That will come back to bite you.

You need to know why you’re gathering those insights and what you’re going to do with them. Otherwise, none of your data will be actionable. You’ll end up ticking off your residents because nothing will change.

ZGR: How do you decide why you’re going to do a survey?

Mary Kaye: The first step in any research or survey is to identify a specific objective. Be very clear: Why are you doing this, and what do you want to accomplish?

Let’s take an example. Say you noticed one of your properties started to have a much higher turnover compared to others in your portfolio. It’s basically a question of satisfaction — how satisfied are your renters?

Then, ask yourself, “What would I do if I understood my renter churn?” Be very clear about the objective. The objective can’t be “I’m going to do a tenant survey.” That’s not an objective — but understanding renter churn is.

Once you identify a clear objective — and a plan for what to do with the data once you’ve collected it — you can identify potential ways to gather insights into renter satisfaction.

ZGR: What’s the best way to start that process?

Mary Kaye: I encourage everyone to start with qualitative research before conducting any sort of quantitative. Zillow Group does this. Just go out and talk to people. It doesn’t have to be a lot — 20 or fewer. Ask them what they like, what they don’t like — and make sure to go beyond rent. Get them to talk with you about the building, the neighborhood, the staff.

After a few interviews, you’ll start to see patterns, which will help you identify key themes to investigate in a survey. Take what you learn from the qualitative research, and design the survey around it.

ZGR: Does conducting customer research cost a lot?

Mary Kaye: As long as you’re clear on your objectives, you can collect good data with a variety of survey tools, including Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey, which offer free versions. To get the best understanding, be prepared to go beyond the free version — but it doesn’t have to cost a lot to do that.

I always tell people the shorter the better when it comes to surveys, especially resident surveys. Start small. You’ll want to learn what things are more important and less important to customer satisfaction. And that’s how you prioritize what you focus on going forward, because you can’t do it all at once!

At some point, you should bring in a professional to help you with data analysis, whether that’s a brilliant intern or a highly paid consultant.

ZGR: OK, so now that you have data, how do you make it actionable?

Mary Kaye: If you clearly identified your objective (i.e., what you’re going to do with the data), making it actionable will automatically follow.

Never ask a question if you don’t know what you’re going to do with it later. Believe me, I’ve been guilty of it in my career. But you need to understand what you’re going to do with an answer — whether it’s good or bad. If you don’t know, don’t ask the question.

ZGR: We know ratings and reviews are a hot topic in the apartment industry. How can property managers use them to learn about their customers and prospects?

Mary Kaye: Review sites are certainly better than nothing. However, the problem is that they’re driven by consumers who are typically on two extremes — they either love you or hate you. It’s a biased sample.

Review sites can give you an idea of where to do more research if you notice a theme. But the best way to get information about your residents and prospects is to talk with them directly.