Just-released questionnaire garners 200 quick replies
By Greg Ellison
(Sept. 30, 2021) The newly released Ocean Pines property owners’ survey is already producing a solid response, with more than 200 completed questionnaires returned by last week.
The Ocean Pines Strategic Planning Committee, which developed the 15-question survey, met last Thursday to review the early results and to discuss its next moves.
Committee Co-Chairman Bernie McGorry said the groups’ work with the survey would continue even though its distribution has been accomplished.
“I don’t want to rest on our laurels while the survey is out there,” he said.
Preparing the list of questions took under 60 days from the first draft to finished product. The survey was authorized by the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors on Sept. 15,
“We got everything done on time or before the time,” he said.
By comparison, McGorry said producing and publishing the last community survey, conducted in 2018, took organizers closer to a year.
“It does seem like it was six months but it was less than two,” he said. “There’s probably a mistake or two … but it’s 98 percent correct.”
McGorry said since the board signed off on the survey roughly a week earlier nearly 150 replies were turned in.
McGorry said the committee’s work on survey questions was conducted without any participation by the board.
“It was very easy to sit back and let you run with it,” said board liaison Colette Horn.
Pending publication efforts include the Ocean Pines Newsletter in October.
Marketing and Public Relations Director Josh Davis said the survey would be featured on the newsletter front cover with a phone-scan QR code.
“You can’t miss it,” he said.
McGorry said the first question covers property owner status.
“We want a mix of fulltime and part-time residents,” he said. “We will be able to separate answers from non-property owners,” he said.
In a similar vein, the second question delineates between waterfront lots and other properties.
Question three and 11 address satisfaction levels, with the first concerning overall resident happiness.
Based on early returns, McGorry said feedback has been largely positive.
“The numbers are pretty high in terms of satisfaction,” he said.
Question 11 is intended to determine the likelihood that residents will recommend Ocean Pines to friends or colleagues.
“This will be a benchmark,” he said.
The fifth question ranks overall satisfaction, which McGorry said would be used to establish where the community stands now versus its where it wants to be. An analysis of that data will allow to the committee and board to concentrate on areas that need more attention.
Question eight focuses on residents’ perceptions of overall value for association members based on annual fees.
“Pricing is always a tough question to ask when you’re doing market research because nobody is ever going to say, ‘No, I think you should charge more.’”
Ranking amenity use over the past six months and satisfaction levels is the topic of question nine.
“It will be interesting to see the level of satisfaction across the board,” he said.
Committee members Jenny Cropper-Rines and Rob Keesling said the amenity data would prove useful.
“We’ll get a feel for which ones are used more,” Keesling said.
Other questions involve what improvements might be needed in the future, residents’ age, gender and who currently resides at owners’ property.
McGorry said younger families have been well represented in early returns.
Although the survey has been released online, the committee is working on printing business cards with QR scan codes, with distribution of the cards expected the following week.
During the committee meeting on Sept. 23, a survey link was sent out via e-blast, which Davis reported boosted replies over the 200 mark by the conclusion of the groups’ discussion.
McGorry said a summary of the data would be presented during the next board meeting. The next Strategic Planning Committee meeting is scheduled Oct. 20 at 9 a.m.
“We’re off to a good start but we have a long way to go,” he said.