Promote Opportunities to Make Residents Happy

In today’s on-demand world, property managers and owners are working to find the best ways to attract new residents and keep them happy. With the press of a button on a smartphone, residents can hail a car, have food and groceries delivered and have their laundry picked up. How can property managers keep up and showcase their on-demand savvy? By partnering with and promoting the use of some of the latest third-party apps and services that meet residents’ needs.

“People want more on-time, on-demand resources. It’s up to us, the property manager, to service our prospects and residents, offer them options and provide technology when they want it—people when they don’t,” says Maria Banks, executive vice president of AMLI Residential.

Updater is a comprehensive moving concierge app that provides residents with a guided and personalized workflow for every part of a move, including securing renters insurance, updating mailing addresses and turning on utilities.

“We partner with management companies and brand the app for the company so the property gets all the credit,” says Ash Bell, vice president and executive director of Updater.

Properties can use third-party services as an amenity to draw new residents. “If I’m a leasing associate and I’m taking a prospective resident on a tour by the pool and the gym, I can say, ‘Hey, we also offer this great tool—Updater—as our gift to you to help you move.’ It becomes a great sales tool to attract new residents,” Bell says.

Third-party services can also support a property’s marketing efforts by encouraging residents to spread awareness on social media. For instance, Updater prompts users to share that they’re moving on social media, which will automatically tag the community in the post.

Promote What Residents Need

Communities should use various means to promote third-party services. “Depending on what the service is, we may discuss it on tours, list it as an amenity on our website and in our printed marketing material and/or utilize social media. If it’s a launch of a new service or amenity, we may create additional buzz by having a resident event to introduce it,” Banks says.

Online shopping is only going to continue to grow, and with that comes the need to provide better solutions for package delivery. Luxer One is a package delivery system that helps properties provide quick and easy delivery. 
 
“We promote Luxer One as an amenity, as there has been an increase in online shopping, and the package room has provided a self-service means for residents to pick up their packages at their convenience. We’ve had overwhelming positive feedback on the package rooms. With our leasing office closing at 6 p.m., our residents couldn’t get home in time to collect their packages during the week—that showed up negatively in our reviews,” Banks says.

Residents like to see choices. The more properties can provide and showcase amenity options, the more residents will be satisfied and renew leases.

It is critical to always keep the consumer in mind. “Customer service is part technology and part resident interaction. We need to provide the right technology tools to make interactions and tasks easier, while also creating opportunities to engage with our residents. We want to make sure that we’re building a sense of community that will get our prospects to lease and our residents to stay with us longer,” Banks says.

Don’t miss “Amenities, Events and Third-Party Convenience: A Comprehensive Review of Opportunities to Make Residents Happy” at the MAXIMIZE Multifamily Asset Management Conference, Oct. 18, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. REGISTER TODAY HERE.