“Mobile friendly” and “responsive” aren’t just the industry’s latest buzzwords—they’re now the wave of the future. These concepts have quickly taken over the marketing industry, and adoption rates have soared to over 60% in the past two years alone. Though both are rising in popularity, the two terms should not be used interchangeably, as they each offer their own unique benefits. Continue reading Mobile Friendly vs. Responsive Web Design
Are you taking full advantage of technology to enhance your inbound lead generation? Drip marketing is a tactic that has been around for some time and is becoming increasingly utilized by the apartment industry due to its high lead generation potential. Drip marketing combines pre-written and personalized messages to prospects over a dedicated period of time. Each message contains a specific call-to-action. The campaigns offer relevant information, help create leads and saves valuable resources through automation—ultimately giving you and your agents more time to handle other important tasks in the leasing office. Continue reading Drip Marketing. Is it Right for You?
It is a known fact that in order to attract residents to your property, marketing is key. Whether you’ve decided to invest your advertising dollars in an internet listing service, social media platform, print publication, online search engine, or a combination of each, you ultimately want to know which mediums are truly proving most effective with your allotted budget.
What would you do with an extra hour or two to spare in your workday? We’ve all heard of the old adage, “work smarter, not harder.” But, in the world of property management, this may be hard to do. Improving productivity in your rental office oftentimes means hiring additional help, but this doesn’t have to always be the case.
Take a look at these three things you can do to give you the additional time you need to manage your property more effectively. You can then dedicate your attention to where it needs to be most—your residents.
Continue reading Increase Staff Productivity, Sign More Leases
The apartment industry is on an upward growth with hundreds of new units coming to the market every week. With this new growth, it is becoming increasingly important for properties to focus on resident retention. Keeping residents happy is one of the most challenging tasks for any property manager—and it goes beyond just marketing.
Take a look at these three tips to help improve your lease renewals so your tenants don’t jump ship to your competition. Continue reading Keep your Residents Renting Longer
So you’ve finally made the decision to re-brand your property, but you’re not sure where to start. Re-branding an entire community should not be taken lightly in the least. But, when done correctly, it can inject a renewed life and energy into an apartment community while creating new opportunities for both you and your residents.
Determine what the objective of your rebranding efforts is. Are you trying to create consistency? Stand out from other properties? Be known for something unique? Next, determine what you want your new brand identity to be. Make sure you incorporate the visual elements like name, logo, color scheme, etc. You’ll also want to include in your plan all of the tactics you will use to launch your new brand, as implementation is key. Will you redesign your website? Blast the new changes on your social media accounts? And don’t forget, digital and online elements are just as important as the physical. But, most importantly, what will your budget be? All of this information should be included in your rebranding plan.
Making external renovations not only attracts new renters, but increases the overall value of your property, which in turn allows you to increase the rent in the long run. But, when deciding on which major renovations to partake in, it’s important that you choose those that will make the highest impact on your community. And, of course, always ensure that they tie back into your rebranding plan and goals. If your goal is to be recognized for your beautiful modernization, then it may benefit you more to focus on internal improvements like replacing old appliances with energy-efficient ones, updating countertops, and incorporating stainless steel fixtures. Whichever renovations you choose, it’s important to ensure that you remain within your defined budget and you receive the biggest overall bang for your buck.
Re-branding a community isn’t just about polishing the exterior of your building or adding digital features, you have to re-brand from within too. This means ensuring that all of your staff are onboard with the new changes and are clear as to what new perceptions, feelings, and image you now want to elicit from your residents and prospects. If you’re changing policies as well, make sure each of your staff members are educated on these new changes and remain firm when they try to challenge them with the “but it’s always been that way” excuse. It’s important that your internal staff are just as excited as you are about your re-branding in order for it to be completely successful. One hundred percent buy-in is essential, as your frontline staff are undoubtedly your most important ambassadors.
One of the first things you should consider upgrading when rebranding is your website. This is likely the first opportunity your prospective residents will have to experience your new community firsthand. Rentbot understands the hassle of rebranding and takes all of the legwork out of remodeling your new site. After a simple and quick consultation, Rentbot will set you up with a brand new, mobile optimized, responsive website equipped with beautiful HD photos of your new property. As an added bonus, you’ll also get free online maintenance, rent payment and real time unit availability.
Start off your re-branding efforts with a bang. Choose Rentbot for your new apartment website and rack in more leases and better leads in no time—we guarantee it.
Jonsette Calloway joined the Rentbot team in 2015. With a background in public relations, advertising and copywriting, she has helped a multitude of clients achieve their marketing and communications goals within various fields, but she particularly enjoys working with the apartment industry.
It’s no secret that we everyone wants their voices heard, and the apartment industry proves no exception. When a tenant is not satisfied with their unit or the property’s service in today’s world, they will always make it a point to leave an online review. Responding to these reviews, both the positive and negative, are important to showing your tenants that you are committed to their residential needs. If done correctly, you will not only experience more satisfied tenants, but increased renewals, referrals and a higher level of engagement.
As the economy continues on its steady upsurge, the demand for rentals continue to grow. Residents today are renting longer and smarter. According to a recent 2015 Harvard study, the share of US households that rent is at a 20-year high. Real estate developers all over the country are now scrambling to get the best piece of the rental pie, especially in markets like Las Vegas, Raleigh, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
So, what’s driving these trends?
Renters today, particularly Millennials, want to live, breathe, work and eat in the center of the action. Convenience, modernity, culture and walkability are important to these renters. Those communities truly in the “heart of it all” are taking every opportunity to tout things like location, walkability and cost savings that will result from having all amenities close by, thereby avoiding the need to drive out of the city.
Residents today are looking for state-of-the-art amenities that incorporate all of their favorite things—technology, space and we can’t forget the Web. Properties are sparing no expense and thinking outside of the box when it comes to their offerings in efforts to attract this growing crowd. Common areas are being equipped with internet cafes, coffee bars and more. Rooftop pools, decks and dog parks are being incorporated into designs, retail stores are popping up downstairs, and communities are now offering additional concierge services to add that extra special touch. Property managers have improved customer service though website technology by allowing online lease renewals, maintenance request schedulers, live chat features and more.
Thousands of Millennials are also flocking to communities that meet their green living needs. Energy efficiency is key with these renters, as they are looking for features like bicycle paths, community gardens and strong recycling initiatives. Many of these units are also LEED certified, offering enhanced performance and sustainability through green design, maintenance and operation. Residents at these particular communities appreciate their lower energy and bills, enhanced air quality and inclusion in the county’s growing sustainability movement.
Several residents are trading in their spacy digs for smaller units. “Micro Units” are now becoming an extremely popular trend among Millennials, especially in larger, urban cities. Designed with a smaller livable space in mind, these 200-500 square foot units offer slightly lower rents, but still include many of the amenities of larger communities.
Does your rental property offer an urban lifestyle, baller amenities, or commitment to “green?” The rental market is growing, and it’s growing pretty fast. It’s time for you to shed some light on your property and all of its glory.
Rentbot broadcasts your community to the world through carefully designed web pages, search engine optimization and responsive web design so that you can not only keep up with the trends, but set your own as well. Each website offers a full suite of online features, like rent payments, contact forms, maintenance requests and more to appeal to the unique needs of today’s modern renter. And with flexible, affordable and convenient payment options, you’ll still be able to focus on prepping your property for the latest industry trends.
Jonsette Calloway joined the Rentbot team in 2015. With a background in public relations, advertising and copywriting, she has helped a multitude of clients achieve their marketing and communications goals within various fields, but she particularly enjoys working with the apartment industry.
The apartment leasing industry has changed dramatically throughout the years—so much so that managers and agents have had to alter communication styles, upgrade features and, of course, enhance customer service initiatives. One’s website has proven no different. Renters today want convenience, flexibility, accessibility and freedom when it comes to their community’s apartment website. But, what does all of that mean exactly?
Kinglsey Associates conducted a 2015 Renter Preference survey which detailed which features renters wanted to have at their fingertips. Here’s what they said:
So you’ve finally decided to take the digital plunge and invest in a website. But, there’s only one problem—you don’t know where to start. Choosing that perfect web designer/developer can become quite the tedious task for some. You not only want someone who can meet your needs and understands your property and goals, but also offers a pleasant work experience as well. As you scour the web for your next mystery designer, it becomes important to arm yourself with adequate information so that you save both time and money in the long run.
