Does Your Prospects’ Perception of the Community Meet Reality?

SatisFacts research clearly demonstrates that the perception of value is the #1 driver for rental likelihood. What drives the perception of value for those in need of a new home? It is driven by the appearance and condition of your community. (Read more: Maximizing Apartment Value for Residents through Maintenance)

Renters have developed a mental picture of the community based on what they’ve seen and read online. Those communities which are able to show tangible proof, the mental picture is in fact, the reality, are one step closer to securing the lease. In order to increase renters likeliness to rent, your onsite team members must remember how the experience is from a renter’s perspective. Renters are on a journey every time when they decide to tour a community. Ask yourself: What is your role during their journey? Are you adding to their stress and anxiety of finding a new home or easing their burden?

A renter’s visit can be broken up into scenes, looking something like below:

Scene 1 – Driving to the community (neighborhood, location)

Scene 2 – Finding a parking space (ease of parking)

Scene 3 – Walking into the leasing office (landscape, clean, welcoming)
Scene 4 – Communicating with onsite staff (friendly, open, undivided attention)
Scene 5 – Touring the community with the staff (clean, presentable, working Order)
Scene 6 – Touring the new home with the staff (ease of living, appliances/fixtures)
Scene 7 – Returning to leasing center ( experience, knowledgeable, relatable, the perception of value)

Scene 8 – Leaving the community (can I see myself living here?)

During each scene, it’s important to ask yourself, what the renters are thinking. Every step of their way, the renters are reviewing the physical aspects of the community and comparing them to what they saw online, in hopes that their perception meets reality.

Renters don't trust your website. Here's why!

We all have made purchases online, perhaps even yesterday. When you are looking for a specific item, you read multiple reviews, crowd source your family and friends and do as much research as possible before you decide to buy. And when the item finally arrives, you are hoping the online depiction of the product is an accurate representation. Will the item live up to what the description says it is? Is the item the color it says it would be? Is it the size really accurate? An apartment home is quite the same.

Today’s renter is more likely to do up front research before contacting a community. Searching a community’s website wanting the website to be a wealth of information and not an advertisement. A renter’s offline journey starts with confidence due to what they have learned online. In our 2019 Online Renter Study a renters “trust in a community’s website” has drastically decreased from 35% in 2017 to just 9% two years later. Renters are trusting a community’s website less as a community’s online presence is found to be saying one thing online, but showcasing something different in person.

Due to the decline in trusting a community’s website, reviews have moved to the #1 most trusted source. Renters have determined reviews to be most trustworthy and want know the authentic story, the good and bad. They need to feel confident they are making the right decision.  Touring the community is now a means of verification as renters need reassurance to what they’ve seen online is accurate in real life. How do you make sure everything on your website reflects what a renter will see when they tour a community?

Common website features 

1. “Pet Friendly This goes beyond just having the amenity of a dog park. If a community is pet friendly, do you have dog bones available in the office or perhaps several water bowls around the community to reinforce you are pet friendly? Providing prospects and residents with a list of groomer, veterinarians, pet day camps and boarders is a nice touch In addition, inviting a prospect to bring their dog on tour helps reinforce the community is pet friendly on the website and in person.

2. “Luxury” Do you showcase your apartment homes as luxury on your community website? This term can be an overused and every renter has a different idea of what the “luxury” means. Model apartments featured on a community’s website often depict a luxurious lifestyle however renters prefer to see the actual apartment. According to our 2019 Online Renter Study, viewing the actual apartment is rated as the #1 motivator to lease; viewing the model is #14.

3. “Photos” Does the community’s photos showcase the pet park with bright green grass that has been photo shopped, but when the renter tours the community they find the pet park to be mainly dirt? Renters are expecting community online photos to be an accurate depiction of what they see when on a tour.

4. “Convenience” Many community websites allow renters to reserve and apply online, which is a true convenience to many. But if convenience is something featured online, what happens when the renter walks in for a tour they find an out of office sign? Calls that go to voicemail and emails that go without a response are the opposite of convenience. To reinforce what is showcased online a community must be available during business hours via in person as well as phone and email. The traditional “same business day” response time has dwindled to 2 hours and renters preferences have evolved which means community’s must meet the change in renters preferences.

A community’s online presence includes its website, reviews, photos and even social media which must be an authentic representation of the community. As with online purchases, if the item doesn’t live up the description, you will return it for a refund. Renters feel the same way, quickly losing trust and possibly moving on to tour another community.

-Featured on MultifamilyInsiders.com

High Tech and Higher Touch: The Evolution of Leasing

Have you noticed the new branding at McDonalds includes touch screens inside the restaurant? One may think the idea of a self-ordering system is about reducing employee costs and increasing NOI, but it actually is driven by the desire to focus on the customer’s experience. According to a Business Insider article, “A recent MSN poll suggests that most Americans prefer cashiers over automated kiosks. But automated ordering can help wait times and improve order accuracy, and it doesn't negatively affect labor as much as some think.” The challenge for McDonalds is many consumers believe mobile ordering and kiosks have arrived to take away jobs, ultimately saving money, however that simply isn’t true. McDonald’s is reallocating labor to other parts of the business and is meeting the demand of the consumer on their wants and needs through a remarkable customer experience.

Our industry is not much different. With the chatter about self-guided tours and other technology, the fear that leasing jobs will be eliminated is just not practical. Self-guided tours allow leasing agents to free up some of their time from phone tag, emails and setting up appointments. In addition, they allow prospects to not feel rushed when touring. Embracing this new technology must also come with the knowledge there is no replacement for human interactions as choosing a home is an emotional and important decision. According to our 2019 Online Renter Study, the perception of quality customer service is ranked #2 in importance regarding the leasing decision, which lets us know elimination of leasing jobs will not be a thing of the future. Self-guided tours allow us to better customize a prospects experience, ultimately complimenting the onsite team’s quality customer service.

Whether the prospect tours during or after office hours, it’s important to meet the preference of that prospect. If a self-guided tour is preferred leasing agents will still have the opportunity to connect before and after the tour. Perhaps the prospect tours afterhours, and the follow up now looks a bit different than a traditional email, call or text.

Combining technology and the customer experience is a tricky balance. In 2015, renters rated the importance of a community’s commitment to technology (specifically technology to enhance communication, service and experience) a 4.03, by 2019 the importance grew to 4.14.    Because we are in a business that is people driven, we cannot let the evolution of technology substitute for human interaction. Renter’s questions and concerns will always need someone to assist them, only people are capable of empathy and can handle complex concerns and solve renter’s problems. Again, the challenge is creating a strategy that accommodates both.

When a renter reaches out to have a conversation, whether it is because they want a self-guided tour or a traditional one, it’s an opportunity for the community’s team to shine! The more a community welcomes new technology, the brighter the light will shine in the interaction a renter has with the staff. We must look at the traditional role of a leasing agent and view the new technology as an evolution not an elimination to keep up with the changing preferences of renters.

- Featured on MultifamilyInsiders.com