From a renter’s perspective, choosing an apartment can be a difficult task to undertake. There are many necessities, as well as potential concerns that a prospective renter may have when shopping around for a place to live. Most renters do not pick an apartment without doing thorough research on pricing, safety, amenities, and more. Online reviews are the most reliable resource for apartment hunters because they provide a helpful scope of information that highlights current or past tenants’ positive and negative experiences in that residential area. Oftentimes, reviews cover topics like customer service, property care, noise control, traffic, and more that are not normally brought up on an apartment’s amenities listing. This information is important in the decision-making process for potential tenants.

It’s important to note that the value of positive reviews has a tremendous impact on the inflow of new tenants. According to Hosting Tribunal, 72% of customers won’t take action until they read reviews. Additionally, 15% of users don’t trust businesses without reviews. Community managers and leasing agents understand the importance of both gaining and maintaining a tenant’s trust because that foundation of trust ensures the tenant’s positive experience in that residency. This in turn can become a good rating or excellent word of mouth recommendation for that property. 

The goal for many property management teams is to gain occupants for their listings and maintain that occupancy while also building relationships and creating community in that residency. This can be a tall order to accomplish, but there are many marketing and sales strategies that can be utilized in order to accomplish this feat. Here are our three recommendations on how to champion your prospective and current tenants’ experiences at your residence:

3 Ways to Champion Your Prospective & Current Tenants:

A. Keep Compassion at the Center of All Client Communication

Though some individuals do their initial research on apartment complexes by scheduling live tourings of various properties, many will start their initial search online. Lead interactions can happen over instant chats, email, and over the phone before a face-to-face meeting might ever take place. It’s important to maintain a tone of compassion and care through both automated and live engagements with prospective tenants. Keep in mind that living conditions have a huge impact on mental health which is why finding a new place to live is a big decision.

Be a representative of care in all of your communications with leads. Here are some tips on how to do that:

• Read any automated copy outloud to ensure that the messaging sounds human rather than robotic.
• Be mindful of common characteristics that your team has found most consistent among the majority of your tenants. Be sure to adjust your messaging according to how your ideal tenant candidate would like to communicate.

B. Create a Safe Space to Provide Feedback

Future tenants are far more likely to trust the word of a person that lives in and rents an apartment, rather than the word of the management or property owner. This is the same principle as reviews for any other product or service. People want to know the quality of the product before they purchase it, and the best person to ask is one that has already used the product. Apartments are no different. Potential renters are customers and they want to know the impartial opinion of the current tenants before they sign a lease.

This is why it is important to request feedback from your tenants so that other potential residents can read the experiences of your other customers. Though positive feedback is always preferred, it is important to note that all feedback is helpful. Here are a few tips on how to maximize on your tenants’ reviews and feedback:

• Request feedback from tenants after positive moving-in experiences or a positive customer care interaction. It is beneficial to request this feedback when your customer is still at their peak satisfaction with the property.
• To further capitalize on positive feedback, embed your positive reviews to your property website.
• Listen to all negative feedback with care. Treat your tenants with respect when dealing with any issues.

C. Always Try to Offer a Solution

Sometimes, negative customer experiences are situations that happen due to things entirely out of your team’s control. The issue could be anything from an unthoughtful neighbor or even a UPS package mishap. When issues like this happen, it’s important to not point the blame at someone else and look away, but do what you can to help your tenant. Try to find solutions to this issue or even ask for feedback on ways your property management team can lessen the likelihood of this problem occurring again. By doing this, tenants will know that they have a property owner that is ready to listen to and address their concerns, and the property owner will know that they have satisfied renters living in their apartments. 

Online reviews essentially offer prospective renters the chance to talk to their neighbors. It would be awkward to knock on a door and ask, “Hey, I don’t live here yet, but I wanted to know what you think about living here”. This is taboo in our modern society, yet it would be the best way to get a feel for a potential community. Online reviews remove the awkwardness from communicating with strangers and helps possible clients begin to form an impression of your establishment. Building trust and maintaining satisfaction with tenants will always be the foundation of a positive customer experience. If they do decide to open their virtual doors to possible tenants, you want them to have only good things to say. By following these three simple tips on how you can champion your current tenants, you will see the trust in your business rise, along with new client interest.

Lee McNiel