A quick word on the informed renter and your reputation management
Responses from Apartminty’s 2017 renter survey found that the majority of renters are visiting at a minimum, five websites before ever setting foot in your office. This means there’s a decent chance that this informed renter read all your reviews. My question to you is, have your leasing agents done the same research?
A leasing office is a busy place, and it is understandable that a manager, the corporate office, or a third party may be managing your reputation management program and your review responses. That should in no way absolve the leasing agents from knowing what is being said about your community.
When using a reputation management tool, make sure all the information is filtering down to the leasing agent level. You need to make sure more than just the managers see the ratings and reviews…it is just as essential that the leasing agents hear about the positive reviews. Afterall, having those positive quotes in their back pocket, not only are a great sales tool, but they also give your leasing agents insight into precisely what features of your community are essential to your customer.
But for those less than stellar reviews, make sure the leasing agents know how to respond to prospect inquiries regarding negative comments online they may have read.
Obviously, you should have a reputation management program in place. Reputation management means more than just answering reviews or sending out surveys. It involves getting positive stories about your property out into the general public, and getting better insight into your customer and their expectations.
Is your leasing agent as informed as the renter?
Our customers today are used to pulling out their phone and having an answer to any question instantaneously-or not even pulling out their phone, they’re just asking Alexa or Google Home. So when they pose an inquiry to your leasing agent, the expectation is that the information will be tip-of-tongue and top of mind.
Whether you send a quarterly digest of all the survey results and resident reviews to your community teams or schedule time during your weekly site team meetings, be sure the information is getting to your leasing agents. We’ve found the quarterly digest works well because seeing the residents’ comments in aggregate helps identify patterns {positive or negative.}
Customer expectations are on the rise. As they continue to be more informed, you need to make sure your sales team has the same information so they can provide your customer with the right experience.
We want to hear from you. How are you getting the information to your front line?