Today’s Apartment Resident Journey Must Be Personalized

With consumers expecting and receiving personalized service in so many aspects of their daily lives, apartment operators must deliver it as well, according to a panel speaking at National Apartment Association’s Apartmentalize conference in Atlanta last week.

“If they come to your community and you don’t give them that, it gets clunky right away,” said Tony Sousa, Vice President of Operations, RPM Living.

He was joined by panelists Holli Beckman, Chief Marketing Officer, WC Smith; Lindsay Duffy, Director of Marketing and Training, Western Wealth Communities; and moderator Jacob Carter, Founder, Nurture Boss.

This personalization must occur during the entire resident journey, from lead to tour to application to renewal.

“The touchpoints in the resident journey are becoming more intimate,” Sousa said.

Carter said personalized communication is not what it used to be.

“Just addressing them by their first name on an email isn’t good enough anymore,” he said.

Beckman said onsite teams can’t overthink the way they adjust their resident communications.

“Your messaging changes based on whether they are a prospect, or a resident, or are in renewal stages,” Beckman said.

“The communication channel that you use should change based on what the communication is about, [such as a notice, an announcement, an offer, a check-in, or a greeting].

“Our residents have posted positive reviews about how we communicate with them changes [appropriately] while they are with us.”

Duffy urged onsite staff to respond to residents in the same way they reached out themselves.

“If they call you, then you call them back,” she said. “Don’t just email them.”

And whatever that message sent to residents is, Sousa said, “You have to execute on it. Don’t send them an invite to a great resident community event and then have the event be a dud.”

Duffy cautioned that if the onsite team is not paying enough attention to the residents – such as completing their maintenance request orders in a timely way – that’s going to be the reason they move out.

Keep in mind, Sousa said, renters’ needs have changed as so many are now working from home and are shifting to a more virtual world.

He reminded, “A signed lease a day keeps the regional director away.”