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Posted about 6 years ago

How Going Digital Can Keep Tenants Happier, Longer

Happy tenants are every property manager’s dream. Not only is a happy tenant much more pleasant to interact with on a personal level, but they are also more likely to stick around longer which positively affects the bottom line.

The reason is obvious: property managers who make keeping tenants happy a priority experience lower rental vacancy and abandonment rates, which also means they’re saving time and energy looking for new tenants to replace them.

In one example, based on a recent American Renters survey, stats showed that 58% tenants equate having a great move-in experience with the likelihood that they will love their property manager, as well as choose to stay in their rental for longer. On the other end of the spectrum, 53% of tenants who had a bad move-in experience said they prefer to move, and 29% said they would definitely move.

If moving in - which marks the very start of the tenant-landlord relationship – can have such an impact, imagine the effect of ongoing interactions over time. From making rent payments to dealing with maintenance issues, the tenant-landlord relationship is fraught with the opportunity for friction. Effective communications can help smooth the journey for the long-term. Hello digital technology.

How Digital Helps

If a better tenant-landlord relationship is crucial to keeping tenants happy, then digital technology holds the key to making it possible.

Digital is already impacting the ease and speed of various aspects of property management. From managing vendors and contractors to planning new marketing campaigns, digital tools are helping property managers eliminate the burden of paperwork and the headache of “doing it all” manually. The question is whether these improvements in the daily property management experience can extend to improving the experience for tenants themselves? The answer is yes. Here’s how.

Increased convenience – for everyone

Digital tools offer many benefits that make certain property management tasks easier and more convenient, but there are a number of benefits for tenants as well. One example is being able to pay rent online, using a smartphone or computer. Tenants, especially millennials and younger, not only prefer this, but expect it, since it is convenient, fast, and helps them avoid late fees.

Better responsiveness

Managing your communications with tenants from one central online location means you can respond quickly, wherever you are. This not only benefits you as the property manager, by saving time and money spent on fixable problems, but also makes your tenants happy. Your tenants will appreciate being able to contact you across whatever channel they prefer, as well as the increased responsiveness that comes with it.

Personalized attention

Let’s face it: when you manage multiple properties, keeping in touch with each tenant can be hard. And yet the personal touch can help make all the difference in creating goodwill and trust. Digital solutions incorporating email management features can simplify the process of personalizing your communications for all the tenants in the system. So whether you need to let them know about an important update, address a logistical issue or simply want to send a friendly note during the holidays, you can do it in as quickly as a matter of minutes.

Going the extra mile

One if the biggest benefits of going digital is access to data. When it comes to the tenant-landlord relationship, the data tenants share about themselves can help you go the extra mile to provide better service. Analyzing the data can give you important insights such as which tenant is expecting a baby and may need a larger apartment, or which tenant is nearing the end of their rent agreement. This type of information can help you prepare, and offer tenants new proposals that fit their needs so that they don’t go looking elsewhere. In addition, you can send personal messages on special occasions, like birthdays or anniversaries, to create a more positive relationship with tenants.

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Digitizing your property management processes is a great way to simplify your life so you can focus on building your business instead. This includes finding and leveraging opportunities to connect with your tenants to deliver a better, more personalized and responsive experience on your property. If, as a result, this increases the likelihood they choose to stay, then everyone benefits.



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