Our seventh annual Summit user conference is only a month away. If you’re joining us in Park City, here are a few things you’ll need to know: continue
Let’s face it. It’s a matter of when and not if chatbots become part of the everyday backdrop in the apartment world. But if the early advent of chatbots has taught us anything, it’s that the tech has to be consistent for it to be effective.
Using the chatbots to answer common questions for prospects is efficient and a timesaver. According to HubSpot, 47 percent of consumers are open to buying items through a chatbot, and the percentage continues to rise. But if the chatbot gets stuck in a loop when it doesn’t understand a question or can’t provide specific answers, it’s not going to result in many leases. continue
Investing in technology comes at a risk. Either the technology is too expensive and multifamily struggles to prove a sufficient ROI, or the technology isn’t future-proofed and becomes outdated quickly.
When the internet of things exploded onto the market a few years ago, manufacturers were web-enabling all sorts of devices, such as toasters and toothbrushes. Technological progress moves very quickly and some of it sticks while other innovations fail to catch on. It’s critical to select the right technologies to help manage your assets.
Ryan Byrd, Chief Technology Officer at Entrata, encourages multifamily operators to embrace that challenge. continue
The modern renter is more tech-savvy and digitally based than ever. Yet when searching for an apartment, 40 percent of prospects are unable to find a link to apply and 43 percent of current renters are unsure how to pay rent online, according to an Entrata study.
That means the apartment industry not only has to incorporate technologies, but also ensure they are convenient, user-friendly and intuitive for prospects and residents alike – regardless of their digital prowess. The quicker marketing teams can incorporate relevant technology into their processes, the more rapidly they’ll fill up their communities, as discussed in the Apartmentalize 2019 session Technology + Marketing = Winning Combination for Apartment Renters. continue
While most technology providers have an audience in mind when they develop the software, they might have been thinking about their audience in the wrong way.
Instead of defining an audience with an “either-or” mindset, multifamily operators should partner with technology providers that think about their audiences with a “yes, and…” approach. Since we often act as a middle person between our residents and our products and services, the technologies we use have a resident-facing frontend and an associate-facing backend.
Unfortunately, when technologies choose to focus on just one audience in multifamily, they create lopsided software which creates a fantastic experience for one of the audiences and frustrations for the other. The result is confusion, miscommunication and a lengthened process for both users. continue
Implementing tech is a delicate balance. If you’re too slow, the competition will breeze past you. If you’re too ambitious and adopt too early, it could result in investing in outdated tech with little or negative value.
As innovations continue to arrive at a steady and unrelenting pace, apartment operators are continually aiming to strike the happy medium. They seek to keep pace with the competition while being cautious not to invest or implement anything that might serve as the multifamily equivalent to plastic coffee pods, the selfie stick or other relative tech duds. continue
As the multifamily sector adopts more and more technologies, partnerships with tech providers are becoming increasingly commonplace. But the purpose of these partnerships is not just to provide prospects or residents the latest technological trend.
Successful partnerships provide long-term value by strengthening and streamlining processes for onsite teams and enhancing the daily lives of residents. With so much at stake, properly vetting potential providers is vital to make certain they will be a good fit for the organization. continue
A segment of renters doesn’t particularly care whether their apartment homes are tech-enabled. Then there is the other 90-plus percent.
Once considered a luxury, tech features have transformed to a necessity in the apartment world, as modern-day renters harbor expectations for a connected home. But all tech features are not created equal. Residents might be OK without voice-activated roller shades, but they certainly wouldn’t be happy without Wi-Fi.
In a further indication of evolving renter preferences, a recent Entrata study revealed that renters prefer smart-home features over swimming pools.
With that in mind, here are three tech trends that residents want to see – or perhaps expect to see – when they move into a new apartment community. continue
Like technology itself, search engine optimization is a constant work in progress that twists and contorts with each new innovation. But some SEO best practices remain the same as tech continues to chug along.
Those who strike the balance of meshing existing methods with evolving concepts will have the most success in their SEO efforts and draw the most users to their websites. Here’s an inventory of what hasn’t changed – and what has – on the SEO front. continue
In some industries, artificial intelligence is designed to replace associates. In multifamily, it is designed to help them.
A hyper-competitive market and low unemployment rate are among the factors that have made it more difficult for the industry to attract and retain high-performing associates. And oftentimes the associates that remain are saddled with a wide variety of busywork that prevents them from concentrating on high-level duties or creating innovative ideas.
AI can alleviate much of that busywork, process data faster and make leasing offices much more efficient. Here are some of the benefits AI can bring to the apartment world: continue
