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How technology can assist with offline touch pointsThroughout the tech revolution, the essential skills of a leasing agent have largely remained the same. Provide a welcoming smile, regularly walk the tour path to make certain nothing is amiss and clean up for-show units so they are ready for the eyes of prospects. It’s all part of the standardized training process, which is similar for maintenance teams and additional onsite associates. But although tech hasn’t replaced these non-digital activities, it certainly has provided a way to make them easier and more streamlined. Essentially, it serves as the conduit that can bring together various onsite teams. New technology tools allow teams to interact more rapidly, address any community issues efficiently and expeditiously, and provide modern touring experiences for both residents and leasing staff. Here are a few examples:– Through a property management app, leasing associates don’t have to leave a voice message for the maintenance team—or wait until they run into one of them later in the day—when they encounter something that needs their handiwork. Perhaps it’s a leaking sprinkler on the tour path or a smart thermostat that needs to be restarted in a display unit. Through the app, the leasing agent can immediately ship a detailed request to the maintenance team, whose first available member can embark on the task. –The app can help inter-team communication, as well. Maintenance team members can digitally alert other members of the crew when they get started on a task, which prevents overlaps and keeps processes operating smoothly. –Self-guided tours are a rapidly growing trend in this space. A good solution offers customizable and flexible settings, giving leasing associates the ability to implement a personalized touring experience at their properties and better meet the evolving needs of prospective renters. From allowing prospects to schedule tours themselves to giving managers the ability to make their properties available at any time of day, this tool can help communities connect with prospects in new and innovative ways.–In a perfect world, all community-related requests could be taken care of on site. But sometimes a vendor has to be contacted. For instance, a maintenance team member might notice that an overgrown tree has obscured key signage at a community. It’s a gigantic oak that would be unsafe for anyone but a professional tree trimmer to navigate. That request can be easily made by the maintenance team member when preferred vendors are accessible through the property management app. No matter how far the tech revolution progresses, interpersonal skills and keen observation will always be required traits for onsite associates. The right tech can help augment those qualities and create a more streamlined experience between all teams at the property.

Entrata recently hosted Ken Gould, Vice President of Insurance at Lockton, for a discussion on how multifamily businesses should approach commercial insurance and how to use it as a competitive advantage for their properties. Below are some of the key highlights.

This is part three in our series that focuses on basic digital marketing strategies that are proven to help you attract and convert leads. Recently, Entrata hosted a webinar series covering digital marketing best practices in the multifamily industry. The panel included digital marketing experts Avery Lewis, Manager of Marketing Services at Cardinal Management Group, Laura Frias, Regional VP at Entrata, and Drew Scholl, Associate Director of Digital Marketing Consulting at Entrata. Below are some of the key highlights.

Remote communication has become the new norm, and by now, everyone is used to it. But that doesn’t mean everyone in the industry has perfected the art.

As part of our ongoing Resident Experts series, Entrata recently hosted Jay Lybik, Director of Multifamily Analytics at CoStar. Jay has nearly three decades of experience in commercial real estate research, with a majority of that time spent in the multifamily sector.

Appropriate tech training increases the value of your organization’s software platform. Training platform users eliminates guesswork, improves process adoption and helps your team feel more comfortable with daily workflows. Luckily, Entrata’s training program offers a multitude of training options at no extra cost.

Building Efficiency into Accounting Processes Accounting professionals deal with a million little things every day: creating journal entries, importing entries, coordinating data from payment management tools, etc. And every task must be carried out precisely and accurately, or there will be additional work down the line as they locate and reconcile any errors.

As we step into 2024, the educational landscape is showing signs of recovery with a notable 1.2% rise in enrollment rates for the first time since the pandemic. Over two-thirds of institutions witnessed growth in undergraduate enrollment this fall, signaling a positive shift in the academic sphere. Correspondingly, in the realm of property management, we at Entrata have observed a surge in pre-leasing activities, indicative of a bustling year ahead.

Tactics that could have a significant impact on the number of insured residents at your property.

In the property management world, data has emerged as a powerful tool for driving success. The ability to collect, analyze, and use data effectively can provide property managers with valuable insights, inform decision-making, and ultimately improve operational efficiency. Entrata President Chase Harrington had explored the topic with the company’s new VP of Product and Data Management, Cody Smith in a 2023 Entrata Summit session, Unleashing the Power of your Data with Entrata. They explored the nuances of data and its role in the industry within the framework of the stages of data maturity, showing how property managers can leverage data to optimize their operations.

This is part two in our series that focuses on basic digital marketing strategies that are proven to help you attract and convert leads. In part one of our series on digital marketing, we focused on what can be done to help acquire leads for your properties, but that’s just one piece of the puzzle. If those leads don’t progress down the funnel, all of that effort was for not. This post focuses on how we suggest working leads once they’ve entered your CRM.