The renter journey has evolved tremendously over the last few years, and while it has become more streamlined than ever before, it’s not without its complexities. With leads being generated from numerous platforms at all hours of the day, operators have little room for error or time to waste when it comes to resident communication and marketing practices. 

Prospective residents are hitting more touchpoints along their journey than ever before. To best utilize those opportunities, operators are using innovative tools that can reach customers at the pivotal moments that help them better understand the modern consumer experience. Not only are these tools ensuring that no lead is ever missed and contributing to increased lease conversion rates, but they’re igniting a surge in renewal rates as well. 

Automation extends beyond nurturing leads through the marketing funnel – it leads to more leases being signed. Automated communication also continues to engage residents at key touchpoints long after a move in, encouraging them to renew their rental agreement. 

It’s well known that automation provides operators with the ability to establish relationships with prospective residents early on in their journey and communicate with each one in hyper-personalized ways that curate an experience uniquely tailored to them. But it’s becoming increasingly apparent that automated personalized messaging also plays an integral role in the renewal process.

Eighty percent of consumers prefer personalized marketing when making a purchasing decision. Automation allows operators to deliver the hyper-personalized messaging that modern renters desire, soliciting three times more engagement than non-automated efforts. But as any operator knows, landing a lease is just the beginning. Continuous messaging with customized information is what increases renewals and creates a long-term resident. 

By integrating automated communication into leasing and resident retention processes, operators gain superb benefits, including robust occupancy rates and more consistent on-time rental payments. Automated communication also reminds new residents of their move-in checklist and triggers milestone moments along the customer journey. Those periodic prompts lead to an enhanced resident satisfaction that begets an improved online reputation due to an influx in positive reviews, which attracts even more high-quality prospective residents.

Once a resident signs a lease, the next goal is to get them to resign their agreement when the time comes. There are plenty of reasons that somebody vacates their lease and does not renew, such as apartment size, ignored maintenance needs, less than stellar neighbors or lack of effective communication. While some reasons are out of an operator's control, failure to adequately communicate isn’t one. 

Outstanding communication is the foundation to achieving optimal resident retention rates. Operators can offset the common reasons residents may choose not to renew their lease by maintaining open, hyper-personalized communication from the moment they inquire about a community throughout their entire stay. Our data shows that Renewal Conversion Automation increases renewal rates by 6% or more and also generates 25 times the ROI than before implementation.

From lead to lease to renewal - automation gives communities the boost that they need to achieve ongoing success.