It seems that technology is evolving minute by minute, and the multifamily industry has a front-row seat to these ever-changing advancements. 

This rapid acceleration of technology has brought about a wealth of innovative new tools and solutions – from resident referral platforms and text message marketing to AI and automation – that operators are utilizing to improve the customer experience. With apartment leasing and living becoming more tech-driven and digital-centric than ever before, operators must stay on the cutting edge of technology to find new ways of enhancing, optimizing and automating their leasing strategies. 

Customer Relationship Management systems (CRMs) have become a key foundational element to successful leasing strategies and customer service within the industry’s new tech-focused environment. While CRMs can certainly help convert leads, they are really designed to capture data and only do so much when it comes to leasing and renewals. CRMs are not built to automate and optimize the lead-to-lease conversion process. However, the latest wave of multifamily technologies is maximizing the CRM by leveraging its data to convert leads to leases through automated lead development with an unmatched level of personalization.

Too frequently, prospects have to reach out to leasing agents multiple times to get a response, and prospects will often contact five to seven different communities and hear back from only one or two. This generally means the first property to respond will land the lease, and the others left money on the table. 

Adding a lease conversion automation tool to an existing CRM helps manage all leads while proactively sending follow up information to every single prospect without the need for any human intervention. Lease conversion automation takes one hour on average to respond to all online leads -- a stark contrast to the 45% of prospects who never receive a callback from a community they contacted.

A prospect typically requires eight to 12 touch points throughout their journey to sign a lease. But in reality, guest cards are typically closed after only two or three touchpoints. By integrating automation tools into a CRM, prospects have constant communication and necessary touchpoints to keep them engaged throughout the process. When prospects get that continued communication, it demonstrates the onsite team cares for them as a resident and makes their decision to lease easier.

The right automation tools monitor prospect activity and help leasing teams distinguish between those just looking and those who are serious about renting an apartment home. This provides data-driven information, giving insight as to who the most engaged prospects are so that onsite teams can focus their energy answering questions for prospects who are ready to become residents.

But communication shouldn’t stop once the lease is signed -- that’s only the beginning of the resident lifecycle.

Consistent, automated communication with customers facilitates an ideal move-in experience by providing all of the information they need up front. Ongoing, personalized communication with renewal conversion automation increases resident satisfaction by building deeper, more meaningful relationships with residents and incentivizes them to sign a renewal. Residents are more likely to stay at a community if they have a good relationship with the onsite team. 

From personalized follow ups and apartment information to rent reminders and renewal notices, ongoing automated communication will keep operations running smoothly and improve NOI.