Onsite associates have a full plate when it comes to their day-to-day duties, and nearly every associate has experienced the tedious, time-consuming tasks involved with the leasing process. But with a rapid influx of modern tech tools available for onsite associates, the leasing of today is more streamlined than ever before. 

Tech integrations are taking on the burden of fielding customer inquiries and aggregating guest cards for all potential residents. In the process, new automation tools are nurturing leads and moving customers through the funnel fluidly in a more personalized manner. This provides onsite associates more time for meaningful interactions with prospects who are actually ready to sign a lease, and tending to current resident needs. 

Traditionally, the leasing process from end-to-end requires a great deal of time and effort on behalf of onsite teams. And even then, many leads are still left unanswered and potential leases go unsigned. By no fault of their own, leasing agents need assistance to help maximize their time and close more leases. Technology is not replacing onsite associates, but is now doing the heavy lifting throughout the entire leasing process.

Here are some of the ways technologies are supplementing leasing associate duties by taking on some of the more tedious tasks:

• Aggregating and personalizing  guest cards catered to a customer’s specific needs and communicating with them via their preferred method
• Communicating after office hours
• Analyzing and processing information pertaining to a customer and identifying historical data from similar guest cards with successful conversion rates
• Sending personalized messages with the right information at the right time and leading customers to take a tour 
• Providing customers with customized move-in checklists seven days prior to moving in
• Consistently checking in with residents during  the first 180 days of their lease to establish deeper, more meaningful relationships and better resident experiences
• Delivering personalized messaging that results in more referrals, positive reviews and survey responses
• Designing renewal workflows as a customer’s renewal time approaches, leading to greater renewal rates and long-term residents

The industry has used CRMs to increase operational efficiencies, capture customer data and attract long-term residents for some time now. But even with a CRM, 45% of customers never hear back from a community they’ve inquired about. Integrating a lease conversion automation tool with a CRM will ensure that a lead is never missed again. In fact, the right automation tool takes an average of just one hour to respond to all online leads. 

Communities utilizing  a lease conversion automation tool experience an average increase of 15% in the number of online applications they receive compared to communities without one. Once a customer has taken a tour, communities have seen  tour-to-application conversion rates that are nearly 10% higher than communities without automation.

By using progressive and proactive technologies for leasing and resident retention, operators are in many ways reinvesting in their communities with the most valuable currency available - time! When onsite associates get more time back in their day, they can truly focus on cultivating personal connections with customers and maintaining existing relationships with current residents. Customers have a better overall experience with customized messaging catered to their desires and needs. That type of personalization overwhelmingly leads to more lease conversions and an enhanced resident satisfaction, which ultimately increases NOI.