As my grandfather aged, he had more and more trouble getting around. Still, he kept getting up to change TV channels because the remote wasn’t readable to him. I knew there had to be a better option. (After all, he already had a lot of miles on him; no need to add to them!) So I researched and bought him a huge remote he could read and use instead of getting up.

My point? Just because you’ve always done something one way doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.

Question Everything

I came to age amid a flurry of technological adaptations, which helps me see things differently than people like my grandfather. At 35 and growing up on the edge between Generation X and Y (depending on which study you reference), I can remember when computers were housed in a room by themselves and spit out green-and-white paper onto the floor. My dad used to drop me off at Circuit City when we went to the mall because they had a computer to play with on display—I would spend hours on that thing. Now I hold my “computer” in the palm of my hand.

With the constant tech improvements over even just the last seven years since the iPhone came out (in 2007), it’s no wonder those in the millennial generation view things by how they work, and then find ways to make them more efficient. They question everything—not to be rebellious, but to find those better ways.

And that, I think, is going to be a key to success in the property management industry too.

Sometimes we get so used to a certain process and forget to think: “Can I change that with this new technology?” For example, many communities keep offering guest cards and phone numbers, hoping people conform to the “usual” way of communicating. But more and more consumers (like millennials) choose to take the first step with your community largely due to how convenient it is.

Can they chat in a question and get an instant answer right as they’re browsing your property listing (62% of consumers expect live chat to be available on mobile devices)? Can they text with your team? Or do they have to wait on you to get back to them?

With the year winding ever closer to 2015, it’s time to do some research and discover the next step in efficient communication for your business. And I doubt the answer is anything my grandfather would have dreamt possible.