One trend emerging in the property management space is that fewer marketers are using "FREE" bots. Many solutions offer "FREE" add-ons, such as lead nurturing or chat solutions, to help teams cut costs. While this may sound enticing, "FREE" doesn't always mean there is no cost associated with it, and more marketers realize that. Here is why more and more multifamily marketers are moving away from free bots and towards a paid model.

Many free solutions offer a user experience that will get the job done. However, it's not always satisfactory. These solutions have a CSAT (customer satisfaction) score below 30%. The mobile experience is even worse, and 60% are using the bot on their mobile. In addition, many free add-ons are simply pop-out forms that take the user away from the initial experience making them more likely to drop off. All too often, the free experience gets less than 1/3 of the appointments scheduled and delivers low-quality leads. Rather than using true AI and lead nurturing tools, the user experience tends to be a basic interaction.

Think of it this way — say you are looking for a new car. You can choose a new, reliable vehicle that gets you where you want to go and is cost-effective with a low monthly payment. Your other option is a FREE beat-up car that breaks down often, wastes time, and rarely gets you from point A to point B. Which car would you choose? 9/10, you will select the first option that can be trusted to get the job done. The same can be said for automation solutions. Sure, one is free, but it's only reliable a small amount of the time. Solutions that cost money usually do so because they can invest in the product and provide a superior customer experience. Instead of offering a solution that saves time, teams are often forced to focus more on menial tasks. As the old saying goes…time IS money!

To create a cohesive brand experience, customizations are key. It's essential to be able to add customizations in several areas, including branding, integrations, and property-specific info.

Of course, it's essential to use the branding that makes the most sense for your communities, whether custom property branding, corporate branding, or a cohesive look and feel. It's essential to be able to make updates as needed.

Integrations are another big area that should be customized. For instance, you want a solution that integrates with your virtual tours, videos, site maps, etc. This also becomes essential when it comes to appointment setting. It's imperative that leads are not lost or forgotten in the process and that everything flows smoothly.

Lastly, property-specific info is an essential part of customizations. You want to be able to customize topics like sister properties and office hours. If they can't incorporate every aspect of your community's information, most likely, they are not getting the job done.

Most free widgets and bots don't offer robust reporting, if any. It's essential to understand what your prospects are looking for, when conversations are happening, and how these conversations are converting into tours. Often, free bots don't offer any reporting because they don't have tracking capabilities baked into their product.

When choosing a free option over a paid model, you lose a lot of functionality regarding features. Essential information like prequalifications, waitlists, and FAQs become challenging to share. These platforms often can't be parsed by property types like senior, student, affordable, mixed-income, etc. Making sure all of the information is embedded directly into the bot will help ensure a cohesive user experience and confirm that the prospect is given all the information they need upfront.

Typically FREE widgets and add-ons are built by companies that provide a CRM, website, etc. The widget is not their primary focus, so it will only be optimized in some of the ways it should be. That said, a paid model saves time and money in numerous ways. With a paid version, you could be saving up to 100+ hours per property each month, which would allow team members to focus on more critical tasks.