By Jacob Carter

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 resident and prospect experiences. 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. But a CRM can only do so much when it comes to leasing and renewals. For one thing, CRMs are not built to automate and optimize the lead-to-lease conversion process. While CRMs can certainly help convert leads, they are really designed to capture data. However, the latest wave of multifamily technologies is maximizing the CRM by leveraging its data to convert leads to leases through automated nurturing with an unmatched level of personalization.

Too frequently, prospects have to reach out to leasing agents multiple times to get a response. That generally means  the first property to respond will land the lease. According to internal data from Nurture Boss, 45% of prospects never even receive a call back from an apartment community they contacted. That is leaving a lot of money on the table. 

Adding a lease conversion automation tool to an existing CRM not only helps manage all leads, it also proactively sends follow up information to every single prospect without the need for any human intervention. Nurture Boss found it takes one hour on average to respond to all online leads with a lease conversion automation tool — a stark contrast to 45% of prospects not hearing from anyone.

A prospect typically requires eight to 12 touchpoints 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 can receive the necessary touchpoints that sway them to sign a lease. 

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 residents can help facilitate 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. Nurture Boss found the personalized communication from Renewal Conversion Automation increases resident retention and boosts renewal rates by 6%. Residents are more likely to stay at a community if they have a good relationship with the onsite team. 

From maintenance requests and follow-ups to rent reminders and renewal notices, ongoing automated communication will keep operations running smoothly and improve NOI.