Business hours are a thing of the past. Today, people expect great customer service 24/7, 365. And if you can’t offer that, people will go elsewhere. Especially in multifamily, property management teams should expect that many prospective leads are looking up their property after hours. At BetterBot, for example, we know 58% of our traffic happens after we turn in for the evening. Of course, the logical question is, how can leasing teams best serve these prospects? Thankfully, it’s easier than ever to get people the info they need on your property – no matter when they’re looking for it.
Must-haves for leasing after-hours customer service
Online reviews
What do you do when you hear about a new restaurant or hotel? More than likely you immediately look for reviews. People looking for their next apartment often do the same. According to the Bureau of Statistics, 93% of consumers read online reviews regularly, 85% trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, and 40% form an opinion after reading one to three reviews. That’s pretty significant.
And while it might seem tempting to not enable online reviews on sites like Yelp or Google My Business, forgoing transparency can come at a cost. Consider Destiny, one of our author’s stories that shows just how important online reviews can be – even when they’re negative.
“I once ran into a situation where I fell in love with a property online. However, the Google reviews were disappointing to read. There were tons of reviews complaining about the property, but I couldn’t shake my love for how the property looked. A few days later, I decided to visit the property to see it firsthand. When I met with one of the leasing agents, she explained how they recently acquired the property and have been trying to make up for all the turmoil the last management caused in the three weeks they owned the property. The leasing agent walked me through all the changes that were going to be made and the problems they were currently working on.”
Conversational chatbot
BetterBot is the the #1 multifamily chatbot for a reason. People don’t want to wait to speak with a live representative when they’re curious about your property. Having a chatbot integrated into your website and social media can make it easy for prospects and current renters alike to get help with a variety of things, from scheduling appointments to learning about your property.
At BetterBot, our chatbot uses guided conversation to lead users through prompts. Your leasing team can customize these prompts to reflect your unique brand and property offerings.
3D tours
Virtual 3D tours have been rising in popularity for a while, but ever since the pandemic hit, they’ve skyrocketed. People want to see what their dream apartment looks like before they visit in person. Especially if many of your renters are transplants from another area, offering high-quality 3D tours of your apartments can be a great way to turn prospects into leads. What’s more, you can easily integrate 3D tours into your BetterBot chatbot!
A great social media presence
Along with online reviews, one of the first places people go to check out your property is social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. No matter when people are looking up your accounts, they’ll be able to get a great idea of what it’s like to live at your property if you’ve taken the time to add plenty of up-to-date pictures and information.
When people are ready to interact with your team, they can easily do so without having to visit your website, thanks to BetterBot. With full integration available wherever you have a digital presence, you can make sure no lead gets left behind.
Non-gated info
One of the biggest disappointments people face when searching for a new apartment is gatekeeping. We’ve all experienced it – you’re trying to find something on a company’s website and get a pop-up asking for your contact info before you can access the info. Or the dreaded “call for pricing” message on your homepage.
No one should have to call your number or give you their personal details just to get basic information. By keeping everything transparent, you can avoid this common customer frustration. What’s more, you’ll give your team valuable time back from having to answer endless phone queries.
Still, it’s important to get people’s contact info if you want to be able to follow up with them. BetterBot’s guided conversation flow asks for this information in a natural way – without gatekeeping crucial information.
