Outsourcing = Focus- Making Resident Retention a Priority Again

In my research and after speaking to several Multi-family execs and community managers I’ve discovered that most of them have no issue readily admitting that they loathe the idea of actually working on resident retention; let alone rent increases. Sure they have to send retention reports to upper management so they do the typical calls to see if the maintenance order was filled and many may stick some donuts out on the counter on a Saturday morning but when it comes to actually engaging the residents at lease renewal time or even getting to know them all individually they often times place this tool on the bottom of their priority list. They have vacants to fill and employees to manage. Reports and meetings…you know the spill. For the most part hiring someone to focus on retention wouldn’t be cost effective because it’s such a sporadic thing in nature and kind of hard to benchmark for a nine to fiver.

I put some serious thought into all of this and I’d like to pose a question. Have you considered that the best people to tell you how to keep the people happy are the people? Yes, they are!!! Also, have you noticed that we live in an era where now more than ever people are stepping outside of their boxes to make new connections with like minded people to create lives that align them with their purpose and dreams; Not only that, people are hungry for knowledge, they’re always seeking opportunities to learn new things and they want to be on the cutting edge. And only if you live under a rock you haven’t realized that people are basically telling you what makes them happy all day every day on social media websites. This makes getting to know people and figuring out their needs a no brainer. The catch is who has the time and desire to do it?

These are fairly new trends. Multi-family hasn’t always had these factors to think about but it’s definitely time to start moving in this direction, don’t you think? That’s where Resident Keepers comes in. We know the value in engaging your residents at a high level that aids in creating connections and experiences that cater directly to them. They are allowed to make the property whatever they want it to be while having someone there that you trust and ultimately steer to make sure they follow all of the Fair Housing guidelines, company policies, procedures etc. The best part about all of this is your management can continue to focus on their core responsibilities while Resident Keepers keeps the retention ball rolling long after all of the staff has clocked out and gone home.

The cost is much lower than it would be to actually pay an employee and the return is much higher. It just makes sense. Let’s look at the value a bit closer in very simple terms.

·         You will learn what the people want and need from the people

·         You will allow the people to help create their wants and needs

·         You will steer a person you trust as they orchestrate all of this with all fair housing guidelines, company policies and procedures in mind

·         You can continue to focus on the core of the business while being assured that there is a focus on retention

·         Your property will gain a positive morale that matches the unique energy of your residents

·         You will save money on outsourcing rather than hiring an employee

·         Your residents will be connected in an on-line social media setting courtesy of www.myvirtualneighbor.com

·         Relationships will be being consistently built so that at renewal time you won’t have to play Sherlock Holmes

·         Your residents will appreciate you for it

·         Your residents will want to stay

Now I may be a little bias….but this sounds mighty good to me. For more info about why outsourcing makes sense when it comes to resident retention, log onto www.residentkeepers.com and sign up for the mailing list.

Are you saying Tomato while your residents are saying Tomahto?

So if you’ve been following me for a while you know that I love to reference songs when I’m trying to make a point. Today I’m reminded of "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off” by George and Ira Gershwin. Check out the lyrics.

You say eether and I say eyether,
You say neether and I say nyther;
Eether, eyether, neether, nyther,
Let's call the whole thing off!
You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto;
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto!
Let's call the whole thing off!

Ring a bell yet? It’s a classic that was written and performed in the 1930’s. One thing is for sure while the song may be old the advice that we can take from it is classic. Let’s think about this….would you want your residents to say this to you? If they did what would your response be?

After working for many years as buyer I learned the importance of learning my niche customer and thinking for them when making my selections. While I may be into one thing I knew the importance of conforming to what my clients were demanding.

This is the very approach that property managers should take when relating to their community. For whatever reason your community has taken on a certain energy and vibe and you can bet your bottom dollar that the vibe your property puts out contributes to the new tenants that are attracted to it daily.

While I realize you’re managing the property and you’re there day to day I wonder if you’ve taken the time to really get to know your residents and find out what language they are speaking. Can you imagine the disconnect that’s taking place if they are saying tomahto and you keep saying tomato?

Conforming to the specific likings of your residents is the perfect strategy to gaining their loyalty. We live in times where more than ever people want to express their individuality and most importantly they want to be heard.

Resident Keepers is a huge fan of My Virtual Neighbor. It allows us to connect the residents in a simple, private, online community that encourages consistent communication with each other and us. This is a win-win for everyone. Not only do we really get to know the residents in a relaxed setting we use it as a tool to study their likes, dislikes, habits, etc. This assists us in maintaining effective retention plans that cater specifically to your community. Long gone are the days of cookie cutter fixes and telling people what we’ve created for them. Your residents want to know that their personal desires influence your decisions.

So, my advice for you today is to always remember that there are different strokes for different folk. Go out, mingle with your residents, do some passive research without all of the formality and find out what your residents want. Stop spinning your wheels and throwing so many things at the wall to see what sticks. Focus on their emotional needs and social desires and I guarantee you will see a rewarding increase in your retention rate.

For more free tips on effective resident retention sign up for our free mailing list http://www.residentkeepers.com/

If you got it FLAUNT it!

I remember once living in an apartment community where my unit had a view of the pool right outside of my window. I loved it. It was one of the things that aided me in making my decision to rent there.

I’d sit out on my deck often times and listen to the waterfall that was attached; it gave me feelings of peace and serenity.

I’ll never forget the night I happened to take a glimpse out my window and the pool surprisingly looked like a Miami resort! They had completely redone it and it was absolutely beautiful! I instantly wanted to grab a date and go hang out in it, and yes it had to be at night! I’d never gone out there at night and probably never would have desired to had they not added such amazing flashing light work that literally lit up the sky above. Between me and you it was a very sexy scene. I said to myself, “No kids allowed after 8 p.m.” Lol!

A few weeks later I got a notice on my door that said Pool Party. I immediately thought great, they are showing off the nifty new night features in the pool and I can finally go down and hang out with some of my neighbors. Boy was I wrong! I kept reading and realized they were hosting a two hour “pizza party” down at the pool in the middle of the day. It did not take me long to realize that they were once again wasting time, energy and money. This is one of many of the times that I thought to myself if only I could get my hands on their retention plan somehow, I could truly help them turn some things around; hence the creation of Resident Keepers.

Here’s my synopsis of where they went wrong and why as well as how they could have maximized the opportunity and made it work tremendously for their retention goals!

Where they succeeded:  They updated the pool. It was fabulous! Awesome! Beautiful! Sexy! I could go on and on!

Where opportunities were missed: There was no announcement made. This could have been done free of charge with the use of My Virtual Neighbor or even with a Mail Chimp e-mail announcement. Most of the residents there never knew that the night features even existed. Remember the only reason I saw it was because it was within my view outside of my window.

Where they succeeded:  They hosted a social event that had free food. Everybody loves free and everybody loves food. Good initiative.

Where opportunities were missed: Brace yourself; they missed opportunities in several areas. First of all they hosted a pool party in their updated, night fancy pool during the middle of the DAY! Nothing about this made any sense; this was a total flop in scheduling. Second, they placed one notice on my door a week in advance that could have blown away with the wind, been taken down by kids or even tossed to the side never to be seen again. We’ve got to remember that people are inundated with information in this day and age. Flyers on doors are like junk mail, they are the last thing on most people’s priority list. People need reminders and they need them frequently. This is why connecting with your residents on-line is essential. Thirdly, they were out there from noon until two p.m. This was a measly two hours! This did not allot enough time for residents to work the event into their schedules. Most traditional events such as pool party or pizza party should last a minimum of four hours or you’re wasting your efforts. Lastly and don’t get me wrong I could go on and on….they gave absolutely no incentive for anyone to want to go out of their way to come. Not a single raffle, contest, feature or objective was listed on the flyer. We here at Resident Keepers pride ourselves in consistently creating and advertising additional reasons for residents to come out, enjoy themselves and meet their neighbors.

The moral of this story is…”If you got it, flaunt it!” It’s not just enough to do or have features and benefits available. You’ve got to seize the moment for all it’s worth. Take full advantage of any and everything that you have access to and ALWAYS make EVERYTHING a major big deal.

This practice will guarantee you a boost in resident retention initiatives. Now go figure out what you’ve got to work with and make it work for you!

Kids and Pets- Another Piece to your Resident Retention Puzzle

Let’s face it. Major media moguls have known for years that the best way to evoke emotions…I’m talking warm and fuzzies is with kids and animals. Children and pets are a universal symbol of pure love. It’s just understood that they are innocent and sweet and we naturally want to be nurturing to them. With that said marketers know that if they want to get consumers in a vulnerable state they should put kids and dogs in their marketing collateral. So where am I going with this? So glad you asked.

In the ever evolving world of Resident Retention we should always have our marketing hats on. It’s only smart to make a huge part of our retention initiatives all about the kids and pets on your property. That’s right, make your resident’s children happy or give them a chance to show off their dog and you’ve struck gold.

We here at Resident Keepers are always looking for new ways to insert kids and dogs into our master plan. Yes, everything from pet shows to walking the kids through the process of building and managing a lemonade stand. We know that these are emotional hot spots for our residents and that’s just the thing we aim for.

While we realize that you probably run a flawless operation on your property we can’t help but believe that if you put a focus on the little people and the fury friends you’ll make a huge impression that will add even more value to your property.

Remember the more smiles and laughter you can create within your community the more people will be inclined to stay. So there you have it. Kids and Pets! Who knew the solution was already there. You can thank me for it later. In the meantime find out more about us at www.residentkeepers.com and be sure to sign up for our mailing list to receive more helpful hints like this.

Your Residents Want to Stay

As I begin to write this blog about effective resident retention I am reminded of the Tracy Chapman song, “Give me one reason”. I’ve referenced some of the lyrics below.

Give me one reason to stay here
And I'll turn right back around
Give me one reason to stay here
And I'll turn right back around
Because I don't want leave you lonely
But you got to make me change my mind

While we all know that she’s speaking in terms of a loving and intimate relationship I think it’s safe to say that we can easily apply this to the apartment industry and lease renewal time. What if leasing managers always remembered that nine times out of ten their residents actually wanted to stay?!

We here at Resident Keepers believe strongly in the power of thoughts, intentions and plans and this is definitely a scenario where positive thinking, setting intentions to reclose the deal and having a strategic plan to do so come in handy.

I’d like to challenge you to adopt and maintain the mindset that your residents want to stay and that they are depending on you to constantly give them reasons to. This does not only apply to those that have yet to turn in their notices but those that have already turned them in as well. Notice that Tracy said, “And I’ll turn right back around.” This is an indication that she was clearly on her way out the door.

An ongoing retention plan is an essential piece of your business and should always be a point of focus.

While we could go into specific details and action items I think it’s important to simply remember that your residents don’t want to have to go through the hassle of moving and sometimes it just takes someone taking the time to remind them of all of the inconveniences that they will have to deal with and all of the extra money that they will spend if they were to choose to move.

When this way of thinking is standard throughout your company you won’t have any worries about increasing rent at lease renewal time which should be a daily practice for your property.

This simple shift in thinking and approach can give you an instant boost in resident retention.

Written by:

Talisa Lavarry

Founder

Resident Keepers

www.residentkeepers.com