AIM 2023: The Future of Customer Experience, Marketing, and Brand in Multifamily

Listen to your onsite team when it comes to best serving residents.

Imagine what an apartment resident would think if their community suddenly suspended its traditional morning coffee service for residents at their leasing office. Or if they suddenly stopped putting out Oreo cookies as a treat.

Sometimes it’s a head-scratcher when it comes to apartment operators’ attempts – or lack thereof – to keep their tenants happy.

A panel of property management professionals discussed what works and what doesn’t during the session “The Power of Experience: The Future of Customer Experience, Marketing, and Brand in Multifamily,” moderated by Trevor Park of Rent Dynamics.

He was joined by Katie Kane, Director of Customer Experience at Northland; Cynthia Powers, Chief Marketing Officer at MC Companies; Lisa Tully-Tavian, Chief Marketing Officer at Sentral; and Laurel Zacher, Vice President, Marketing and Talent Development at Security Properties

Tully-Tavian said when she was reviewing comments from residents who chose not to renew, halting the free coffee was on the list.

Just a $3 item for renters out of pocket, it cost the community far less to provide that great perk.

The panel said that sometimes the corporate office makes well-intentioned decisions based on dollars and not input from the onsite team. Those moves can backfire.

Katie Kane, director of customer engagement at Northland, said it drives her crazy when, for example, a fitness machine is given a simple “Out of Order” sign when it’s not functioning properly.

“Do better than that,” Kane said. “Provide more information. Apartment communities could say when it’ll be fixed, ‘we ordered a part for it’ … or detail what steps they are taking to resolve it.”

More Interesting Points:

• The panel talked about the importance of onsite staff being visible to the residents.
• “Don’t just sit in your office, you can work anywhere, set up your laptop in a common area,” one said. “It doesn’t cost anything to have the residents able to see you.”
• Participation levels for resident activities’ can be hit or miss. Park suggested communities reach out to local merchants and have them host the event. This way, there’s no cost to the property and the local businesses can benefit, he said.