Renters today have different habits and expectations compared to the renters of even five and ten years ago. From how they hunt for apartments to their communication style and customer service expectations, it’s important to recognize these characteristics and learn how to best serve them.

1. 2018 © AppFolio, Inc.
Did A Renter Just Pass You By?
Tips for Connecting with Modern Customers
Elena Langberg – Manager, Value Added Services, AppFolio
Joe Saldaña – Product Manager, AppFolio

2. 2018 © AppFolio, Inc.

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• Property management and accounting
• Online rent collection (free)
• Prospect / guest card tracking
• Vacancy Marketing
• Websites
• Online applications & leases
• Resident Screening
• Mobile Inspections
… So You Run A More Successful Business
Web-Based Property Management Software
@AppFolio #AppFolioChat
AppFolio

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Hello!
Elena Langberg
Manager, Value Added
Services, AppFolio
Joe Saldaña
Product Manager, AppFolio

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Today’s Agenda
● Current Market Trends
● The Renter Journey Today
● How to Optimize Your Rental Listings
● Tools to Streamline Prospect Engagement
● Know Your Reputation & Improve Tenant Retention

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Current Market Trends

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Occupancy Rates and Rent Growth

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Occupancy Rates Trending Down
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Effective Rent Growth Trending Down
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The Renter’s Journey

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Top reasons why
renters choose to
move.

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Key words renters
associate with the
possibility of moving.

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Top methods renters
use to evaluate new
home options.

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Key words renters
associate with the
search process.

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Home Requirements

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Building & Neighborhood Requirement
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Amenity Preference
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Optimize Your Rental Listings

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Quality Listings

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High quality photos.Detailed marketing
descriptions.
Clearly stated pet policy. Refresh your listing.
Enhance Your Listings

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High quality photos.
Clearly stated pet policy.
Detailed Marketing Descriptions
Refresh your listing.

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Detailed marketing
descriptions.
Clearly stated pet policy.
High Quality Photos
Refresh your listing.

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High quality photos.Detailed marketing
descriptions.
Clearly Stated Pet Policy
Refresh your listing.

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High quality photos.Detailed marketing
descriptions.
Clearly stated pet policy.
Refresh Your Listing

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A little love goes
a long way!

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Let’s Take a Poll!
How much time do you spend preparing your
listings?

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Listing Syndication

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How Are Renters Finding Your Listing?
•Internet Listing Sites
•Google Search Results
•Company / Community Website
•Mobile Responsive

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Evaluate Your Listings

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Streamline Prospect Engagement

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Which words best
describe how you felt
about applying for a
new home?

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Let’s Take a Poll!
What is your average response time to a prospect?

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Exceed Customer Service Expectations
Are you equipped to
meet these expectations?
77%
say valuing their time is the
most important thing to
provide them with good
service
80%
of companies say they deliver
exceptional customer service
Low
Effort
Most important factor
in customer loyalty
of their
customers
agree
8
%

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of renters will move on if they
don’t hear back in their
expected time frame.
32%

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Let’s Take a Poll!
On which of the following do you spend the most
time during prospect calls?

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The Engagement Process

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● Property Managers want to respond to all inquiries
● Guest card volume is high making it difficult to respond in timely manner
● There’s a need to narrow the funnel
Challenge: Not Enough Time to Respond

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• Stay on top of leads with
automated responses
• Setup templates & system
automatically emails prospect
right away
Prospect Auto-Response

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Clear
Expectations
=
Reduced
Anxiety

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Save Time & Improve Service
“I am ecstatic about this feature.
Great for quicker response time.
Thank you for this.”
Awesome!!! I love this as I always
respond with the same information
to each guest card! Now, I don't
have to do this anymore. Thank
you!!
Millions of E-mails Sent | 1000s of Hours Saved

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Pre-Qualification
Form

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● Automate capturing prospect information
● Help property managers to qualify prospects for showings
● Filter out lookie loos
Challenge: Quality of Leads

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Pre-Qual Questionnaire
• Avoid wasted time and effort
with unqualified prospects
• Request critical information such
as income, credit score, and pets
• Require pre-qualification before
scheduling showings

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Save Time & Improve Quality of Renters
“I already got it going!! Thank you for
this. It is cool.”
“This will be very helpful and time
saving to get an idea of the prospect
tenant prior to even showing the
house”
1000s Forms Submitted | 1000s of Hours Saved

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Two-Way Text
Messaging
• The average Millennial sends
23+ texts a day!
• Easily send reminders, alerts,
status updates and more!
• Keep a record of your
communications
Hi, Tina
I’d love to schedule a
showing, are you free to
meet today at 3:00PM at
30 Wilshire Blvd?
Jane
Signature Properties
Hi Jane, Sounds good see
you soon!

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Know Your Reputation &
Improve Retention

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Let’s Take a Poll!
What is your average star rating?

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Why Do Renters Stay?

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What Do Renters Appreciate?
● Property manager accessibility
● Online payment options
● Quick maintenance response times
● Birthday/celebration acknowledgement
● Community events

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1 in 5 Find Their Next Home
via Someone They Know

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Make the Most of Every Interaction

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Tracking Renter Satisfaction
•Surveys
•Online Reviews

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Nearly 75% of renters indicate that online
reviews have stopped them from visiting a
community.

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Recap
• Current Market Trends
• The Renter Journey Today
• How to Optimize Your Rental Listings
• Tools to Streamline Prospect Engagement
• Know Your Reputation & Improve Tenant Retention

60. 2018 © AppFolio, Inc.
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