A quarter of the respondents in the latest 20 for 20 report cited capitalizing on technology investments as their top priority for the next budget season. This can mean investing in new technology that will have a comprehensive list of benefits, or utilize more features of existing technology to improve efficiency and ROI.
If you’re looking to invest in more expansive property management technology, or hoping to get more out of your current software solutions, here are a few ways to maximize your proptech budget this season.
1. Utilize AI leasing assistants to automate daily tasks and help onsite teams operate more efficiently
Multifamily AI chatbots have come a long way since they were introduced to the industry in 2017. Now AI leasing assistants are the baseline for prospect communication and nurturing, and continue to improve data reporting and analytics to provide actionable insights to your team.
AI leasing assistants like ResMate have proven to double lead-to-tour conversion rates, shorten the lead-to-lease time by 53%, saves up to 15 hours per week for your onsite team, and respond to 100% of prospect inquiries 24/7.
So let’s do a little math:
Higher conversion rates + shorter lead-to-lease times + time saved = more revenue, reduced vacancy loss, and higher occupancy. That’s pretty powerful.
Here are a few ways we expect AI leasing assistants to improve in the next 12 months:
- More focus on resident interactions: Currently multifamily chatbots and AI leasing assistants focus on prospect communication and nurturing. However, in the next year, we predict leading AI leasing assistants will implement more resident-focused communication to answer questions about the community, their lease, maintenance, and more.
- Improved data analysis: Thanks to natural language processing AI leasing assistants are constantly learning from their daily interactions with prospects. And when you combine that knowledge with data collected from important points of the renter journey, like Google reviews, social media, and amenity usage, analytic models can predict a resident’s likelihood to renew with unparalleled accuracy, and will continue to improve its blueprint for more marketing-related insights in the future.
- Social media management: Another benefit of collecting prospect data is the ability to analyze what your audience wants to see on your social media and Google Business Profile. AI leasing assistants can already generate social media posts based on resident interactions, and we predict the technology will continue to improve to provide more targeted, engaging AI-generated social media content.
Many leasing professionals are already using AI leasing technology to automate repetitive tasks, handle time-consuming prospect inquiries, and streamline the tour scheduling process. And as AI leasing assistants learn and evolve in the multifamily space, the benefits (and revenue) will continue to grow.
Are you getting the most out of your current AI leasing assistant? Take a look at the checklist below and see if you’re taking advantage of the best AI leasing features available on the market:
2. Centralization is not one size fits all, but the technology can save you time and money
We learned in the most recent 20 for 20 report that the term centralization is not a one-size-fits-all solution. And according to the Multifamily Insiders Centralization Report, many leasing professionals have differing opinions on what centralization actually means.
But that doesn’t mean centralization won’t work for you.
Based on the responses from nearly 100 industry professionals, centralization has become a blanket term to mean improving processes to limit repetitive tasks. So even if you have no plans on centralizing the physical office space, centralization technology can still help your staff operate more efficiently.
Here is how the industry is currently centralizing positions and tasks according to the Multifamily Insiders Centralization report:
Tasks >60% centralized (or planning to) |
Accounts payable Vendor credentialing Collections Resident payment processes Property marketing Renewal process Prospect follow-up Prospect outreach Application processing |
Tasks not centralized (remains on site) |
After-hours on-call triage Preventative maintenance Turns/Make-readies Day-to-day maintenance Resident account elements Resident interactions Move-in process Lease creation Prospect touring |
You’ll notice most of the functions in the left column that are being centralized can fit into the “transaction solutions” category, and can include platforms to streamline social media and reputation management, and AI leasing assistants to handle prospect follow-up, outreach, and tour scheduling.
If you’re considering a centralization strategy, here are a few products that can help achieve your goals:
- Smart Leasing Platform CRM: This is not your old school CRM. Powered by an AI leasing assistant, the Smart Leasing Platform is a new, intuitive way to handle prospect and resident management, allowing centralized teams to automate up to 95% of their daily leasing tasks.
- Centralized leasing calendar: Having a centralized tour calendar is a game changer for leasing teams regardless if their office is located onsite or at a central location. Especially during the busiest leasing season, it’s vital to have a streamlined plan to coordinate tours.
- AI leasing assistant: You know we had to throw this one in there again. Is there anything AI leasing assistants can’t do? They’re arguably one of the most powerful tools available for centralized teams, not just for the ability to automate prospect communications and follow-up, but also for its ability to cross-sell sister properties and compile waitlists.
Check out this blog for more information as to how these products can help make the transition to centralized leasing.
3. Ditch the expensive point solutions and save money with an all-in-one dashboard
When you log into work each day, how many different applications do you open? More than 5? 10? Even 15? Imagine how much time (and money) you would save by consolidating those apps into one dashboard.
By ditching expensive point solutions and embracing an all-in-one platform you can save considerable time, money, and frustration, all while improving your team’s communication and workflow.
While you may be able to build a more custom tech stack by purchasing individual point solutions from various vendors, it’s often challenging to get them to interact seamlessly with one another. However, all-in-one platforms were built to work together to collect better data and provide an intuitive user experience.
For example, the Respage Smart Leasing Platform CRM unlocks advanced actionable insights like predicting resident renewal rates with 78% accuracy when used with the Respage suite of solutions thanks to data collected from other tools.
The Smart Leasing Platform also provides greater budget transparency for lead attribution sources. Users can add budgeted spend to ILS sources into the Smart Leasing Platform, and with the help of ResMate, the platform analyzes the leads that are captured from each source and automatically calculates the ROI for each lead, tour, application, and lease. Additionally, the attribution spend can be set up to track data per month, per year, per lead, and per lease. By constantly monitoring the ROI on ILS leads, your team can identify opportunities for lead generation and make adjustments to low-performing lead attribution sources.
Plus, you get a better deal when you bundle solutions into one platform. For example, you can save up to 50% on your entire AI leasing and marketing tech stack by choosing the Respage Gold Package.
As the multifamily industry continues to embrace AI you will want to consider investing in technology built to help your leasing office run more efficiently. And if you jump in early and embrace the latest technology to automate prospect communication, centralize operations, and utilize proactive insights, you’ll have the tools you need to improve the renting experience, from lead to renewal (and keep up with the latest proptech trends).
Continue reading our budget series and check out How 2023 proptech trends can help you make the most of your apartment budget, and grab a checklist of 20 questions to ask your multifamily software provider.
