The Official AppFolio Blog

Recently I presented at the Apartment Association of Metro Denver Power Lunch on the very important topic of managing your online reputation. There was a great crowd, sunny weather and Erik drove us around in a fantastically lime green rental car!

My presentation covered the (often daunting, but very important) task of what property managers can be doing to help shape their online presence and reputation. We are lucky to work with Charity Hisle from Socially Engaged Marketing – she’s an expert in social media, marketing and search for the multifamily industry. She is working on another eBook for us and I was able to use some of her great suggestions in this presentation.

The presentation covered:

• Put Your Best ‘Online Foot Forward’: Putting your best ‘online’ foot forward starts with having a great property management website. Learn a few keys to making your website more effective and tips on local search best practices so more people find your website.
• Stop and Listen: Managing your online reputation starts with listening. Learn how to set up alerts so you know when others are talking about your brand online. How to claim your local business on Yelp, Google Local so you manage your brand.
• Respond and Build Positive Feedback: How to deal with positive and negative feedback on local review sites and your Facebook page.

We just finished hosting an informative webinar featuring Mike Levy, author of the book “50 Interviews: Successful Property Managers.” Over the summer, he re-interviewed some of the property managers from the book and used this updated information in our recent webinar. The webinar shared what these successful property managers saw as their primary challenges and uncovered their key strategies and initiatives for the coming year.

Based on his interviews, Mike covered these 10 Best Practices for 2012:

1. More Strategic Marketing
2. Create New Services and Business Models
3. Keep Their Eyes on the Competition
4. Improve the Way They Communicate
5. Improve the Operations of Their Business
6. Improve Management of Their Business Finances
7. Grow Their Business
8. Do More Professional Networking
9. Remember that Education is Critical
10. Improve Usage of Technology

When we ran a contest to give away two free iPads, we had no idea how many people would enter. To enter to win the iPad, contestants had to say how they would use the iPad for their property management business. We selected the 2 iPad recipients at random and sent the iPads to the lucky winners.

What we then had was a list of hundreds of interesting responses to the iPad question. You would think that reading through all of these responses would be a chore but actually, it was a lot of fun. As the hours passed, the AppFolio marketing team decided that we had to break the responses up into categories and share them with the world because frankly, they were so good!

We started to notice some trends based on who was entering the contest. Some professionals were leasing agents while others were owners and maintenance personnel. One thing was in common: they wanted the iPad to save them time, the freedom to work remotely using Web-based software, and to make their lives easier.

If you didn’t catch these stories as they were released you can quickly reference them below. Like a good book, they are fun to read, even for the second time.

Property Management Marketing With An iPad
Acquiring New Property Management Business With An iPad
How Would You Use an iPad – Staff Favorites
Property Maintenance Using the iPad

Curious to see how your property management peers would use an iPad to acquire new business? We have 10 great comments listed below. You guys came up with so many creative ideas! Thank you for contributing.

1. I’d use the iPad in my sales presentations to pull live comps with the client right there with me! I would use it to scare the crap out of them, with photos of examples of properties I’ve taken on where owners got tenants without a property manager, and the house was TRASHED! -Rachell

2. How convenient it would be if we could pull up our website and show our listings to business acquaintances, prospective tenants, family, and friends on the iPad instead of telling them to go home and look up our Website. “A bird in the hand” is like…..an “iPad in the hand”. There’s no time like the present to show our property management website and listings. There is too great of a chance of losing the potential client if you send them out on their own to view the listings. I’ve used an iPad and it’s sooooo easy. -Kathy

3. I would use an iPad as a presentation tool for a prospective client to show our ability to search targeted areas to help with price determination for their properties. I would illustrate our personalized application through AppFolio that helps potential lessees in one step – apply, pay, and send in an application in the simplest and most user friendly way. AppFolio makes me and my iPad a team! -Stella

4. I would use the iPad during a new management presentation, allowing me to sign contracts digitally, then email them to the owner right there without needing to carry additional copies or extra folders and fill everything out twice. It would also allow me to take all measurements of the property and photos at the same time and then email those to the owner as well so they could approve the whole thing. What took days to accomplish in the past, because I would need to go back to my office to load everything up on the computer there, email the owner and then wait to hear back from them, I would be able to take care of in that first 1 hour meeting. I hope I win. -Lance

5. With the application Pages, you can make beautiful home brochures and flyers, etc! -Valerie

6. I do renovations and restorations for my investors. Keeping track of receipts and shopping lists can be tricky because if we forget something, it comes right off the bottom line. I use “notes” and have a page for each house. When I need something I put it into the “notes” on a particular house. I then take the iPad with me to the store and add the item to the list with the cost. Then when I get back to the office, everything is right there – not on napkins, on the backs of business cards or left in the store. It makes my bookkeeping so much easier and organized. -Linda

7. I think it would be a wonderful tool to add to our company for leasing agents. I would be able to process credit and criminal backgrounds right at the showing to expedite our approval process on rental applications. People wouldn’t have to wait to find out if they are approved or not, and sometimes they have cash in hand and want to lease right away. It would save mileage to the office for processing as well. -Amanda

8. [I would use the iPad to make] presentations for those potential owners! Dazzle them with your hi-tech knowledge of AppFolio and how professionally their property will be managed, all with a touch of the screen! Show them how their properties can have that colorful and professional look in flyers and the company website and the 100s more that AppFolio offers. -Susan

9. Being able to show potential new owners what we are all about and how we do day-to-day business on the iPad would be huge. I would be able to show my owners that no matter where I’m at, I will always be able to update them on everything they need to know about their home and their tenants with just a couple taps on the screen. -Kyle

10. When at a prospective owner meeting you can browse your website from the iPad and show them what options they have available for marketing their property. -Rob

Our very own Houston recently presented at the NARPM Northwest Conference in Montana on the topic of how Property Managers are going ‘green’. Running a green and paperless property management business is a true competitive advantage – property managers find that a paperless office saves time and money and gives them an opportunity to market their ‘green’ attributes to stand out from the competition.

His presentation covered the following topics:

How To Go Paperless
What you need to do to get rid of expensive and time consuming paper!

Making Properties Green
Seven simple and cheap ways to make your properties more green to save money and make them more attractive to prospective renters.

Marketing Yourself As Green
Ideas on how to market your company as more ‘green’ so you stand out from the competition.

In my previous post I talked about how important it is to have strong leadership from the top when changing software. Here are two other important areas to consider as you change to a new property management software.

Ask for “best practice” recommendations. As you may or may not know, no two property management companies run their business the exact same way. Often these business processes are the result of the software you were using and the truth is that most companies aren’t aware that there are different or better ways to do it!

Over time, we accept deficiencies in our property management system as “the norm” and adapt our processes to fit these limitations. If you have an open mind during the sales process, this is a great opportunity to learn how your peers run their businesses – maybe there are some ideas that can help you. Ask your sales representative for “best practice recommendations” so you can learn how other companies collect rent, market vacancies, manage maintenance tasks or send owner statements. We encourage our customers to learn from each other – we host regular Meet Ups and have a very active user forum.

During this initial change is a great time to take a look at your current process and find a few ways to make them better. If you are open to change, you have an opportunity to capitalize on how others have maximized their businesses while maintaining (or exceeding) your current level of service.

Create momentum and celebrate success. The heavy lifting starts with the implementation, but the planning should start well in advance. How soon is too soon to start talking about implementation? There is no “too soon”! Ask about it on the very first call with your sales representative. Before you make a decision, make sure that you are comfortable with what is expected of your company during the implementation. How can you manage all this change, your employees working two jobs (day jobs and implementing new software) and a handful of challenges that you didn’t see coming? In the midst of all this “fun,” there will be victories! Some may be small. Some will be major milestones. You can plan for success by identifying what success looks like…and once you get there, celebrate it with the entire team.

It’s important to plan a kick-off call to rally the troops (remind them why we decided to do this in the first place). Then create and maintain momentum by celebrating every success (i.e. we’ve signed off on the chart of accounts or our first property is live or we’ve received our first online payment! What’s next? Bring it on!). You can create enough momentum early in the project that subsequent groups of properties, departments, users, etc want to be next. By focusing on project success and celebrating each win with the entire team, you can turn the fear of change into curiosity and create a level excitement that’s contagious.

At the end of the day, changing property management software isn’t easy, but you can set your company up for success:

• Leadership sets the tone for the whole project
• Go into the project with an open mind – this is your chance to learn and understand how your peers run their businesses. You can streamline your processes without sacrificing your differentiating service.
• Start thinking about implementation on day one. Define “success” and celebrate it every step of the way.

The biggest challenge is managing change. Don’t fight it. Expect it. If you do, you will not only successfully implement your new software, but you stand to make your business more profitable, faster. Good luck!

Imagine if one day you walked into your bedroom and the light switch had moved to the other side of the door. Seem impossible? I recently moved, so this happened to me! How many times do you think you would bang your hand on the wall before you realized the switch wasn’t there anymore? I’ll tell you, about 50 times…and still to this day!

The moral of the story  – change can be hard. Upgrading your property management software is no different (and only slightly more involved than my light switch example). Having implemented property management software and supported companies for over 12 years, I’ve helped hundreds of companies make the migration. What’s the biggest difference between companies who adapt quickly and companies who struggle? It’s simple, their willingness to change. Is it possible to “prepare” your team for change? Absolutely.

Here’s a scenario. Your company has decided it’s time to look into upgrading your property management software. A core group of superstars have been tasked with selecting and implementing new property management software. This new software is going to help take your business to the next level! The group enters the process with an open mind. They are interested in hearing new ideas. They want to understand how a software upgrade will improve the business and improve their lives. If this is how your entire team views the project, run out and buy a lottery ticket. Unfortunately, 100% commitment from the get-go is not the norm.

Here’s another, more common scenario. The majority of the team is open minded and ready to see what’s out there. But, there’s one person who’s not sold. There are too many reasons to guess what the motivation might be (although you probably know what it is), but this person is not only adverse to change, they are going to fight every step of the way. Think about how much time, effort and planning (not to mention money) will go into implementing a change like this. One influential person can either slow the process to a crawl or pull it off the tracks completely.

What I’ve learned – it starts at the top. Companies will follow leadership. Leadership needs to make it clear early and often that change is going to happen. It won’t be easy, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and these are the things the business, and you as individuals, stand to gain from the upgrade (A, B and C benefits). If the leader is willing to make this kind of commitment, the team will follow! They have no choice. It all starts at the top.

It’s easy to get lost in all the details of property management. If you are a multifamily property manager, here’s one idea that can have a big impact to your profit.

Move work to your on-site staff.
Instead of having your staff do 90% of the work, move as much work as possible to your on-site staff. The cost of an on-site staff member is usually borne by the property owner, not you. So, if you have a capable on-site paired with an easy to use property management software system, he/she can do common operations like: collect rent online, create work-orders, post vacancies, send out 3-day notices, etc. This work can be done without one person on your staff lifting a finger other than to review for performance and appropriate oversight.

What can this mean to your business?
In other words, a good on-site paired with an easy to use property management software program means you could add a 50 unit apartment complex with minimal time expense to your staff. This additional revenue contributes directly to your bottom line and allows you to use your current resources in ways that really drive value for your client.

So why don’t more companies do this?
The answers we hear from property managers are an interesting combination of two issues: 1) On-sites sometimes don’t have the skills or training to accomplish these tasks and 2) there is no software that is easy enough for them to use in this way.

Regarding #1: So, the national unemployment rate is close to 10%. There has never been a better time to find capable on-site team members that need a job, and can do the job of entering rent, creating work-orders, and posting vacancies.

Regarding #2: Software can be complex, and coupled with on-site turnover the training cost can be extraordinary. Your profit is a derivative of your people and their productivity. Our customers consistently find it is so worth it to invest in software the entire team can use that ultimately makes you more profitable.

When looking at property management software, cost matters, but the biggest cost you should think about is your people cost. If your software can be used by on-sites and helps you avoid hiring another employee, it’s worth it.

Maybe you’ve heard the quote, “The key to success is often the ability to adapt.” As VP of Product Management here at AppFolio, I track the major industry trends that affect the property management business. Below I’ve outlined some “mega trends” that I see evolving in the next 5 to 10 years.

Trend #1: The Changing Dynamic of the Renter
Statistics show more and more people are using the Internet in every demographic. As of June, approximately 70% of the U.S. population is using the Internet regularly which is almost 240 million people (http://www.internetworldstats.com/am/us.htm). Ten years ago, property managers would advertise a property for rent in the Newspaper. Today, renters (especially younger renters) rarely read the classified section of the newspaper and instead expect easy access to online listings whether on their computer or mobile phone. They want to browse vacancies that match their needs, see pictures and watch virtual tours. Increasingly this is happening from dedicated rental listing sites or simply listing services like Craigslist.

Generation Y is accustomed to interacting in a different way than past generations: they prefer text or email to the phone call, online rental forms to filing something out by hand and driving it in, automatic online payments to dropping off the rent check, and a management company that is responsive and listening to their needs.

This shift in renter behavior is pushing property management companies to adopt and update their technology. I advise property managers to build a modern website and be visible online. If old methods of finding applicants are becoming less and less effective, try new areas where your renters are likely to be. With potential renters and property owners on social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, it makes sense for you to meet your market on the platform of their choice.

Trend #2: People Visit Trusted Social Networks for Reviews
As a property manager, you are marketing your business to both owners and renters and almost everyone has access to comments from past residents and clients on social networking sites. People are reading reviews before buying a book on Amazon, checking Yelp before booking a restaurant for dinner, and the same is true for the property rental business. When looking for a new home, people may first ask their Facebook friends or other online networks for a good recommendation. Statistics show Facebook has over 250 million users and the numbers continue to grow. Understanding this shift in behavior is key to adapting your business for future success.

When it comes to online reviews and forums, I see more and more businesses joining the conversation so that they can respond to customer feedback in real time. A good way to turn an angry gripe into a positive sentiment is to address people head on. Letting someone know that you hear their frustration and want to take action to correct the situation, makes you seem like a person people will do business with.

Management of your reputation is crucial to running a successful business, and property managers must differentiate themselves with excellent customer service in order to stay competitive.

Trend #3: Mass Marketing No Longer Works
The days of sending out mass messages to a broad range of people is over. Mainstream media outlets are saturated with information and it appears that direct marketing to your target audience is critical to increasing revenue. Companies today are doing some research into renter and owner behavior and creating customized marketing campaigns. If you know your audience, market specifically to them for a higher ROI.

Adapting to Change is Key to Future Success
Don’t forget to take larger market trends into account as well. For instance, we notice that the “green movement” is gaining widespread popularity. Property management companies can take advantage of this public interest by making a few upgrades to their properties and marketing them as “green.”

What changes will you be making to your business plan in the next 5-10 years?

Is your company more or less efficient than your peers?

You might expect that in an industry with so many associations and educational forums that there are best practices that would lead to common time metrics on simple every day procedures.

You would be wrong.

Not all property management companies are created equal, nor do they run at the same levels of efficiency. I recently surveyed property managers on common operational tasks to find out how long they spend each month on operational tasks, collecting rent for example. Some companies have employed tactics that make them up to twice as efficient as others, while providing a higher level of service to their owners and residents.

Time is money.

So why don’t property managers treat their time like they treat their money? Ask a property manager if they audit their books and do they know where their money goes each month and the answer is, “Yes.” Ask them if they audit their time and the time of their employees to find out where the biggest time expenses are in their business and the answer is, “No, it’s too hard.”

So what? Property managers will often do a task themselves rather than pay for someone else to do it, because it “saves” them money. What they fail to quantify is the time expense, and the cost to their business. The amount of time property managers spend actually growing their business is often quite small – typically less than 5% of a companies’ resources are focused on growth and yet it’s almost always the #1 goal.

So, the next time you see your employee or find yourself doing any of the following, ask yourself if it’s an efficient use of time:

• Entering rent manually
• Folding and stuffing owner statements in envelopes
• Faxing a work order
• Answering questions about an owner statement that is hard to understand
• Answering the 10th inquiry about a vacancy on the phone with the same answer

Once you are aware of these activities you can look for opportunities to avoid them.

As we add time-saving features to AppFolio Property Manager each month, we continue to find new chances to help our customers spend less time on these tasks so they have more time to find new business – it is so exciting!

Albert Oaten has conducted over 50 property management workshops and seminars around the country, inspiring debate and discussion on tactical ways to save property management companies time so they can focus on growing their business.