Published on January 7th, 2020
By Megan Eales Monroe
The 4th Industrial Revolution is here, and it comes with a massive change in the way people live, work, and relate to one another. As boundaries between the physical and digital world are blurred, expectations for instant, personalized customer service have skyrocketed — 59% of respondents in a recent survey said they have higher expectations for customer service than last year.
However, evidence suggests that the experiences property management companies offer their residents today have a long way to go if they want to continue to evolve and remain relevant to consumers.
Although nearly 70% of property managers believe that a service-oriented culture would have a positive impact on their business, only 38% of those surveyed are prepared to take steps to make it a reality.
And with customer expectations for property management at an all-time high, failure to meet these expectations comes with more risk now than ever. Disappointed customers are adamant about sharing their negative experiences on social media and online review sites. This is a major problem, since 79% of renters who consult these sites say that negative reviews have stopped them from visiting a property during their apartment search.
So, why aren’t property managers following through and delivering a better overall experience to their residents? According to a recent survey, many think that they already do, but their residents say otherwise. For example, 84% of property managers believe they communicate effectively with their residents — something that only 38% of residents agree with.
Perhaps it’s time to take a deeper look at some of the data, like the fact that nearly two-thirds of all consumers have stopped doing business with a brand because of a poor customer service experience. Or that nearly 60% of consumers surveyed said they’re willing to switch to a brand that offers a superior customer service experience. Since more than 70% of consumers share good experiences when they have them, making the investment in a service-oriented business model can generate more than just happy residents — it can spark great word of mouth as well.
Consumers today want to be thought of as more than just a number — they want to be treated like people. How does your business treat them?
For more information on the customer experience gap and to discover the services property management companies need to invest in, see the infographic below.
What are you planning to do this year to close the gap? Let us know in the comments.
References:
- AppFolio & John Burns Real Estate Consulting, “2019 Real Estate Industry Report for Residential Property Managers” – https://info.appfolio.com/APM-CD-ASSET-2019REIndustryReport_lpform.html
- 2020 NMHC/Kingsley Associates, “Apartment Resident Preferences Report” – https://www.nmhc.org/research-insight/research-report/nmhc-kingsley-apartment-resident-preferences-report/
- Microsoft Dynamics 365, “State of Global Customer Service” – http://info.microsoft.com/rs/157-GQE-382/images/EN-US-CNTNT-ebook-2018-State-of-Global-Customer-Service.pdf
- Accenture Strategy, “Put Your Trust in Hyper-Relevance” – https://www.accenture.com/t20180219t081429z__w__/us-en/_acnmedia/pdf-71/accenture-global-dd-gcpr-hyper-relevance-pov-v12.pdf#zoom=50
- Salesforce, “Customer Expectations Hit All-Time Highs” – https://www.salesforce.com/research/customer-expectations/
Ryan Prun
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There is nothing truer in property management! Even if you do the best job ever, what you do may not be perceived as such. Client perception is the true measure of how engaging your property management service is. It is not so much about what you do as how people feel about how you do. Great article. Thanks