Last modified on March 11th, 2015
By Elizabeth Millar

Every successful property management professional knows the status of their inventory intimately. Each community has its own rhythm – defined by the residents, owners and company policies. And, while the rhythm of your property definitely impacts your reputation and desirability ratings, the pulse of your business gives you opportunities to shape and transform community environments.

Think of it this way. The rhythm of your business is the flow of interactions between stakeholders. Rhythm includes workflow patterns, resident engagement, marketing campaign designs and effective cash disbursement processes. Pulse on the other hand, indicates whether your rhythm is healthy and thriving or lackluster and in need of a lifeline to survive.

What You Know Impacts What You Do

Launching a new website to manage leasing and resident services won’t guarantee success unless your agents keep a watchful eye on vital statistics.

To efficaciously drive traffic to your website, and improve occupancy rates, your agents should be able to:

• Monitor active listings and know how many units are available.
• Access upcoming property tour schedules. (And, know how many are confirmed.)
• Compare advertising campaigns and costs associated with implementing each one individually.
• Know where people access listing information (social media, website, print ads, television, etc.)
• Determine how many people view each property.
• Compute return on investment for single listings and broad campaigns.
• Identify most desirable units/communities.
• Compare diverse media channels.
• Discover the “W’s” behind resident engagement patterns. Who is looking at your offerings, on which channels and what is most attractive to prospects and current occupants.

These vital statistics enable you to fine-tune marketing campaigns to your advantage. But, they also give you valuable information to build confidence with owner/clients and expand your audience. Your property pulse is constantly changing. And, your team should actively monitor everything that stimulates change. Real-time data management is crucial for maintaining a thriving business. There’s really no other effective way to quickly respond to changes in the market or consumer behavior.

What You Do Impacts Your Future

When you implement policies that give your leasing agents access to vital information, you make it easier for your agents to view and share information with current and prospective clients. Lead generation activities become more effective.

• Automated reporting and management software features that allow you to post to multiple online sites simultaneously, save you time and money.
• Diving into the analytics helps you stay connected with residents and owners using preferred communication tools – self-service portals, on-demand owner statements, email, text messaging, etc.
• Customized property reports by unit/listing let you share information with owners and investors who need to make financial decisions.

Accessing the knowledge you need to quickly assess property performance is necessary to stay ahead of your competition and deliver high-quality service consumers expect.

If your property management rhythm isn’t healthy, now is the best time to start checking the pulse points.