Apartment seekers are increasingly opting for self-directed technology, according to recent marketing panel at AIM Conference
Nearly 40 percent of renters are willing to sign a lease at a property sight unseen, according to Apartments.com research. Now, as in other industries, customers looking for an apartment are becoming comfortable moving along the marketing funnel before they speak to a human, often relying on AI-powered tools throughout the process.
This was one of the key insights shared by Chris Hood, senior director of marketing at Apartments.com, during a panel on multifamily marketing at the 2023 Apartment Innovation and Marketing (AIM) Conference.
Better-informed, more autonomous customers are driving this trend. With apartment listings today that provide unit-specific details and virtual tour options, prospective renters are better positioned to select an apartment without the traditional guided visit.
“If you give them more control, you’ll be more likely to win them over,” Hood said in the discussion during the May 7-10 conference in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Hood was joined on the panel by Scott Wesson, chief digital officer at UDR Apartments, and Windell Mollenido, vice president of marketing and technology for the REMM Group, AMO. The discussion was moderated by LeaseHawk’s Brock MacLean, executive vice president and chief revenue officer.
Apartment communities can promote renter autonomy by adding more digital touchpoints. For example, prospective renters have shown a 50 percent increase since the onset of the pandemic in their preference for texting and chatting with communities they’re interested in, according to Apartments.com data.
“It’s all about ‘How can we make it easier for our customers?’” Hood said.
Other accommodations include expanding self-guided touring options, an approach that has paid off for UDR Apartments.
After shifting to exclusively self-guided tours, the property management company saw its number of tours double, said UDR’s Scott Wesson. What’s more, the time needed for each tour dropped, with an average of 17 minutes for a self-guided tour, compared to a full hour for a guided tour.
To further promote self-sufficiency and reduce friction, the company has automated transactional tasks throughout the leasing process, relying on LeaseHawk’s ACE virtual leasing assistant and comprehensive artificial intelligence solutions.
This has shortened the application-to-lease process by 17 percent and improved quality control by providing customers with consistent, accurate information.
“Believe it or not, residents will fact-check what the bot tells them about price or details against what we have online,” Wesson said, “and they don’t even know that the bot is getting the same info from our website.”
AI-powered technology can also support the application process, creating a faster, easier leasing experience, moderator Brock MacLean said.
“Renters expect a frictionless experience,” MacLean said.
But even before customers reach the leasing process, AI plays a vital marketing function in a smartphone-connected world, said Windell Mollenido of The REMM Group, AMO.
“It used to be that we [consumers] looked for ads,” he said. “Now the ads look for us.”
Recap from Paul Bergeron
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