Is Saving Today Worth Losing Tomorrow?

Centralization remains to be a hot topic for property management companies as it not only drives efficiency in operations like leasing, marketing and maintenance, but also drives profits. However, like many people are when they are investing their hard-earned dollars for potential profits, there seems to be a continuous hesitation when it comes to committing their investments with high-quality technology.

Luckily, there’s a compelling case to be made that true centralization is not just an investment in efficiency but a catalyst for long-term success and boosting NOI. In the dynamic world of multifamily property management, finding cost-effective solutions to streamline operations is paramount, especially during market downturns.  

In the context of the 2024 multifamily market, the appeal of cheaper technology options is undeniable. The promise of cutting immediate expenses might seem like a thoughtful choice, especially for multifamily companies aiming to minimize upfront investments as they brace for the potential of less-than-desired results. However, the allure of cost savings can mask the underlying risks and ramifications that accompanies cheaper technology solutions. Ultimately, you might get what you pay for. Let’s discuss how.

Ramifications of Cheaper Contact Center

If a potential renter is looking for answers to specific questions about your property and based on those answers might also book a tour, those phone call interactions carry a lot of weight. If more than one lead is potentially lost at the hands of bandwidth limitations or low-quality solutions, centralizing your phone system with a quality contact center is a distinguishable investment with obvious return.  

With an investment like contact centers, being choosey is necessary. Every property and every renter is different in their needs. In your selection process for a contact center, remember that you get what you pay for. Choosing a cheaper contact center might save your properties in costs up front but result in:

• Poor leasing and resident experience – long wait times or dropped calls result in lost leads and unhappy residents
• Burnt out employees – if you go with an answering service that simply takes messages versus a contact center that takes guest card information and more, your employees are still left with more tasks and follow-up later.
• An insufferable implementation – Low-cost contact centers can easily take an insurmountable amount of time to ramp up to the level of quality your properties need
• Poor customer support – You have adjustments or improvements needed from the vendor supplying your contact center? That sacrifice in cost might have also sacrificed their internal customer support bandwidth.
• Potential compliance issues – Fair Housing, anyone? A costly result.

Ramifications of Cheaper CRM

Your CRM is what your leasing agents likely call their Leasing “Bible,” as the system consolidates your leads, automates follow-ups, and captures all communications while providing and prioritizing time-sensitive tasks to your on-site staff. Imagine how a less-than-desirable CRM would compromise and disrupt your leasing process:

• Limited features and functionality – limited features equates to limited efficiency for your leasing agents
• Poor lead management and nurturing – if the CRM isn’t streamlining the process of moving leads along in the leasing process, your on-site staff will suffer and leads fall through. Not to mention, close to 20% or more of your leads need longer than 60 days of nurturing.
• Leasing agents still burn out – If a CRM isn’t functioning in a way that helps leasing agents better prioritize and complete tasks around lead management, staff will still suffer the same, if not more
• Increased spend on non-emergency maintenance requests – Without basic troubleshooting, your properties could spend more in non-emergency maintenance repairs and overtime hours.
• Poor customer support – Again, if you are paying for the cheaper solution, that solution may very well be leaving your team and their software issues hanging for extremely long periods of time. ‍
• Weaker marketing focus and budget allocation – poor source tracking within your CRM can result in misallocation of marketing spend, since your marketing team can make informed decisions with data provided

Your CRM should be incredibly prospect-centric. Whether your leads are interested in one property or other sister properties nearby, the CRM should guide leasing agents seamlessly all while tracking engagement through a single, centralized leasing timeline. A prospect-centric CRM gives your properties and leasing agents the ability to provide prospects with a better leasing experience that produces revenue-generating outcomes.

The Benefits of Investing Long-Term

With an abundance of new supply opening up in 2024, strategic approaches and choices to your centralization are imperative. Multifamily properties rely on efficient leasing processes and exceptional lead and renter experiences for sustainable success.  

Ask yourself: what is more important for my properties? A cheaper or cost-savings solution or one that will support our properties, our staff and our leads while protecting our reputation and leasing processes? If the cheaper options are still the winning decision in your mind, we highly encourage you to examine to go deeper and ensure you are not a moth to the flame of an appealing price tag. Strategic and long-term investments win, time and time again. Set your properties and your staff up for that maximum success and the NOI will naturally follow.