Do you know what your prospects want in an apartment tour? Esther Bonardi, vice president of marketing at Yardi, hosted “OPTECH Express: The New Apartment Tour — Insights for Today’s Customer Preferences” as part of NMHC OPTECH 2020. The mini session gave insights into the latest renter preferences. Bonardi also offered actionable tasks to carry property managers into the future of touring. RentCafe.com surveys reveal what renters want To better understand renter preferences, Yardi issued two surveys. The May survey published by RentCafe.com revealed that 83% of renters would take a self-guided tour if it was offered to them. When asked why they would take a self-guided tour, the results were surprising. “About 63% of respondents said they wanted to tour at their own time and their own pace. That had nothing to do with social distancing,” observes Bonardi. “So we might say from that, it’s likely that people want this for other reasons, and it will continue to be important long beyond the pandemic.” Yardi focused on Gen Z and Millennial renters during the fall survey. Results reveal that 52% of respondents preferred a non-agent-led tour, included self-guided and virtual. Nearly 43% said they would still love to work with an agent. “These are important numbers to keep in mind,” says Bonardi. “Those numbers tell us that we have to offer options. One tour type is no longer enough to meet the changing demands of our customers. We need to let them decide what options they want to tour the apartment home.” Tips for offering new tour types “Don’t offer a new tour type just to check a box,” advises Bonardi. “Gather with your team and figure out how to make each tour feel as personal and connected as possible. After all, this...

To stay competitive, your properties and services must remain in the forefront of the digital marketplace. From a prospect’s search to a resident’s lease renewal, marketing automation can help you exceed renters’ expectations. Marketing automation streamlines repetitive tasks, follows user behavior and delivers targeted content. Such content ushers customers into your leasing pipeline and then helps you keep them as loyal residents. Watch a quick video about marketing automation. In a recent post, we interviewed Esther Bonardi, vice president of marketing at Yardi. She explains the long-term benefits of automated marketing. “Attracting a new resident costs up to five times more than retaining an existing one,” explained Bonardi. “With automation tools designed to check in with residents, conduct surveys, provide contact support and offer timed renewal savings, both your retention rates and your bottom line will improve… automatically!” Learn to automate your marketing for an improved leads-to-leases experience! Below are just a few proven strategies for marketing automation. Nudge Marketing Nudge marketing is a website-based tool that tracks visitor behavior. You can use the tool to deliver targeted content to website visitors based on their actions. You can share a promotion with first-time visitors or prompt visitors to schedule an appointment after viewing floor plans. You control the content and the corresponding user behavior. Intelligent Text Response Text is the latest and greatest in rapid communication for businesses. Provide prospects with customized, automated responses that answer their questions without consuming leasing agents’ time. If a prospect wants to know more about outdoor living space, your automated response can give the square footage of the property’s decks. You can also use the service to send a link to available units. Timed Lease Renewals Increase resident retention and improve forecasted revenue with automated lease renewals. Send...

Esther Bonardi, Industry Principal for Yardi Marketing Solutions, has joined the Apartment All Stars team and will be sharing her wealth of experience on the multifamily industry on the All Stars’ nationwide tour circuit. The Apartment All Stars are a team of experts that provide impartial instructive programming to apartment associations across the nation. They are known for their inspired, energetic and motivational speaking skills, wealth of multifamily industry knowledge, and results-inducing best practice tips. “I am honored to be included in this group of industry experts.  For years, our industry has looked to the All Stars to share the latest information, the most leading edge solutions, and the most effective strategies for marketing and managing apartments,” Esther said. “And of course, our industry also knows that along with great information, they are going to have a great time at an All Stars event.  I’m very pleased that the All Stars counted  me among those who could deliver this experience to their audiences. “ Esther will bring strong knowledge of multifamily marketing to her presentations on the All Star tour. “I’m all about digital marketing.  I love marketing technology, including both the opportunities and the challenges that it presents.  I will be bringing best practices in digital marketing to the All Stars events. A marketing ‘geek’ is the best kind of ‘geek,’ and I think All Star audiences will feel excited and empowered when they see how easy it is to make technology work to their benefit,” she said. Esther began her career in the multifamily industry in 1987 as a leasing professional, and she never looked back.  Over the years, she has served some of the industry’s best and brightest multifamily firms, taking a career journey from on-site management to multi-sit e management, and...