Current customers and leads are tracked with property management software, non-industry specific tools like Salesforce, good ol’ fashioned Excel spreadsheets, or some combination thereof. The goal is to improve follow-up, data collection, internal communication and processes, but system integration and customization are often difficult, if not impossible.
How do marketers and on-site teams deal? What features would their ideal multifamily CRM have? Check out the highlights from this week’s #AptChat. (Click on the links to jump straight to a specific question.)
- Q1: How do you keep track of your leads and current customers today? Through your prop mgmt software? A 3rd-party tool? Excel?
- Q2: What are the benefits of using a CRM system? Does it improve follow-up? Improve internal communication?
- Q3: What are some key things to consider for a CRM/LM? What do you need to know before going in? What should you be looking for?
- Q4: If you could design your ideal multifamily CRM today, what key features would it have? What would it *have to* do?
- Q5: What do corp marketers need to better understand about their on-site teams and their renter prospects to make CRM work better?
How do you keep track of your leads and current customers today? Through your prop mgmt software? A 3rd-party tool? Excel?
@AptChat A1: Speaking on behalf of our clients: PopCard, RentCafe CRM, Lead2Lease, Entrata, and plain old fashioned email inbox #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
@AptChat Believe the majority are primarily focused on managing prospects, however, heard that RentCafe CRM handles residents too seamlessly #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
@RokitNowInc @AptChat Aw, thank for the shout out! RENTCafe CRM manages the entire resident lifecycle, w/ follow ups to help you stay in touch & secure renewals.
— RENTCafé Genius (@RENTCafeGenius) April 18, 2017
@RokitNowInc @AptChat We see the same mix with our clients as well #aptchat
— Dyverse (@dyverse) April 18, 2017
@AptChat @dyverse Haven’t heard much about non-industry specific tools although heard AnyoneHome uses Salesforce as it’s backend. #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
@AptChat A1: also hearing @RainmakerMFH mentioned more often. Hy.ly is a promising up-and-comer, as well
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
@AptChat @dyverse @RokitNowInc I haven’t heard many folks mention these, but as a certified Salesforce Admin, I’m rooting for them 🙂 #aptchat
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
@AptChat My clients are using one or frustratingly sometimes all. Just did a Follow Up Pop In & we pulled reports from 4 systems. ?♀️#aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) April 18, 2017
@StephanieOehler @AptChat Why?! What is the reasoning behind using four different systems? #AptChat
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) April 18, 2017
@mwhaling @AptChat Probably why they needed me…issue is leads not streamlined- we had to pull from Yardi, multiple ILS, & excel sheet from an event. #aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) April 18, 2017
@Uncle_Doodah @mwhaling @AptChat Feeds were on but leads weren’t organized and follow up wasn’t being tracked in the same places. #aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) April 18, 2017
@StephanieOehler @AptChat No wonder the on-site teams can’t keep up. Too many systems to learn. We’re burying them in data-entry when they are SALESPEOPLE #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
@StephanieOehler @Uncle_Doodah @mwhaling @AptChat Is there a way to segment leads, residents, biz contacts in those industry systems so we can market better?#AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @Uncle_Doodah @mwhaling @AptChat Add to wish list! #aptchat Some do, but it’s not easy to report on or manage.
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) April 18, 2017
What are the benefits of using a CRM system? Does it improve follow-up? Improve internal communication?
@AptChat When adopted properly, it certainly should improve follow-up, collaboration, data collection and analysis, process automation, etc #aptchat
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
@AptChat A2b: tough to beat SFDC’s automation and collaboration. Data analysis might be tougher without deep integration w/ MF solutions #aptchat
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
@Uncle_Doodah @AptChat This is why topics like lead scoring seem so distant for multifamily. Very few cos have that level of data integration/insights. #AptChat
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) April 18, 2017
@mwhaling @Uncle_Doodah @AptChat Well,companies need 2 allow us all to start integrating, for one. It shouldn’t be “one-size-fits-all”.Let us connect our fav tools #AptChat.
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @mwhaling @Uncle_Doodah @AptChat Best of breed may become an urban myth as bundled pricing becomes the norm & the inability/unwillingness to unbundle prevails. #aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) April 18, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @mwhaling @AptChat I love how easy it is for companies to integrate with and customize Salesforce. Seriously needed in MF #aptchat
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
@AptChat @Marketing_Mommy @mwhaling @RealPage @Yardi @mrisoftware It doesn’t take a crazy amount of “customization” in order for companies to market themselves as “customizable” #aptchat
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
@AptChat @Uncle_Doodah @Marketing_Mommy @mwhaling @RealPage @Yardi @mrisoftware It’s not open, hefty fee to integrate.Not easy to find information on what can be done. Takes forever to get a response or get help #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
@RokitNowInc @AptChat @Uncle_Doodah @mwhaling @RealPage @Yardi @mrisoftware Which almost immediately removes the ability for small firms to innovate & integrate in the multifamily space. #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
@AptChat @Uncle_Doodah @Marketing_Mommy @mwhaling @RealPage @Yardi @mrisoftware One simple thing: Be responsive. Everyone is in this together. Responding in a timely manner helps everyone collaborate:) #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
@AptChat @mwhaling @Uncle_Doodah Freedom to connect & use any tools you want that are best for YOUR situation/company-even if your CRM doesn’t offer/provide them#AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
@AptChat @mwhaling @Uncle_Doodah Education. Until marketers find a tool they want 2 use that their CRM doesn’t provide, they won’t typically ask about integrations #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
@AptChat @Marketing_Mommy @mwhaling A big challenge for our customers/prospects is the manual work for site staff that could be automated with integrations #aptchat
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
@AptChat A2: Without a CRM it’s hard to provide good customer service,if you cant see history for a customer its difficult to be helpful #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
@AptChat Agreed, its important for residents too! Not wanting to sound like a sales pitch but heard RentCafe CRM is moving in that direction #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
@RokitNowInc @AptChat Yes! Especially in an industry with a high turnover rate and where employees move site to site. You need that historical data. #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
@AptChat It improves follow up if it’s being used. Great intel can be mined. But it’s Garbage in/garbage out. #aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) April 18, 2017
@AptChat Great question! Wish list would be better merging of duplicates, automation so emails go right into CRM when sent from Outlook. #aptchat …
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) April 18, 2017
@AptChat Better UI for logging other Follow Up calls, snail mail, etc. Reports that are easier to pull and read So LP will get in & use it. #aptchat
— Stephanie Oehler (@StephanieOehler) April 18, 2017
@StephanieOehler @AptChat And, the ability to cross-promote and cross-sell between sister sites in a portfolio -“share” leads, residents & all of that history#Aptchat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
What are some key things to consider for a CRM/LM? What do you need to know before going in? What should you be looking for?
@AptChat A3(a): #1 is understanding what it will take to drive adoption. w/out adoption, CRM is nearly worthless. #aptchat
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
@AptChat A3(b): Is it user friendly? Will you need additional staff to make it work?
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
Most sites perform outreach mktg but what industry specific system allows for tracking of outreach/B2B relationships? #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
If you could design your ideal multifamily CRM today, what key features would it have? What would it *have to* do?
@AptChat A4 (on behalf of our customers): 1) integrations 2) task reminders 3) strong reporting 4) workflow automation
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
@AptChat A4(b): site staff have too many responsibilities, so we need to save them time by integrating/automating. #aptchat
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
@AptChat A4: Track all touch points:calls,emails,texts,chats.Allow blasting of emails,texts.Track website behavior via cookies in CRM #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
@AptChat A4a: Automation for follow-up emails, etc. #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
What do corp marketers need to better understand about their on-site teams and their renter prospects to make CRM work better?
@AptChat A5: We believe experience working in the trenches helps knowing what on-site struggles with. #WeDontHaveOnsiteExperince #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
@RokitNowInc @AptChat I agree. We are paper-work & data-entry heavy at the site level, yet those are people who are NEVER at their desks. Hmmm #Aptchat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
@AptChat Do apartment marketers track repeat visitors to a website and send an email to them based on pages visited? If no, why not! #AptChat
— RokitNow (@RokitNowInc) April 18, 2017
@RokitNowInc @AptChat We’re doing this with a couple clients now. We update email segments dynamically based on pages visited, then send targeted msgs. #AptChat
— 30 Lines (@30lines) April 18, 2017
@RokitNowInc @AptChat Exactly!We focus majority of our attention on the customers who walk into the leasing office when it really starts WAY before that #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) April 18, 2017
@AptChat How quickly are marketers able to USE the data collected – is it outdated by the time they can do something with it? #aptchat
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
One thing we want to see: The ability to collect leads without requiring them to be assigned to a single property. #AptChat
— 30 Lines (@30lines) April 18, 2017
@30lines we should do a demo of our ShowPro product. #mindblowing
— Larry Bellack (@lbellack) April 19, 2017
@lbellack Just emailed you!
— 30 Lines (@30lines) April 19, 2017
@30lines pic.twitter.com/M6Vjp4LaKd
— Jordan Easley (@Uncle_Doodah) April 18, 2017
Our next #AptChat is slated for Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at 12 pm Eastern, and we’ll be discussing what can be gleaned from digging deep into prospect data. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for #AptChat updates to get these recaps and more delivered straight to your inbox!