Customer experience management
Find out how your property management business can create differentiated experiences and exceed resident expectations.
What renters expect from property management companies
Over the last few years, consumer expectations have dramatically shifted. Renters now expect on-demand, digital experiences, but there’s a gap in what property management businesses are delivering, opening the door for more frequent resident turnover.
*Source: 2022 AppFolio Resident Motivations Report **Source: 2023 AppFolio Resident Preferences Report
What customer experience is and why it matters
Customer experience includes all aspects of the customer's (in this case, your renter’s) journey, from their first touchpoint to their ongoing interactions with your business. When renters feel well cared for and have a seamless experience, they are more likely to choose your company, remain loyal, and promote it to others.
“It’s all about satisfying the people that live at our properties and the employees that interact with them and building these personal relationships. That is what drives our business.”
Why you should prioritize customer
experience
experience
Drives higher conversions
Provides a competitive advantage
Increases renewals
Keys to enhancing your resident experience
Download this free guide to see how you can implement proven customer service strategies to boost resident satisfaction.
Customer experience: How is it measured?
Before you begin to improve your resident experience, it’s important to know where you currently stand when it comes
to customer satisfaction. Here are a few ways you can measure it:
Referrals
How many of your residents are referring you? Take a detailed look at your guest cards to see how many were referred to your community by friends, family, or co-workers, and calculate on average how many of those prospects turn into residents.
Renewal percentage
Check your annual renewal rate and compare it to previous years. It should be at least 45-55%. Reporting technology that’s built into your property management software can simplify this process and make it easier to analyze this data.
Satisfaction with service
To understand your residents’ satisfaction, send out a Net Promoter® Score survey. Once all feedback is received, your NPS will be a number from -100 to +100 — the higher the NPS, the better. You can also leverage integrations that allow you to collect, analyze, and respond to resident feedback.
Want to offer a better resident experience? Follow these best practices
Make life more convenient
Convenience is crucial when it comes to satisfaction. This is why it’s important to implement technology that makes life easier for your renters. Look for a comprehensive system that is user friendly and enables them to complete tasks on demand, such as online applications, rent payments, maintenance requests, and lease renewals.
Communicate more effectively
Improving communication with your residents means more than just increasing contact frequency. It’s about expanding your communication in ways residents want and need. Implement modern communication methods that align with resident preferences and allow your team to respond quickly, such as email, text messaging, and online resident portal access.
Prioritize flexibility
When renters have multiple options rather than a single way of doing things, they will be more satisfied, and you’ll be able to tailor the experience to their needs. Consider offering things like flexible lease terms and rent payments, security deposit alternatives, and self-guided showings to boost satisfaction.
Provide a human touch
Resident satisfaction for your property management business ultimately boils down to empathy. However, this can be hard to provide when your team is bogged down by manual tasks. Look for ways to automate tedious and repetitive processes using AI so your team can focus on providing personalized service to your residents.
Exceed your residents’ expectations with AppFolio Property Manager
Provide exceptional experiences and deliver standout service to renters all in one powerful platform.
Get Started“We are living in the 21st century, and renters want to do everything online. With the AppFolio Online Portal, our residents can log in to make rent payments, view their lease, or read any other documents — it’s huge for them.”
Co-Founder, Stone & Browning Property Management