In the not-too-distant past, multifamily resident communications were largely transactional. “They focused on the application, move-in details, when rent was due, when your service request was taken care of, lease renewal, and moving out,” says Marcella Eppsteiner of Mission Rock Residential, a Denver-based third-party management company that manages 34,000-plus units in 18 states.
As Mission Rock’s chief experience officer, Eppsteiner views resident communications more holistically. “If you’re only communicating with your customer at those transactions, you’re missing something. Living in a home is an emotional experience. Your life changes there. Some residents are becoming more independent. Others are meeting their significant others, starting a family, building a life together.”
Eppsteiner started about 20 years ago as a leasing consultant, just in time to witness a period of unprecedented disruption. “We didn't even have property websites. Online payments and leasing didn’t exist. Facebook had just come out.”
Change came fast for multifamily housing and hasn’t slowed. “Just five years ago, we were talking about self-guided tours, and now it’s a norm. We were talking about chatbots, and now it’s an expectation.” Eppsteiner shares her top thoughts about the current state of communication and where it’s going.
Ignore Generational Assumptions
Today, communicators must consider an interconnected web of touch points. “In-person remains an integral channel, plus email, text, and chatbot communication as well as online reviews, resident surveys, and social media.”
Ten years ago, there were clear generational communication trends. “You would shift your approach depending on age,” Eppsteiner recalls. “That’s changed. You might have a renter in their 80s who wants to communicate only through Facebook and a 20-something who prefers face-to-face or email.” She recommends focusing on types of communications that consistently get through to residents and individualize (while maintaining fair housing and legal requirements). “In our online portal, our residents can select their preferred mode, and we try to accommodate them.”
Listen and Engage
“Whether it’s negative or positive, face-to-face or digital, if you’re not listening to your customer and taking their voice seriously, that’s a pitfall,” Eppsteiner says. Ignoring online reviews or responding with canned answers versus seeking more information is a common misstep.
“It needs to be a two-way conversation,” she notes. “How are you responding? And how are you converting that response to action?” For instance, if surveys show residents love your pool area, consider hosting your next resident event around the pool. “It’s an opportunity to improve their experience. And the better their experience, the more likely they are to recommend it to others.”
Engaged residents tend to stay longer term, Eppsteiner adds. “We use a software that gamifies resident engagement. They can get points when they RSVP to a resident event, if they attend it, if they post a photo. We want to enhance their experience and connect them to their home. Even if they buy a house or relocate, higher engagement can make them an ambassador for that property.”
Harness AI Disruption
Artificial intelligence (AI) first appeared via chatbots that could nurture leads and respond to FAQs and quickly spread. “Automated communications are integral to our strategy,” Eppsteiner says. “They’re amazing for more generic, less personalized communications, like responding to prospective residents who click an ad to express interest.”
But, she cautions, “When something’s wrong with your living experience, you don’t want to interact just with AI. An automated response can confirm receipt of a service request, but then a person should reach out. A mix of automated and human touches is optimal.”
These tools will continue to evolve in their ability to tailor communications to exactly what the customer reached out for. “AI offers endless possibilities.”
Remember What’s Special About Residential Customers
Multifamily housing customers are different from those of other industries. “Customers at restaurants come and go; hotel guests are there short term, likely for work or vacation, so they’re in a different state of mind. In the home industry, our customers live there every day. They depend on great communication.”
