Resident Satisfaction

It takes one to know one… a community manager that is! The task of community and Facebook humanitarian is sure to keep one on his or her toes. It’s always good to know what others in a peer group have to say. Mashable recently shared great insight from community managers of notable brands. Take it from these guys, they know how you feel!

 
1. Don’t be a one-hit wonder: Teresa Wu, community manager at Google Docs, says rather than sporadically connecting with users, establish a humanistic connection to create a long lasting relationship. Invite them to a community event and take the time to get to know your residents. Valuing them as individuals rather than renters makes a huge difference.
 
2. Set up meet and greets: Etsy Community Strategist, Morgan Evans, has found success by encouraging members of a community to meet with one another and form groups that draw out commonalities that would otherwise remain dormant. Promoting peer networks is a great way to jumpstart engagement and makes your residents feel supported. Setting up Facebook events for your residents is a great way to get the ball rolling.
 
3. Seeing is believing: Use photos to connect to your residents. McKee Floyd, director of brand development at Sweetgreen, uses photos to do a lot of the work for him. Knowing the power of image association, he says his Facebook fans see the image and make the connection to head to Sweetgreen’s Instagram page. Instagram photos can be shared on Facebook. By pairing the creativity of Instagram with the viral quality of Facebook, you double the power of your campaign and engage multiple users. McKee also shared a cross-pollination tip: “Photos or content featuring your product or branding are priceless. Use a tool like statigr.am to share these photos easily on your Pinterest page or Facebook Page. Always give a shout out to the creator — they’ll appreciate the kudos and keep spreading your brand love.”
 
4. Identify your power residents: Morgan of Etsy touches on some good points. Knowing those in your community who are vocal online is vital to your business. Word of mouse is just as, and maybe more, powerful than word of mouth. Support these people as much as possible. They are some of your most valuable assets. Ask them to use the Recommendations App to post a referral to attract new potential residents.
 
5. Helps us help you: Jonathan Goldman of Jetsetter says to get to know your customer service team. You may not always know the answer but a social media specialist with the For Rent Marketplace Team can help!

What can you do to show you appreciate someone, your residents, your family, your friends, or the person on the street you just passed?  As we learn and use the wonderful features of technology and social media, we tend to not interrelate like we once did.  We have all emailed the person in the next cubicle or office, and texted someone when we could have called them. What three things can you do on a daily basis that makes a difference in how people connect and react to you?

Everyone has three things they can do to let others know they matter.  I recently sent an email about this to my fellow teams. Incidentally, I received more replies than normal and I would like to share some of the unedited feedback.

1. Smile and compliment them.
2. Make them feel welcome; tell them they have been approved for their new home.
3. Ask them “How can we help”?
4. Tell them you appreciate them, maybe bring them a coffee and tell them one nice thing! Or just give them a big hug.
5.  Listen, people want to be heard and know that what they have to say matters, and it shows you value them, as well as what they have to say.
6.  Speak directly to them, look in their eyes, and be attentive.
7.  Use their name when you talk to them, it makes them feel important and gets their  attention.
8.  A simple acknowledgement, “Great Job”.
9.  To a stranger driving and trying to get in your lane, “Just wave and let them in”.
10.  Stand up and greet them when someone walks into your office. Tell them how special they are every time you see them. 

This is timeless and relevant in this exciting and incredibly busy life we share.  Our lives are increasingly demanding, and the technology creates more texting, emailing, posting, tweeting, and less opportunities for those random meetings.

Hola! Aquí estamos. Are you ready, or not?

By Linda Day Harrison, theBrokerList, Chicago, IL

In the history of property ownership and property management, as far back as the Stone Age (maybe not that far back), we have always called our customers “tenants” and for some reason it just stuck like glue. We can try to shake the term, but no matter how we spin it, turn it, or twist it the relationship comes back full circle to calling them “tenants” and not customers. It is rather maddening to say the least. Even though I preach this and believe it, I catch myself using the term because nobody understands who I am speaking about when I say “customer!”

What drives me batty is that when you consider all of the blood, sweat, and tears we put into marketing, promotions, “tenant” retention, newsletters, “tenant” parties, and “tenant” appreciation, why do we not refer to our “tenants” as customers? It just does not make logical sense.

By Colin McCarthy, J.D., Robinson & Wood, San Jose, CA

I once lived in house in downtown San Jose that was next to an abandoned "historic" house. The house was abandoned because it was "historic." The city had an ordinance that prevented the owner from demolishing the building and rebuilding it, or selling it. Because the house was built before a certain time, the city ordinance prohibited him from doing anything with the property other than fixing it up. Rather than doing that, in protest, he did nothing with the property. And I mean nothing, other than board it up.

Mistake! You see it was downtown San Jose. It was right in the middle of urban, night time activities. The abandoned home soon became a sort of an attractive spot for the seedier and less fortunate souls. We frequently had to call the police. There were the typical late night guests, drinking, broken glass, and other non-printable activities going on in there. After enough of these visits, the neighbors reported the landlord to the city, and hearings were held. Fines were levied. Landlords got mad. Fences were put up.

By Dan Hobin, CEO, G5

I’ll never forget when I was in college, I saw Guns N’ Roses open for The Rolling Stones.  A few songs before falling off the stage, Axel Rose whipped out, “You’re crazy—hey hey, you know you’re crazy—you’re f***ing crazy”.  Remember those lyrics? That was a good tune, and probably what someone would say to you today if you told them the Information Age is over.

According to a report published last summer by Josh Bernoff of Forrester, the Information Age is evolving into a whole new age. With commoditization and the continuous disruption of technology, the Age of Information has given way to the Age of the Customer – an era where only “customer-obsessed companies will survive”.

By Colin McCarthy, J.D., Robinson & Wood, San Jose, CA

Well, hello there and happy 2012 to you all. It has been a little bit of time since we have had a chance to chat. I will beg your forgiveness for being pre-occupied with year end duties, and a jury trial in Visalia, California that preoccupied my time and has prevented me from indulging in the blogging world. Now that I am able to focus, I want to talk to you about every one's favorite topic – repairs – from everyone's favorite perspective – a lawyer.

But before I do, I'll share with you how I spent my New Year's Eve. It's a story that pretty much exemplifies why it is important to have a good handyman at your disposal. And why it is important that you not rely on your father to do repairs at your home or your leased property.

A few months ago, Facebook announced the release of Timeline, a new interface made to boost engagement and user connectivity for all pages, especially for brands and businesses. Come March 30th, all Facebook Pages will have made the transition to the Timeline format.
 
Today, let’s focus on the aspects in Timeline that are different from your current Business Page. Mashable did a great job explaining the major changes, and we’ve added our insights to relate this to your community.
 
1. Updated Look and Feel: The format of Timeline for brands is quite similar to Timeline for personal profiles. A cover photo lives at the top of the Page, and the Page is separated into two main columns with a dividing line representing the passage of time. This format provides you with new options for story telling: You can outline your history with milestones (such as grand openings, resident events, etc.) to construct a narrative for your audience.
 
2. Reduced Tab/App Visibility: The new Timeline format does not have the left-side panel of links, which could include hundreds of different tabs. While applications still exist, they’ll display differently, in rectangular panels underneath the cover photo. The width of the Timeline and the space allocated for native apps like Photos means that only four tab panels are viewable at any given time. To see more, users must expand the tab panel by clicking a drop-down box. You have the ability to assign which tabs you want to display in the top four panels.
 
3. Pins: One major new feature that you as a property manager will enjoy is the ability to “pin” certain posts to the top of the Timeline. Pinning a post to the top of Timeline allows it to precede any other content. A pinned post is distinguished by a small, orange flag. Brands can pin only one item at a time, and the pinned item then exists in two locations — as the top item on the Timeline itself, as well as within its chronological place. Once unpinned (which happens automatically when a new item gets pinned, or when the item has been pinned for more than seven days), the post remains in the chronology of Timeline posts, but there is no visual history that it was pinned in the past.
 
4. Stars: Starring will extend a post to double its width across the timeline, making it larger than the rest of the posts as users navigate the page. This feature is ideal for posts with a high level of engagement, a call to action or a promotion you want to make sure your residents see.
 
5. Private Messages between Brands and Fans/Residents: Finally, you can maintain a conversation with your residents in the form of a private message. This enables a broadened level of interaction, and will also allow Page admins to take extended resident concerns off the Timeline and into a private message.
 
Take a look at Starbuck’s Timeline for a great guide on utilizing each Timeline feature to help you tell your story. 

By Linda Day Harrison, theBrokerList, Chicago, IL

If you like to read great business books and gobble up terms that help managers get the job done, there is one I want you to never forget, MBWA! Not only is it effective and powerful, but it is also good for your health! Here are variations on its commonly known names:

The Acronym: MBWA
Management by Walking Around
Management by Wandering Around
Management by Walking About
Manage by Walking Around

A day in the life of a property manager is never boring. Between answering phone calls, showing units, following up on emails, managing service requests, and dealing with move-outs and renewals, there is never a dull moment. Smart property managers are always on the lookout for new ways to improve efficiency and free up time for important tasks.

Converting paper checks to electronic ACH payments is a great way to boost productivity by eliminating daily trips to the bank. Over the last decade, more and more property management companies have recognized this opportunity and deployed electronic payment solutions at their sites. By scanning paper checks to process as electronic ACH debits, on-site staff finds more time to serve residents, fill vacant units, and increase revenue.