Jessica Pope's profile| Property Management | Resident Retention

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As we enter the Era of Authenticity, it's more important than ever to listen and understand the needs and preferences of our customers. SatisFacts published the Online Renter Study in January 2024 to provide the multifamily industry with unbiased, raw data directly from renters themselves. The data in the study covers a range of topics, from reputation to social media to fee transparency to ESG…and more!One topic in the study focuses on ...

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Zillow and The National Association of Realtors estimate first-time home buyers will regain market share by 2025. Fannie Mae's forecast says that the 30-year fixed rate will be 6.79% in 2024 and 5.72% in 2025.In the latest Biennial Online Renter Study published by SatisFacts Research, sense of community remains the #1 driver for the perception of value at 3.93 (on a scale of 1 to 5; with 5 being the most important). However when renter ...

Brent Williams Ok, I have to apologize in advance for the rant!

I think those of us who are passionate about building a sense of community have failed in many ways to effectively "sell" our vision. The reality is that when rents are rising, turnover is seen as a good thing to many in our industry, as that helps push rents. And those that push for a sense of community have a much harder, nuanced "sale" to leadership even though we really can have it both ways. If we boost a sense of community, then that means we not only have less turnover, but those renewal prices can be pushed higher, as well, because people will pay more for an experience that they are in love with. That means less turnover cost AND higher rents. Plus, the higher retention lowers availability and supply, which then allows us to be more aggressive on new rents, as well. Economically, I have to imagine that a strong sense of community ends up being more profitable on three separate fronts. But if you look at technology adoption, as an... Show more

Ok, I have to apologize in advance for the rant!

I think those of us who are passionate about building a sense of community have failed in many ways to effectively "sell" our vision.  The reality is that when rents are rising, turnover is seen as a good thing to many in our industry, as that helps push rents.  And those that push for a sense of community have a much harder, nuanced "sale" to leadership even though we really can have it both ways.  If we boost a sense of community, then that means we not only have less turnover, but those renewal prices can be pushed higher, as well, because people will pay more for an experience that they are in love with.  That means less turnover cost AND higher rents.  Plus, the higher retention lowers availability and supply, which then allows us to be more aggressive on new rents, as well.  Economically, I have to imagine that a strong sense of community ends up being more profitable on three separate fronts.  But if you look at technology adoption, as an example, which category served to lead the way?  Marketing and Leasing.  Our organizations also often echo that approach, where there is a much higher chance that there is a "Marketing Director" than there is a "Retention Director".  In fact, I would guess that retention falls under the marketing umbrella for most companies.  I feel we sabotage our efforts on this front in so many ways.  Anyway, I'll jump off my soapbox now - sorry!

Jessica Pope Oh, I love this rant - the accuracy! And it's not just less turnover, but how much do they increase the rent vs the cost of the turn (paint, new fixtures, potential new carpet, maintenance hours, etc). It all adds up and takes from that higher rent from the new renter. An article that just came out in GlobeSt. discussed that there is a rise in supply and that concessions are plentiful, a trend likely to continue. So if we factor in turnover cost + likelihood of concession, we're probably losing money vs keeping a happy resident (with a potential increase in rent) + potential referrals (ie new renters) + positive reviews (ie good reputation which increases leads). To me it's a no brainer. But by not showing (and connecting) the value, likelihood to renew decreases and then they lose out on renewals as well.

Vicki Sharp Allow me to jump on Brent and Jessica's bandwagon here. One thing that I have never understood is the commission plan that pays more for new leases than it does for renewals. Basically, we are sending a message that we prefer new leases over keeping great residents. Given how much turnover costs the property, it's just silly to waste that money. Average how much you spent and lost in turnover costs in 2023 and divide it by the number of move outs. I am willing to bet you spent/lost more than $3000 per unit! Take half that amount and make that your new renewal bonus. Split this money between all involved in taking care of residents. For example, $1500 renewal bonus to be split 20% to manager, 20% to maintenance supervisor, 60% split among all remaining team members. When you have a hefty renewal bonus split among all team members, you will see your resident review skyrocket, and your turnover rates fall.

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Fake It Til You Make It: Review Generation Fails

Review generation is a persistent challenge in the multifamily industry. It can be intimidating, time-consuming, and sometimes leads companies into looking for a “quick fix.” But in this day and age, businesses are under heavy scrutiny due to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) creating more strict regulations and the customer expectation being higher than e ...

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Kristi Fickert This is great advice! Thanks for sharing and for giving solid examples. Most consumers and renters today want to hear the good AND the bad. They want to absorb all the information they can, then make their decision. Similar to if we are booking a hotel and making a purchase on Amazon, we don’t necessarily refrain from buying just because there’s a poor review. Some things that matter to others don’t matter or aren’t weighted as heavily for us and instead we use the information to better inform our decision to buy. If there are a lot of poor reviews we may not buy but otherwise, I do think most renters are looking for a baseline. After all - too many “raving” reviews can be a red flag that the reviews aren’t genuine, either and work against you. Great stuff Jess!

Lilah Poltz At the end of the day, authenticity is king! Being dishonest about your community on the internet is pretty easy to sniff out (just like fake followers!). Great post Jessica!

Guest Insider People looking for feedback on an a potential experience, product or service subconsciously look for the existence of and the blending of 5 key data elements in any given aggregated body of content, and those data elements shape their final impression and weigh on their decision to engage or not engage. These elements are:

Quantity - are there enough reviews to form a consensus?
Quality - does the overall tone of the reviews message a good experience?
Recency - is the feedback current/recent, or are the bulk of the reviews “stale dated”?
Relevancy - does the body of reviews speak to the reader and create a relevant connection, or is the content quality “thin” ( Nice place, Really like it etc)?
Responsiveness- is the provider of the experience/product/service demonstrating engagement via the quality and frequency of their responses? Do they truly care about the experience, product or service they offer?

Because this set of criteria (the 5 key elements, or Q2R3 as a formula) operates... Show more

People looking for feedback on an a potential experience, product or service subconsciously look for the existence of and the blending of 5 key data elements in any given aggregated body of content, and those data elements shape their final impression and weigh on their decision to engage or not engage.  These elements are:

Quantity - are there enough reviews to form a consensus?
Quality - does the overall tone of the reviews message a good experience?
Recency - is the feedback current/recent, or are the bulk of the reviews “stale dated”?
Relevancy - does the body of reviews speak to the reader and create a relevant connection, or is the content quality “thin” ( Nice place, Really like it etc)?
Responsiveness- is the provider of the experience/product/service demonstrating engagement via the quality and frequency of their responses?  Do they truly care about the experience, product or service they offer?

Because this set of criteria (the 5 key elements, or Q2R3 as a formula) operates at both the conscious and subconscious levels, the artificial manipulation of any of these elements via the methods listed in the article above is “picked up” intuitively by the reader, and has a negative impact on both their trust of the information AND their willingness to engage.

“You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”  The same axiom holds true for manipulated review content.

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I'm sad I didn't get to see them present this session live, but appreciate the recap and thank you for sharing the data that speaks to the increasing importance of reviews. And not just getting more positive reviews through unethical practices, but a

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Jessica Donaldson

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Great article Stephen! And so spot on! Evolution is the key and there are some great management companies recognizing this and creating new roles in their companies to help address these issues. SatisFacts hosts a free monthly webinar series and last

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Contact Information
Occupation
National Education Manager for SatisFacts
Year Started In Multifamily Industry
2009
Closest Major City
San Diego
State
CA
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By Email
Member Type
Supplier
Country
United States

Education
Highest Education Level Achieved
Graduated College
College / University
University of Illinois
Graduation Year
2005

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About me
I started in multifamily as a leasing agent, transitioned into property manager at a small community and then into the marketing team. After over 10 years in property management, I am now on the education team at SatisFacts. I love being able to use my knowledge + the data and combined knowledge of the SatisFacts team to provide education and resources to help our multifamily clients understand and improve their employee and resident satisfaction. I'm also a mother of 2 boys, which has been a whole new learning experience!

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SatisFacts & ApartmentRatings
Company Information
SatisFacts & ApartmentRatings provide a comprehensive suite of survey and reputation products to ensure your success in customer satisfaction and online reputation. As the leading provider in employee and resident surveys and largest source for online renter reviews, our robust platform provides multifamily partners with extensive data, leading-edge technology and unrivaled education to guide you on your journey to customer satisfaction.

Jessica Pope

Fake It Til You Make It: Review Generation Fails

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