We use our mobile phones for everything– from banking and emailing to booking travel (and, yes, playing Pokemon Go). It goes without saying that the business case has been made for companies to adapt to our new mobile-focused world in order to get a leg up on the competition. For landlords and property management companies, this is especially true. Renters, both current and prospective, are united by the expectation of immediate responses – and action – to their questions and concerns. They also want to be able to easily research a property directly from their phone while they’re driving or strolling by on foot. So if you want to give your property a boost, it’s time to embrace mobile. Here are the top five reasons why renters will love you for it.
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Social Media
Social media isn’t just about #TBTs, carefully curated Instagram feeds and impeccably lit Snapchat posts. Everyone and their bubbie is on social media and they’re using it for much more than just showing off a straight-from-the-runway getup or perfectly cooked roast to their network of friends. A recent study by J.D. Power and Associates shows that 67% of people head to a company’s social media platforms in order to receive service. Even more telling, 66% of those people took their business elsewhere if they didn’t receive a speedy response to their question or complaint on social media. So don’t just create a Twitter account and let it sit there – actively use it and monitor it. Don’t miss out on renters because you didn’t devote the necessary time to social media!
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Mobile-Friendly Website
Going hand-in-hand with having a strong and consistent social media presence is having a website that’s fully responsive to not just mobile phones but any and all hand-held devices. As more and more people adopt smartphones, the need for a mobile-friendly website is increasingly clear. Picture it: an interested renter notices your property while walking or driving and is ready to learn more. Where will they turn? To the high priest of technology, the phone in their pocket. The latest research from Google shows that 72% of Internet users expect your site to be mobile-friendly. If renters cannot easily access information about your property, they will move on to the next one. Period.
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Online Resident Portal
By taking the landlord/renter relationship online, you make daily life easier for you AND your residents. With resident portals like Payquad’s, you can easily offer your renters online rent payment options (say goodbye to cheques!), including autopay directly from their bank account. Renters can also access an online maintenance request form, allowing them to quickly submit a request for repairs that can be tracked every step of the way. But Payquad doesn’t stop there: we’ve also designed a perk section with kick-backs that you can offer your renters, including everything from freebies to offers from local businesses in your area.
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User Experience
Have you ever visited a website only to leave because you couldn’t easily access the information you were seeking? That’s called a bad user experience. If your website isn’t striking a love affair at first click, you’re losing potential renters. Having a solid website that’s intuitive and easy-to-use will enrich the user experience. If people can’t quickly find your contact information or locate the property they want, your bounce rate will increase. In other words, the more people who leave your website within seconds of landing on it without completing any other actions, the less renters in your apartments.
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Online Manager Portal
We’ve spent a lot of time talking about what being mobile-friendly means for renters, but what does it mean for you as a landlord? Payquad has designed an online manager portal with a lexicon of user-friendly tools that’ll make your job as a manager much easier. Our portal includes property-specific dashboards with real-time analytics and transactional reports, powerful payment reporting that allows you to track monthly rent payments at a glance, messaging features that give you the power to contact all of your renters in one click, and so much more. Plus, the technology is incredibly easy to use. The best part? It’s all under one roof at a shockingly low cost, which can be absorbed by you or passed on to your tenants.
Being mobile-friendly isn’t the future – it’s the present. There are steps you can take right now that will give your property a boost without breaking the bank. Contact Payquad today and learn how you can make life better for your renters and you.
