Today’s generation is online. Let’s face the facts. At 89% of the 30 million people using the internet in Canada, email is still the number one online usage. Banking is in second place, with 69% of people’s primary online activity. Globally people are spending hours online with the numbers increasing year over year. Your average Canadian spends 41.3 hours per month online. That’s close to ten percent of their waking hours. Your residents may reside in your rental building but they are “living” online.
This just may be the key to take away your communication problems. How often do you hear “I didn’t know the hallways were being painted this week. Why weren’t we informed?” or “Why was my water shut-off without notice?”. You have notices in the lobby and flyers under their door, and even mailings, and yet they are still uninformed. They definitely don’t know that they can pay their rent online. So how does the average landlord connect with their residents?
You’ve got to meet them where they’re “living”. Meet them where they communicate, where they are comfortable and where they’re active.
Acquire email addresses
The first thing to do is get their email address. Add it to your existing move-in system easily by asking for it in your lease. It’s just another piece of information that they will usually willingly provide. Explaining that you use their email address to update them with pertinent news and reminders to simplify communication; they will love being kept in the know electronically.
Use social media
Be active on your social networks. Your residents are. Portray your property with feel-good pictures and moments, like a new paint job on the fence or a block party that was sponsored by the management. If you don’t have a presence online, others will create one for you and not necessarily to your benefit or liking.
Online payments
Give them the ability to pay rent online. Your residents will love the ability and convenience to pay their rent the same way they pay all their other bills- online. The more options and channels you provide for them, the better chance of on-time payments exist.
By upping your technology game a bit, you and your residents have a lot to gain. Once you have these things in effect, you will really know your residents and meet them where they’re at. Check out payquad.com to simply up your game.
